BlackBerry maker RIM has released a statement on the ongoing BlackBerry Messenger service failures, saying that pretty much everything broke at once. And there’s now a big backlog of sexts to process.
According to a statement issued by RIM, the network’s “core switch” failed, whatever a core switch might be, while the back-up system designed to kick-in in such a crisis scenario also failed to work. Which created the core meltdown of BlackBerry’s messaging system.
Here’s RIM on the developing BBM downtime nightmare:
The messaging and browsing delays being experienced by BlackBerry users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina were caused by a core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure.
Although the system is designed to failover to a back-up switch, the failover did not function as previously tested.
As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service as quickly as possible..
Incredible to see such a full, global problem, effecting users from Europe, Asia and South America. It must be one hell of a big switch. [BBC]