the.golden.ax Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 It was two days in a row if anyone is keeping tabs on this. On the 24th it wouldn't let me leave feedback in the forum after 5 tries... then most of the night wouldn't load on any computer. The the 25th it wouldn't load at all, all night, nearly 10 - 12 hours. Al, you need to get some credit for the down time. AX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuppicide Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 He won't get credit for downtime if he OWNS the server and it was hardware failure I don't think. If it's on their end for sure he should get credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 26, 2009 Author Share Posted June 26, 2009 I do not own the server, it is a dedicated, leased server. I do pay a good chunk of change every month (several hundred dollars) and have been doing so for eight years now. I was a bit disappointed (to say the least) that the box crashed again this morning. I wasn't around, and their monitoring system automatically opened up a trouble ticket and they rebooted it. Going to call them in a bit and get another server so I can start setting it up, which will probably take me a good solid 24 hours to do. Then I can point the domain to the new box. Depending on how generous they are, hopefully I will not have to pay any setup charges or overlap for having two active servers for one month. Not very happy at the prospect of basically getting doubled billed for a month when this appears to be a server-related issue and not something I've done to the box. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yuppicide Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 What exactly is involved in setting up a server? I've never rented a dedicated server or even rented a server with others on it. All my websites have been on the types of servers where they load a buttload of people on them. Is it kind of like installing Windows or Linux? Need to install other stuff like Apache too? What type of stuff need to be configured? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I do not own the server, it is a dedicated, leased server. I do pay a good chunk of change every month (several hundred dollars) and have been doing so for eight years now. I was a bit disappointed (to say the least) that the box crashed again this morning. I wasn't around, and their monitoring system automatically opened up a trouble ticket and they rebooted it. Going to call them in a bit and get another server so I can start setting it up, which will probably take me a good solid 24 hours to do. Then I can point the domain to the new box. Depending on how generous they are, hopefully I will not have to pay any setup charges or overlap for having two active servers for one month. Not very happy at the prospect of basically getting doubled billed for a month when this appears to be a server-related issue and not something I've done to the box. Given the assorted issues over the past few years, maybe you should consider switching server hosts altogether? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Given the assorted issues over the past few years, maybe you should consider switching server hosts altogether? Really the only issue was last year with the explosion. Other than that it's been relatively trouble-free. AtariAge has seen very little downtime overall. The issue I'm experiencing with the server now could happen anywhere. So far The Planet has spent a lot of time troubleshooting the issue. I'll get another server there and move everything over, which makes things easier since they are on the same network and I can copy everything relatively quickly. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 What exactly is involved in setting up a server? I've never rented a dedicated server or even rented a server with others on it. All my websites have been on the types of servers where they load a buttload of people on them. Is it kind of like installing Windows or Linux? Need to install other stuff like Apache too? What type of stuff need to be configured? The server is running Linux. The base software (such as PHP, Apache, MySQL, etc.) is already installed on the server, but it's still a hell of a lot of work getting a new box configured the way you want it, especially if you're moving an existing site. The boxes aren't secured very well when you lease them, so you need to spend time doing that. Then you need to upgrade lots of software (Apache, PHP, MySQL, etc.), install various software that isn't installed by default, and migrate sites to the new server. In the case of AtariAge, this is a fairly complex site with thousands of pages. The forum and store are unique pieces of software each of which have their own requirements. Getting everything running exactly the same on a new server is a time consuming process. When you're confident everything is working, you need to point the domain to the new server, and even that isn't a simple process because of the forums and store. You basically need to take the forum/store offline on the old server, backup and copy over the databases, and install them on the new server, as quickly as possible. Oh, and you need to modify the DNS TTL values so when you do update the domain to point to the new server, the switch occurs quickly (I didn't do last time and it bit me in the ass.). I kept a rather lengthy list of detailed steps I went through last time, which will be helpful this time. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Did the site just go down again for about 20 minutes? Whenever I click on the display all emoticons the site is gone for a WHILE from my end. AX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Did the site just go down again for about 20 minutes? Whenever I click on the display all emoticons the site is gone for a WHILE from my end. AX It randomly disappears for me too, but only a few minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Yeah, I know, I'm working on it. