Skype isn’t a network like a conventional phone or IM network – instead, it relies on millions of individual connections between computers and phones to keep things up and running. Some of these computers are what skype call ‘super-nodes’ – they act a bit like phone directories for Skype. If you want to talk to someone, and your Skype app can’t find them immediately (for example, because they’re connecting from a different location or from a different device) your computer or phone will first try to find a super-node to figure out how to reach them.
Under normal circumstances, there are a large number of super-nodes available. Unfortunately, today, many of them were taken offline by a problem affecting some versions of Skype. As Skype relies on being able to maintain contact with super-nodes, it may appear offline for some of you.
What skype officials doing to help? Their engineers are creating new ‘mega-supernodes’ as fast as they can, which should gradually return things to normal. This may take a few hours, and skype sincerely apologies for the disruption to your conversations. Some features, like group video calling, may take longer to return to normal.
Enterprise products including Skype Connect and Skype Manager continue to function normally.
Customers using the enterprise version of Skype for Windows may still experience delays signing in.