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Symantec.cloud portal limps back online after day-long TITSUP

Yup, it's another Total Inability To Support Usual Performance moment

Symantec.cloud’s portal is back online following a day-long outage. However, sysadmins report a continuing inability to perform basic functions such as adding new email accounts for new starters at the corporate firms they manage.

Problems with the system followed a database crash on Monday morning that dragged on until lunchtime on Tuesday, as previously reported.

The glitch affected access to the portal and therefore affected customers’ ability to manage enterprise-wide email filtering systems that relied on Symantec.cloud (formerly MessageLabs). El Reg understands that the message filtering service offered by Symantec.cloud (formerly MessageLabs) nonetheless operated as normal.

Reg reader Phil described the issue as a “massive annoyance” rather than a show-stopper.

“From my point of view it meant I had no configuration or monitoring ability for the Symantec/MessageLabs mail filtering we use prior to mail reaching us,” he explained. “This caused me two problems. Firstly I can't set up new starters, so they can't receive external emails, since Symantec don't see them as a valid user. Secondly, I can't use the trace facility to see what happened to my emails going through them.

“In this age of spam flagging, enforced tls etc, I get a lot of queries as to why emails haven't arrived,” continued Phil. “While I can check my own mail server, it's only half the picture.”

Symantec brought its client portal back online by Tuesday morning but it still had to repopulate these databases, sparking further delays.

"Without this you cannot register/remove email addresses or perform any changes," Jon, another victim of the outage, commented. "Apparently the $6bn company only has one copy of their portal database."

In response to queries from El Reg, Symantec offered a brief statement admitting problems with its portal but stressing that these didn't pose a security risk.

The management portal for Email and WebSecurity.Cloud has experienced a temporary disruption that impacts a customer’s ability to complete administrative tasks. This is not a security issue, all customers remain protected. We are working to restore the portal as quickly as possible.

Phil forwarded us system screenshots on Wednesday warning sysadmins that they may still experience delays of up to 48 hours in adding new starters or making configuration changes via Symantec.cloud’s ClientNet Portal. ®

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