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Amazon was shut down for three hours due to an error! A man (whom we’ll call Ken) was hired by Amazon more than 20 years ago as a systems administrator, who is responsible for overseeing, managing, and maintaining the servers and systems that make an organization like Amazon function properly. The issue? The operating system that Amazon uses, Linux, was unfamiliar to Ken. However, he was hired in spite of his lack of qualifications!
Another system that Ken was familiar with was called Solaris, and it operated in a different way. Nevertheless, he put a lot of effort into his studies, picked things up fast, and eventually gained enough confidence to take on a crucial task: updating the software that controlled backup copies of crucial data kept in case something went wrong or was inadvertently lost. Let’s see how this tale unfolded and how the misspelling affected Amazon.
Everything seemed fine At first
Ken meticulously planned the change for months. He produced new configuration files, which function similarly to comprehensive instruction manuals and instruct a computer on how to properly operate specific programs. On the big day, he and his team released the update after conducting tests and double-checking everything. They spent hours at work keeping a tight eye on everything, and everything appeared to be operating flawlessly.
They gave each other a pat on the back and headed home feeling happy and confident that they had done a fantastic job, but
At 7 in the evening
Ken’s pager went off out of the blue and wouldn’t go off. There had been a significant incident: nobody could access the full Amazon.com website. This was very important. To determine what had gone wrong, even Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon at the time, joined the emergency call. The pressure was high and the situation was urgent.
What had gone wrong?
Ken found that the primary database, which houses all of the crucial data, including orders, customer information, and product listings, had malfunctioned. It was because the software ran out of space, not because of a defect. Why? Ken’s setup files contained a misspelling, so you can only imagine how concerned he was.
In order to free up space, the backup system was designed to copy log files—files that record every activity the system takes—to a tape drive and then erase the originals. However, the logs were never erased after they were saved because of a minor typing error. They accumulated gradually until the database crashed and the storage was full.
How did they fix the typo issue?
Ken and a database specialist manually removed each of the additional files one at a time. After sufficient space was released, the database resumed its functionality, and Amazon.com went back online. Ken spent the whole night wondering that he might lose his job the next day, even though he had fixed the misspelling in the configuration file.
Was he fired?
When he got to work the following morning, his manager was waiting outside the spot where Ken typically parked. Ken naturally believed he was going to be fired and in big trouble. However, his manager abruptly grinned, shook Ken’s hand, and said, “Congratulations! You’re no longer a virgin!” after a prolonged period of silence. a lighthearted way of stating that he had now formally committed his first significant error at work.
Although Ken was made fun of by everyone in the company, he managed to keep his job and gained important insight: Even intelligent, hardworking people make mistakes. How you resolve them and the lessons you gain are what count. Additionally, always check your work one last time before publishing! Have you ever erred and ended up in serious trouble?
