Microsoft's Azure service crippled due to Red Sea cable cuts
What's the story
Microsoft has warned its Azure users of possible service disruptions due to multiple undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea. The tech giant said that this could lead to increased latency, especially for traffic originating or terminating in Asia and Europe. "Undersea fiber cuts can take time to repair; as such, we will continuously monitor, rebalance, and optimize routing," Microsoft said in a status update.
Connectivity impact
Red Sea's significance for global internet connectivity
The Red Sea is a major route for global internet connectivity, with many subsea cables running through its shallow waters. These cables carry about 17% of the world's internet traffic, linking Europe and Asia. The recent cuts have hit several major cables, including SEACOM/TGN-EA, AAE-1, and EIG. This has disrupted a large chunk of the data flow between continents.
Mitigation efforts
Azure reroutes traffic, resulting in higher latency
In light of the disruption, Azure, the world's second-largest cloud provider after Amazon's AWS, has rerouted traffic via alternate network paths. However, this rerouting has resulted in higher-than-normal latency. "We do expect higher latency on some traffic that previously traversed through the Middle East," Microsoft said in its service health status update for Azure service.
Investigation ongoing
Investigating cause of cable damage
The exact cause of the latest cable damage is still being investigated. However, earlier incidents in the Red Sea have been linked to anchors from commercial vessels or even deliberate acts. The ongoing geopolitical instability in the region has raised concerns about possible targeted attacks on critical infrastructure.