Server Upgrades/Site Outages

[modelbob]

We're going to be migrating the site to a new server within a week or two. I'll post more info as it gets closer, but the short version is that there WILL be some site outages, and it's likely that some features will break during the transition. For example, during the last move the photo gallery was offline for a couple of days before we could get it modified to suit the new system.

Please don't panic if you visit and find the site isn't available, or you find something isn't working properly. We'll be working overtime to get things back up and running smoothly

[jbaakko]

Guess I'll have to hide out on other forums if its down. Good luck on this move Bob!

[Steve B]

Dito, i know a man who good at fixing things;)

[sushob]

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of upgrades are we getting? I thought I remembered reading that this is actually hosted on somebody's personal server, rather than a hosting company environment, so that must mean some new hardware/toys :D

[modelbob]

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of upgrades are we getting? I thought I remembered reading that this is actually hosted on somebody's personal server, rather than a hosting company environment, so that must mean some new hardware/toys :D

No, it's not hosted on my personal server, at least not if you mean one at my office. It is hosted on a dedicated server, as in my sites are the only ones hosted on it. The server is hosted at Peer1 in a state of the art network center with 24/7/365 staff onsite monitoring the systems and stuff like diesel generators for emergency power and two seperate backbone connections for redundant internet connections. In that last 5 years of hosting I think I've had one instance of unscheduled outages, and very few scheduled ones, though we do occasionally have to go offline for a short time for things like O/S upgrades and security patches.

We'll be getting a new server, with dual Xeon processors, more ram and HD, additional bandwidth etc, etc. It comes with a higher monthly fee too, so keep clicking those banner ads when you see one that interests you.

[modelbob]

We'll be offline sometime today for some upgrades to the forum software. Should only be an hour or so to do the upgrades, then back as usual.

[sushob]

No, it's not hosted on my personal server, at least not if you mean one at my office. It is hosted on a dedicated server, as in my sites are the only ones hosted on it. The server is hosted at Peer1 in a state of the art network center with 24/7/365 staff onsite monitoring the systems and stuff like diesel generators for emergency power and two seperate backbone connections for redundant internet connections. In that last 5 years of hosting I think I've had one instance of unscheduled outages, and very few scheduled ones, though we do occasionally have to go offline for a short time for things like O/S upgrades and security patches.

We'll be getting a new server, with dual Xeon processors, more ram and HD, additional bandwidth etc, etc. It comes with a higher monthly fee too, so keep clicking those banner ads when you see one that interests you.
Would that be the plan with a TB (!) of transfer?

I've considered switching to something like a VP setup, but I still have over a year left on my shared account. My host was great when I started, went through a period of disappointing slowness and unreliability, but seems to be on the upswing again (after some major hardware upgrades). I supposedly have 50GB of disk and 999GB of transfer (more than I'll probably ever need), but they're coming dangerously close to cramming too many accounts per server.

As for the banner ads, let me know when you figure it out. I noticed you've been moving some things around up there ;)

[modelbob]

Would that be the plan with a TB (!) of transfer?


Yes, that's the one. We're currently using about 1/2 TB per month when you combine all my domains. That's a lot of bandwidth, but when you typically have 100 members on at once on a couple of the sites, it adds up quite fast.


As for the banner ads, let me know when you figure it out. I noticed you've been moving some things around up there ;)

The forum is back to the factory default setting for the moment, it will stay that way until we migrate to the new server.

[modelbob]

You may notice a couple new features/options. We're now running VB version 3.62

[sushob]

You may notice a couple new features/options. We're now running VB version 3.62

I like the multi-quote feature! :)

BTW, very slick upgrade. Thanks Bob!

[jbaakko]

Nice work Bob! I thinks I got you beat, I get 500gb PER domain on my server, and if one goes over but the rest don't it transfers...

[NZRMac]

I thought I'd lost my fav button, search I think it was called? Now I see it's called new posts!! Crikey I nearly panicked.

Thanks Bob looks great.

Ken.

