Amazon has reported that three of its data centers in the Middle East suffered damage due to drone strikes linked to the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict. According to an update on its AWS cloud service dashboard, two facilities located in the United Arab Emirates were directly hit, while a third facility in Bahrain experienced damage from a nearby drone strike. The company noted that these attacks led to significant structural damage and disrupted power delivery to its infrastructure, necessitating fire suppression activities that resulted in additional water damage.
In light of the situation, Amazon emphasized its commitment to working closely with local authorities to ensure the safety of its personnel as recovery efforts began. The strikes disrupted several key AWS services, including EC2, S3 storage, and the DynamoDB database.
The uncertainty stemming from the ongoing regional conflict has raised concerns about the broader operational environment. Amazon advised customers with workloads in the Middle East to back up their data and consider migrating to alternate AWS regions, anticipating a prolonged recovery period due to the extent of the physical damage.
As of a recent update, Amazon mentioned it has made “incremental progress” in restoring the DynamoDB and S3 control planes, which are crucial for its cloud operations, but estimated that full recovery could take at least another day.
The disruptions occurred amidst escalating tensions, with Iran responding to U.S. military activity in the region by launching missiles at various targets. Reports indicated that Amazon’s e-commerce business temporarily halted deliveries in Abu Dhabi as a result of the turmoil.
Further insights from an internal document indicated that staff were evacuated, and access was restricted to at least one affected data center due to significant structural damage and flooding caused by the strikes. Notably, one site experienced a “direct impact” that led to major structural damage and flooding, with water levels initially reaching three to four centimeters before subsiding.
The damage resulted in the offline status of 14 EC2 cloud server racks and five additional production racks, while impairments to cooling systems were reported due to power outages and mechanical failures. Monitoring equipment within the facility indicated that conditions were being closely observed through thirty surveillance cameras.
One of the affected data centers, DXB62, is believed to be located in Dubai, an area well known for its major airport. Another facility, DXB61, was shut down after experiencing “indirect impact,” which included a small fire that was extinguished, leading to restricted access pending government approval. A third site, DXB60, faced a localized WiFi outage but appeared to be less severely impacted.
