14 November 2013, 3:10
The Australian Synchrotron has experienced a rare but significant machine shut down, as a result of a failing in our core network infrastructure. The failing occurred in a component for which replacement plans had been made in our January shutdown. The replacement was already delivered and awaiting configuration during a longer shutdown period to minimise the impact on our users.
Due to unreliability of the current system, we will now accelerate the configuration of the new hardware.
It’s anticipated that the first step this will be done during the User Meeting, with minimal disruption to user services.
We offer sincere apologies for any disruption to experiments, and thank you for your patience with this process.
This incident highlights the importance of information as a deliverable in its own right (as well as conducting experiments) to the Australian Synchrotron and its users. Fortunately, in this instance, the interruption has been limited (so far) to less than a single day, thanks largely to the outstanding efforts from the Australian Synchrotron staff, and ANSTO IT team.
Prof Andrew Peele
Interim Director