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Well, I'm kind of in a bind now. I really need to get the site moved to another server as this one, even after the chassis upgrade, continues to crash (once yesterday, once again today so far). However, The Planet is not being very flexible with what they will do. If I get a new server now, I will have to pay for it up front and thus be paying for two servers. I have done some looking around and unfortunately their prices are hard to beat. Might be time to offer an "AtariAge Membership" subscription of some sort.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamerz Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Well, I'm kind of in a bind now. I really need to get the site moved to another server as this one, even after the chassis upgrade, continues to crash (once yesterday, once again today so far). However, The Planet™ is not being very flexible with what they will do. If I get a new server now, I will have to pay for it up front and thus be paying for two servers. I have done some looking around and unfortunately their prices are hard to beat. Might be time to offer an "AtariAge Membership" subscription of some sort.. ..Al I will gladly pay a Membership subscription if it doesnt involve that dreaded Paypal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Just ordered another server. There's $400 down the drain! As soon as I have access to the server (which can take up to 72 hours--hopefully it's much sooner), I will bust my ass to get it setup. In the meantime, I apologize for any downtime--looks like this box is going to crash a few times a day.. Also working on skinning the new forum software and might be able to get that online at the same time. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 YOU have to pay for the server? I thought you rent it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 YOU have to pay for the server? I thought you rent it. It is rented. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 YOU have to pay for the server? I thought you rent it. You rent for free? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Just to clarify a bit, the previous server was $299 a month. New server is $354 a month, but it's a pretty bad-ass box (Dual Quad Core Xeon 5335 CPUs, 4GB RAM, two 146GB SAS 15K (fast!) hard drives), faster 100Mb link to net (previously 10Mb), and will have 64-bit Linux so it can address all 4GB of RAM (previous box did have 4GB, but could only address 3GB with 32-bit Linux). There was also a $25 setup, so initial charge is $379. So for a full month, I am paying for two servers. As long as I cancel the existing server before July 20th, I will not get double billed for a second month. This new server will be quite a bit faster than the existing one, which is running on Dual Xeon 3.2Ghz CPUs, which are pretty long in the tooth now. The 5335 Xeons are a hell of a lot faster, have multiple cores and have a faster bus as well. A bit overkill for AtariAge, perhaps, but I will take advantage of this increased horsepower over time. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nathan Strum Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Thanks for all the time (and money) you pour into AtariAge. It's become kind of a home on the net for many of us, and it's really appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.golden.ax Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Hey, if you have a "pay for the new server" homebrew sale with limited editions and one of a kinds I'll buy AX P.S. I'm sure we all appreciate your personal sacrifices for this site. Some of us basically live here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 I've been gone all morning (and amazingly the server hasn't crashed today!) and upon my arrival home I found that the new server I ordered has been provisioned and is ready to go. I will start working on it today, and within the next day or three I should have everything setup and ready to go. I already modified the TTL values for the AtariAge domains so when I do make the switch it should be pretty quick, at least for those of you who don't have ISPs that suck. :D ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wolfe Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 They are going to do the chassis swap shortly. Not sure how long it will take, but probably an hour or so. Assuming they don't drop either of the hard drives. ..Al they should just use big magnets to carry them around... you never lose your grip on a hard drive if you use a magnet right before you took it off line, did the forum ask you if it would dream? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pangasinan Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 When the site went down on Friday it was the same time that Michael Jackson died,for awhile there i thought Al was Michael Jackson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 I have to say I'm somewhat amused that since I started working on the new server, this existing server hasn't had a problem.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerwannabee Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I have to say I'm somewhat amused that since I started working on the new server, this existing server hasn't had a problem.. ..Al I guess that's how they get people to upgrade. But thanks for your work in maintaining this site. I am sure everyone here who is a regular is very appreciative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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