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Ok here's a new one: did you know that cows can cause network outages? Don't laugh, it happened to us.
The beginning of the story: recently, we noticed frequent short outages ("flaps") on a multi-terabit fiber path through Oregon. 1/
The beginning of the story: recently, we noticed frequent short outages ("flaps") on a multi-terabit fiber path through Oregon. 1/
This link is an aerial fiber link (fiber is strung along the path of a high-voltage power line). Such links have lower reliability because storms, trees, ice, and the occasional hunter can damage them. 2/
But this time we found something new: the fiber line had fallen to the ground yet continued to work just fine. But recently a farmer had started grazing a herd of cows nearby. And whenever they stepped on the fiber link, they bent it enough to cause a blip. 3/
Don't believe me? Here's a picture capturing the situation: the power line, the fiber on the ground, and a cow in the background.
You heard it here first
You heard it here first