[modelbob]

Nice work Bob! I thinks I got you beat, I get 500gb PER domain on my server, and if one goes over but the rest don't it transfers...

Cool, who are you using?

[modelbob]

Some of you may have gotten 404 errors last night while attempting to visit the site, that was due to DNS changes.

[jbaakko]

Cool, who are you using?

1 and 1. I doubt you can get anything near what I got though, I got lucky, when they opened for business in the US, they had a special, get a Premier Package Preview free for 3 years, then $29.95 every quarter after that. I get 6 domains included, and additional beyond the 6 don't cost extra, UNLESS they require more then 500gb transfer. MRtips was #6 *sigh*. I got 300 mailboxes, unlimited email addresses 30 MYSQL databases, and domains at $5.99 a year, the cheepest I've found on the net (besides one charging $2.99 but it required you to place an ad on your site.).

http://www.1and1.com

I use shared hosting, I'm sure you'd want dedicated. I've contemplated moving MRTips to a dedicated server.

P.S. No 404's just page connection timed out.

[sushob]

1 and 1. I doubt you can get anything near what I got though...

I don't know about that, at least as far as shared hosting goes ;)

http://www.bluehost.com/tell_me_more.html

Not quite as much space as with 1&1, but Bluehost has great support. They did have some significant outage issues over the summer, but they've done some major hardware upgrades, and are on the upswing again. I purchased my SSL (and dedicated IP of course) through them as well. Lots of freedom as far as CGI scripts go.

[modelbob]

Well I got railroaddata.com, railroadphotoessays.com, steampreservation.com and steamrailroadphotos.com moved today. This place is probably next on the switch list, so don't be surprised if there's a bit of downtime on saturday.

[Steve B]

Bob, there used to be an "Active topics" button next to "New posts" will this be coming back once everythings changed over

[modelbob]

Bob, there used to be an "Active topics" button next to "New posts" will this be coming back once everythings changed over

Yes, I will probably put that back. Meanwhile, see the pull down menu which says "quick links"? Pull it down and select "today's posts", you'll get the same info.

[modelbob]

PS - Note the little arrow after his name in the quote? That's a new feature. Click on it, and you'll be taken to the orginal post. Not real exciting here but it in a long and active thread where the original is back a page or two it can be handy.

[Steve B]

Ah Ha, thanks Bob

[modelbob]

Welcome to our new server!

We've completed the migration and the forum is back online.

For most folks the forum should have been offline for only a couple hours, maybe less. Exactly how long depends on your local DNS server and how often it updates...

[sushob]

For most folks the forum should have been offline for only a couple hours, maybe less. Exactly how long depends on your local DNS server and how often it updates...

It was only down for about 2 hours for me. Another smooth transition!

It seems to me we've gone through at least 2 server upgrades since I joined two years ago. Hard to believe how much this place has grown!

[sushob]

Hehehe...I just noticed that 'infraction' shows up on my profile now...I have a record :eek: ;)

[modelbob]

It was only down for about 2 hours for me. Another smooth transition!

It seems to me we've gone through at least 2 server upgrades since I joined two years ago. Hard to believe how much this place has grown!

Yes, the downtime on your end should have been a couple of hours, no more. I get everything ready, get the forum up and running, then close down the old one, copy the database over, and install it on the new one. Then I go to networksolutions and switch the domains.

Yes, we upgrade about once a year. The growth of the forum and the improvements in servers both are reasons we upgrade. On the other hand, I've got about 48 hours into this on my end, with minimal sleep, and I'm only halfway there.

[modelbob]

Due to popular demand, the active topics button is back.

[leghome]

That arrow is a very neat option.

[modelbob]

The arrow is kind of cool, especially in topics like the coffee shop where it has a lot of pages.

That's why I continue to run Vbulletin, they are always improving and updating it, and adding neat new features. I feel it's the best discussion forum available. It's not free, but it's well worth the reasonable cost they charge.

Along with being a great program, they also have top notch tech support as well as a community of members who are happy to help you.