Computer problems bring all NC DMV driver’s license offices to a standstill
The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles resumed business at its driver’s license offices late Thursday afternoon, after problems with the state’s mainframe computers prompted it to suspend operations earlier in the day.
After dealing with sporadic connections to the mainframe computer since Wednesday, the DMV decided to stop processing transactions at all 112 driver’s license offices until the problems were fixed. The DMV said it was back online by about 3:15 p.m.
The mainframe computers are maintained by the N.C. Department of Information Technology. NCDIT learned Wednesday afternoon that some DMV programs were having trouble connecting to one of its servers, according to spokeswoman Nicole Meister.
“Similar to what someone experiences on their home computer when they receive a message that a website cannot connect to the server,” Meister wrote in an email.
NCDIT determined Thursday morning that the connection issues were related and, along with its vendors, began looking for the cause. They found a malfunctioning network switch and were able to re-establish connections by late Thursday afternoon, Meister said.
“This is not expected to be a recurring problem,” she wrote. “These things happen occasionally and can be related to a number of things such as hardware and software problems.”
The connection issues also affected the DMV’s online services and self-service kiosks, as well as license plate agencies, which are run by private contractors.
Doors at the DMV offices remained open Thursday and customers were free to wait, said spokesman Marty Homan.
