A Tiscali domain name server (DNS) caused the 46664.com site, which will stream this weekend`s 46664 HIV/AIDS benefit concert to users around the world, to go down today.
Natalie Thayer, Tiscali SA head of sales and distribution, says with the number of hits increasing dramatically today, it initially appeared that traffic to the site was the problem
"Because each Tiscali branch around the world has partnered with local companies for greater distribution to stream the concert to a wider audience, the site has experienced high volumes of traffic," she says.
However, Claus Ludemann, a technical expert from Tiscali`s head office in Italy, says a faulty DNS server and not traffic was the problem for the site going down.
"Because the DNS server has been re-routing traffic to the wrong IP address, users cannot access www.46664.com. It is still functional and can be accessed through http://46664.tiscali.com/," he says.
Thayer says the original site will be restored as soon as possible.
The concert will be broadcast from the Green Point Stadium to Tiscali`s servers in Italy where it will be re-routed via Tiscali`s Content Delivery Network (CDN) to UK company Mediawave. From there it will be streamed via Mediawave`s CDN to North and South America, Japan and Hong Kong.
"Tiscali will also stream the concert through to its offices in 14 European countries and SA. Users from those countries can either watch the concert from their local Tiscali sites or log on to 46664.com, which will then redirect them based on their IP address," she says.
Users in the rest of the world will have to use Real player to watch the concert, while tiscali.co.za will use Windows Media player to screen the concert.
The event, which is being run in association with MTV`s Staying Alive, will include international artists Anastacia, Annie Lennox, Baaba Maal, Beyonc`e, Bono, Dave Stewart, Jimmy Cliff, Johnny Clegg, Ms Dynamite, Queen, Paul Oakenfold featuring Shifty Shell Shock and TC, Peter Gabriel, The Corrs and Zucchero.
Local artists include Watershed, Ladysmith Black Mombaza, Youssou N`Dor, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Bongo Maffin, Danny K, Zola and Ready D.
SABC will air the special on a two-hour time delay at 9pm locally tomorrow. Internationally, the European Broadcasting Union will distribute it to 52 countries, and the Asian Broadcasting Union will distribute it to 28 countries. BBC World Service will air the concert as a special radio broadcast in 13 languages to a potential audience of 152 million people across 37 countries. MTV will air "46664: The Concert" as a 90-minute special globally on World AIDS Day on 1 December.
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