Then what do you think it will cost to run all these servers if they have to back them up from another location?
It's Activision, not some cheep-ass, no-name, mom & pop operation. Activision. You know, the guys people are complaining about for adopting a pay-as-you-go, or pay-to-level-up revenue model. I think we might expect a backup data center from these guys given the sheer volume of traffic they generate on a daily basis, not to mention as a good way to balance the load during non-emergency times. IMHO.
Agree dj. It is unconscionable that they wouldn't have a mirrored platform elsewhere, or a plan to immediately switch to an alternate location in case the building housing their servers burned down. Pathetic!!! All the authentication server does is receive a packet, authenticate the user from a database, and respond. You could run that function off a typical desktop. How many people worldwide are playing COD5 any given moment?