Server merge: how long will it take Yandex to restore the data center
It may take several months to fully restore the infrastructure of Yandex data centers affected by UAV attacks. Such dates were mentioned by industry experts in an interview with Izvestia. The duration of the repair will depend on the extent of damage to the server hardware and engineering systems. At the same time, many services that users have complained about are already returning to work. Experts do not expect a Runet systemic crisis: redistributing the load and using the capacities of other providers help minimize the consequences. At the same time, the current situation is a reason to think about strengthening data center protection, experts say.
When are the consequences of attacks on data centers localized?
It may take from several weeks to several months to fully restore the damaged UAVs of Yandex data centers as a result of attacks, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. The timing depends on the scale of the damage, said Igor Bederov, founder of the Internet Search company.
— The Vladimir data center, which was attacked on October 11, is designed for 2,880 server racks. This is one of the company's largest sites. If only the power supply and cooling systems are damaged, it will take weeks to recover. If the server modules are affected, we can talk about months," he said.
The Vladimir site houses computing power used for Yandex's internal development and Alice's work, said Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. According to his estimates, the cost of individual supercomputers can reach 4.5 billion. If such equipment is seriously damaged, its replacement and restoration of computing power may take one and a half to two years, the expert believes.
Meanwhile, the Yandex press service informed Izvestia that the services are gradually returning to work after a failure.
"Access to Alice, Search, Yandex. Maps, Taxi, Mail and other services is being restored, but some of their functions remain unavailable," the company noted. — Engineers primarily restore the services that are used by the most people, and continue to work so that all services become fully available in all regions as soon as possible.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Finance.
Earlier, the attacks affected facilities in Sasovo and Kaluga, said Sofia Komissarova, senior analyst at the Center for Strategic Support of Domestic Technologies. Failures were observed in Yandex Go, Yandex Pay, Music, Kinopoisk, as well as in external clients, she noted.
In the Ryazan and Kaluga regions, according to experts, the equipment that ensures the operation of Yandex customers' resources was damaged, among other things. The total damage could amount to about 15 billion, Eldar Murtazin did not rule out. At the same time, the purchase and delivery of new equipment by parallel import or on order takes about two months on average, the analyst noted.
Who was affected by the failures
Yandex, along with Sberbank and VK, is one of the three technological "whales" that ensure the development of digital platforms, B2B and B2C services in our economy, said Alkhas Mirzabekov, CEO of the operator of JSC YESK.
"Success in the race with advanced countries largely depends on them," the expert believes. — Their services, experience, research and teams ensure import substitution in high-tech industries, support traditional industries and create new global trends.
In particular, many companies use Yandex Business to promote products and services. For private users, disruptions can lead to problems with ordering a taxi, delivery, e-mail, shopping on marketplaces, Alice's work and ticket purchase, the expert listed.
On October 11, users from Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities reported outages in various services. In particular, Dodo Pizza was faced with the temporary unavailability of the website and application due to a large-scale failure of the cloud provider, said the chairman of the company. The problems were also reported by the M network.Video". Lamoda faced technical difficulties: customers received notifications about the inability to issue orders.
Magnit told Izvestia that due to a malfunction, the network's mobile application may be unavailable to some users. The DDX Fitness network of fitness clubs experienced temporary interruptions in the operation of the mobile application, website and hotline. The Timepad event management service reported that its website was unavailable. The Cyana website and application were unstable.
How to make up for the lack of data center infrastructure
In the short term, a systemic crisis of the Runet is unlikely, experts interviewed by Izvestia note. The infrastructure of major players is being backed up, and Yandex has already deployed load-shifting mechanisms. Moreover, the company promptly agreed with other market players to transfer customer data to their facilities, Igor Bederov noted.
— This is a rare example of civilized cooperation in a crisis. Redundancy at the software level allows you to withstand the loss of one availability zone," he stressed.
The company has concluded agreements on accelerated deployment of data and services of customers affected by attacks on data centers, and additional teams of specialists have been allocated for migration, Igor Bederov said.
There will be no systemic crisis for the Runet, since Yandex has already launched a load-sharing mechanism through partners, and the cloud architecture initially assumes redundancy at the software level, Sofia Komissarova agrees.
Information about how the data center is protected from UAV attacks today has not been disclosed. But these funds are available and will be used. According to Igor Bederov, in modern conditions it is advisable to create a complex multi-level system, rather than talking about a single "miracle remedy".
Along with the protection of the sites themselves, the expert noted, the geographical distribution of computing power, data redundancy and the ability to quickly transfer services to alternative infrastructure are of particular importance.
It remains to be recalled that in response to terrorist attacks on Russian territory, the Russian Armed Forces also strike at data centers in Ukraine, and their consequences for the enemy are much more serious. In September 2026, the data centers Datagroup, Cosmonova and a number of others were liquidated. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, most of these facilities were used to collect, process and store intelligence information in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to experts, attempts by the enemy to attack facilities in Russia will only lead to increased retaliatory strikes against Ukraine's critical infrastructure.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
