Level 3 'Misconfiguration' Rippled Through Other Providers, Disrupting Internet Service

A "tiny error" by Level 3 shut down the internet in parts of the U.S., blogged Richard Bennett, network engineer citing Wired. "Monday saw a nationwide series of outages" caused by "a misconfiguration at Level 3, an internet backbone company -- and enterprise ISP -- that underpins other big networks," Wired had reported. "Network analysts say that the misconfiguration was a routing issue that created a ripple effect, causing problems for companies like Comcast, Spectrum, Verizon, Cox and RCN across the country." Level 3, now owned by CenturyLink, said in a statement: “Our network experienced a service disruption affecting some customers with IP-based services. The disruption was caused by a configuration error. We know how important these services are to our customers. Our technicians were able to restore service within approximately 90 minutes.”