There is a possibility of disruption to the Internet and voice traffic later today. Simwood is unaffected by this directly but we want to let customers know.
As you know, there are many data centres in New York and the area has been suffering a power outage since yesterday, with a sub-station in the area being badly damaged by the storm. Data centres routinely run on diesel generators during such periods but have finite fuel. We are told that fuel deliveries are unable to enter Lower Manhattan presently and fuel supplies are running low. Different data centres will have different fuel levels and some may get deliveries. However, in the event of fuel levels getting critical the only option will be a controlled shutdown until the power can be restored or fuel replenished.
As New York is a critical centre for global Internet traffic, if this happens certain services (and providers) will be off-line and there may be disruption to routing.
To repeat, Simwood is unaffected directly by this as our network and equipment is entirely UK based. However, we will be actively monitoring voice routes and taking appropriate action should any of our onward operators be affected.
