Sony aiming for May 31st PSN service restoration [Updated]

@EndDream
^---Said it perfectly.

@Yellowdancer It does take a long time, but you know the Internets, people think it's fact that it takes less then a week to do anything. So incoming whines and moans.

@hami83
Not only do they have to build a new data center, but these servers will certainly be running the most current operating software and patches.

The only reason why those items would not have been updated before this was if doing so would break significant portions of the code that runs their services. This means that not only do they have to get the new servers set up with everything migrated onto them but they also have to rewrite a lot of code.

Of course, to do this they first need to test every single thing to make sure it works. Whatever is broken, they then need to figure out why followed by how to fix it. Then they have to test absolutely everything all over again -- to make sure the item was fixed but also to ensure that nothing else got broken in the process.

Plus, they're testing to ensure that this same attack can't happen again along with doing their best to find any other vulnerabilities.

As you pointed out, NONE of this can be accomplished quickly even if they are working around the clock. They also can't throw the full resources of the company at the problem because most of their people are not IT techs. You can't take a 3D modeler or a marketing rep and expect them to know an SSL from their elbow.

It's not practical to bring in lots of new people, either. They won't know the systems or the code (and believe me, code to do the same thing can be radically different depending on who programmed it). What's more, anyone they hire short term becomes a potential security risk long term. They would have to be VERY careful screening new people for this. To say nothing of the fact that you can't just bring new staff on overnight.

Those of us living in the internet age are used to everything happening overnight. Growing up, I was used to pictures taking days to get across the country and now we get upset if it takes more than 5 seconds for them to travel around the world. But the reality is that the systems that make this instant gratification culture possible are often extremely complex and take huge amounts of development time. We need to keep our expectations here realistic, and also appreciate the fact that Sony is not going to be taking ANY chances on this. They know that they could not afford another event like this. So while they don't want to keep anything down a moment longer than necessary, they are also being understandably cautious.

@aurickle I'm pretty sure that the sole reason they never updated (or even secured) their servers was because it was easier for them, network wise, to just let it be so open and not have to worry about firewall settings, connection settings and whatever which would have to be updated and maintained along with the basic soft and hardware.

Just a matter of budget cuts in the wrong places. And as someone else stated in another article, Sony's desperation to keep up with already established networks like Live but it's inexperience with software in general.

@aurickle
Quoting:' Of course, to do this they first need to test every single thing to make sure it works. Whatever is broken, they then need to figure out why followed by how to fix it. Then they have to test absolutely everything all over again -- to make sure the item was fixed but also to ensure that nothing else got broken in the process'

You really don't know SOE do you? LOL
Slap some shiz together with bailing wire and hot glue, does the server not restart itself? Ok we are good here, moving on...

@aurickle i like how you summed that up aurickle but then my question is why did they wait until now todo it makes little sense. oh save money really sony and how much money have you saved now?

@aurickle While it certainly makes sense for them to be cautious, the systems that were hacked were certainly not custom coded and from all indications were your standard internet facing software packages that Sony never bothered to update or lock down properly (I'm guessing a LAMP set up, but outside of the hackers that did it and Sony we may never know for sure). This is how they got in.

Beyond that the PSN stuff certainly is custom code, but locking down the internet facing stuff and keeping it patched would have gone a long way in reducing the chances this could or would have happened. From what the press has released they still have a security firm going through everything to see how far in these guys got and that is the biggest hold up as they do their investigation.

Personally this has affected myself and my kids as we have a PS3 in the house and everyone is ready to toss the thing out and get a 360 now (although I despise their money grabbing scheme per user/per year for most of the online stuff). The Kinect part looks pretty sweet and I play most of my games on the PC anyway.

@RTaveira8 a target gate i meant :D

@RTaveira8
There's no way they could provide a target, really. For one thing, they can't know what fixes might break something else and therefore how long it will take to pull off. On top of that, imagine if they did give a date and then something unexpected forced a delay. No matter how much they might have couched the date in terms of "hopefully" and "estimated" the internet would eat them alive if they missed it.

@aurickle
Why did they provide a Target date for PSN then? Wouldn't your same problems apply to that? You've confused me.

@Jade Effect
More like the final nail in DCUO's coffin rofl

@kunic
This is very likely. The reason the network is still down is because the credit card companies won't let them bring it up. If they remove all the payment services from PSN then they can bring back the other functions.
It's also why SOE will probably be out longer. They are based on pay-for-play service and could be held hostage by Visa/Mastercard until they can come to an agreement with Sony.

@(Unverified) Yeah, I was planning to cancel my DCUO sub the day after it went down. Sort of mad about not doing it sooner =/

@kunic

Wouldn't have mattered if you canceled. They can't delete payment histories anyway. No business can. They have to keep it for their own personal finance records for years. Everything you ever purchased online sits on a server somewhere forever.

@Yellowdancer That's not my point. I'm just hoping that when the services come back up, I'm not automatically charged another $30 sub since I wanted to cancel it.

Anyhow, smart thing to do is just contact your bank for a new credit card to replace it.