Y2K - How it really was.
I was there !
Remember the hype and problems we all had during the lead-up to "Y2K" ? All the panics, and fears about planes falling out of the sky? During 1999, I was working for an international Investment Bank in London as a Database Administrator, with special responsibility for pro-active database monitoring. The following were my experiences:
Personal Experiences
- On shift 08:00-20:00 December 31st 1999 (saw Tokyo and Singapore online),
- On shift 08:00-20:00 January 1st 2000 (post Y2K testing).
Out of 35 core systems, one reported significant problems. This consisted of five database servers and three clients. A total of 10 databases (30GB plus ) had to be rolled back to the pre-Y2K position and batches re-run. Total time lost = 2 hours to identify and roll back data, plus 9 hours to re-run the batches and verify that the problem had been resolved.
Hardly planes falling out of the sky ! So, it was appropriate to have a look at how the rest of the world had been faring....
Trade Magazine Reports
Pyongchon, South Korea: heat goes out in an apartment block for 900 families.
Ishikawa, Japan: nuclear power system monitoring radiation leaks fails.
Tokyo, Japan: brokerages report glitches in record-keeping systems.
Upsalla, Sweden: electrocardiograph machines stop working.
Copenhagan, Denmark: glitch in Unidanmark bank’s payment and information system.
Washington, USA: ground system processing satellite data fails.
(Various Sites) UK : small businesses hit by failure of Racal-HSBC credit card terminals.
Source for all the above: Computer Weekly, 6 January 2000
Aberdeen, Scotland: PC failure in weather centre
Portsmouth, UK, Tide guage failed in Portsmouth Harbour
USA: Seven US Nuclear power stations experienced problems.
Turkey: Six companies told their stock exchange they had suffered bug-related problems, causing their shares to be suspended.
Italy: Prison records gave incorrect birth, trial and release dates.
USA: a New York man was charged $91,000 for returning a video a century late.
Source for all the above: Computing, 6 January 2000