Postmortem: The Great “.phpp” Debacle

Photo by tommao wang on Unsplash

Issue Summary

• Duration of the Outage: November 9, 2023, 14:00–16:30 (UTC)
• Impact: Our website experienced a significant outage, resulting in a 500 server error. Users were unable to access our services during this time, affecting approximately 30% of our user base.

Root Cause

The root cause of the issue was a simple yet bizarre file extension typo. A critical web page was mistakenly referencing a file with a “.phpp” extension instead of the correct “.php”.

Timeline

• 14:00 (UTC): The issue was detected when users began reporting a 500 server error when trying to access our website.
• 14:15 (UTC): Our vigilant engineers received customer complaints and noticed a spike in error rates. Panic mode engaged!.
• 14:30 (UTC): Initial investigations assumed the issue could be database-related due to the sudden spike in errors.
• 14:45 (UTC): Misled by the assumption, the database team was summoned for emergency consultation.
• 15:00 (UTC): Database team analyzed the database performance, only to find everything in order. The culprit remained elusive.
• 15:15 (UTC): Desperation led to an escalation to the senior sysadmin team.
• 15:30 (UTC): A hunch led one engineer to inspect the trace log created with strace. It revealed the page was trying to load a mysterious ".phpp" file.
• 15:45 (UTC): The engineer swiftly corrected the file extension typo from “.phpp” to “.php”.
• 16:00 (UTC): The website was back up and running, joyfully serving users with a delightful “200 OK”.

Root Cause and Resolution

The root cause of this calamity was an unintentional “.phpp” extension in one of our web pages. It turned a seemingly innocent “.php” into an error-inducing monstrosity.

The issue was resolved by changing the erroneous “.phpp” extension to the correct “.php”. No servers were harmed in the process.

Corrective and Preventative Measures

To prevent such an adventure from recurring, here’s the plan:

1. File Extension Checks: Implement automated checks for file extensions on critical web pages during the deployment process.
2. Validation Testing: Incorporate regular validation testing of web pages to catch anomalies like “.phpp”.
3. Educate the Team: Conduct a workshop on the importance of caffeinated beverages for alert engineers.
4. Improved Monitoring: Enhance monitoring systems to provide early detection of unusual error spikes.

Photo by Stan B on Unsplash

In conclusion, we learned that even the most harrowing of server outages can have surprisingly mundane origins. The “.phpp” saga serves as a quirky reminder that, in the world of technology, the devil is truly in the details.

Stay vigilant, and may your file extensions be ever correct!

P.S. In related news, we’re launching an “Adopt-a-Server” program to ensure no server feels unloved during downtime. Servers need love too! 🤖💚