The first version of IBM’s flagship DS8000 storage array, shipping since March, contains a bug that automatically shuts down the entire system without warning every 49 days, users in Europe and North America report.

IBM informed iT Austria of the problem on May 27 and by May 30 the firm had received microcode revision 6.0.0.388 to fix the problem. Unfortunately the repair was a disruptive upgrade. Another outage, this time for 22 hours, occurred when iT Austria needed to add a second frame to the DS8000 to expand its capacity. Several microcode versions later iT Austria is crossing its fingers that the system stays up and running.

As a storage professional, my only response to IBM is Oh. My. God.