A network failure last month that knocked offline millions of websites and social media apps also affected students and teachers here at JHop.
It was determined that a software error in the Domain Name System (DNS) for Dynamo B – a part of Amazon Web Services’ system – caused an outage Oct. 20 that left a third of the internet to be inoperable.
The DNS acts like a map and helps AWS locate the app data. The error made it to where the Amazon Web Service couldn’t find where the app was, meaning it couldn’t transfer the app’s data to any devices, according to BBC News.
Canvas – an online instruction program that is relied on by many classes at JHop – uses Amazon Web Services. The outage led to students unable to do their assignments as well as teachers’ lesson plans getting disrupted and having trouble grading their students’ work.
Additionally, the PSAT – a practice test for the SAT – had to be canceled and rescheduled for the following week.
The rescheduled PSAT overlapped with the production of the JHop Morning Show resulting in replacements to continue that week’s show.
Art teacher Ms. Hasbrouck said the outage did not disrupt her teaching but did prevent students from turning in their work. Hasbrouck commented on how the Canvas outage affected her class. She said that some students were upset about that.
Fortunately, Canvas was brought back online at around 7p.m. on Monday after being offline for more than 12 hours. However, the developer said that additional delays may occur.
