Apple's massive software launch yesterday to debut iOS 5 and iCloud resulted in a number of issues for some users, with iOS installation errors being a primary source of frustration as Apple's servers were overwhelmed by demand for the new operating system.
In fact, as Cult of Mac and The Next Web summarize, traffic to Apple was so high that broader Internet infrastructure was even experiencing difficulties under the load. In particular, one Internet exchange point in London saw its traffic jump by 50% as iOS 5 became available.
The traffic at the LONAP (LONAP is a London Neutral Internet Exchange Point where Internet and content providers exchange traffic) increased from a normal peak of around 18Gb/s to around 28Gb/s.
LONAP's Andy Davidson tells MacRumors that the iOS 5 traffic was unprecedented for a software upgrade.
The traffic was around twice what we would see on a typical Wednesday evening. There was as much traffic as we would see for a major sporting event (such as England playing in the World or European cups). Such volumes have never been seen before for a software upgrade.
The iCloud portion of yesterday's launch has also seen some hiccups, with a number of users reporting difficulties getting the service up and running and/or converting from MobileMe to iCloud. Apple issued a status update yesterday evening indicating that it was limiting the rate of conversions in the face of high demand, encouraging customers experiencing difficulties to try again at a later time.
Due to high demand, we are temporarily limiting the number of users moving from MobileMe to iCloud. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience.
And while many of the high traffic issues have settled down by today, users are now reporting that iCloud mail is down for the moment, although Apple has yet to issue a status update addressing the situation.
Brief downtime and minor issues are not particularly surprising given the popularity of Apple's services and the crush of demand at rollout, but customers who remember the difficult rollout of MobileMe several years ago are undoubtedly hoping that Apple can iron out the wrinkles more quickly this time around.
Update: Apple has issued a status update acknowledging the problems with iCloud mail.
Some users are experiencing intermittent authentication errors when trying to use mail. Normal service will be restored ASAP. We apologize for any inconvenience.
