Forum downtime - One hour from 11pm Monday 30.Mar.2009

Editor Bob · #1 30.03.2009, 16:31

Hi Folks,

yes, it's the return of those dreaded two words, "forum downtime".

Sorry about this, but it really can't be avoided.

The downtime should only be for an hour or so. And we're doing it late in the evening when you should either be asleep or out drinking. So hopefully few will even notice.

For those who'd like the technical details, we're moving the site from its current hosting provider to a bigger and better machine at another provider. The new machine is one that is owned and managed by The Local. It's the same server as the one which runs the Toytown Germany forum. We've already done a test run of the move and that went through OK. So fingers crossed for the real thing.

It'll go offline tonight, Monday March 30, 2009 at around 10.45pm and should come back sometime shortly after 11.45pm.

TheWolverine · #2 30.03.2009, 16:50

	Quote:	Editor Bob
	Hi Folks, yes, it's the return of those dreaded two words, "forum downtime". Sorry about this, but it really can't be avoided. The downtime should only be for an hour or so. And we're doing it late in the evening when you should either be asleep or out drinking. So hopefully few will even notice. For those who'd like the technical details, we're moving the site from its current hosting provider to a bigger and better machine at another provider. The new machine is one that is owned and managed by The Local. It's the same server as the one which runs the Toytown Germany forum. We've already done a test run of the move and that went through OK. So fingers crossed for the real thing. It'll go offline tonight, Monday March 30, 2009 at around 10.45pm and should come back sometime shortly after 11.45pm.

Been there, done that. So I understand the crossed fingers.
Best of luck for the migration.

See you on the other side.

Castro · #3 30.03.2009, 16:54

Better write down the details for Wednesday's Basel curry nite.... just in case

jrspet · #4 30.03.2009, 21:14

	Quote:	Editor Bob
	It'll go offline tonight, Monday March 30, 2009 at around 10.45pm and should come back sometime shortly after 11.45pm.

Another 1.5hrs to go folks!

#5 30.03.2009, 21:24

11pm..? Good.. I'm beat, had a hard day today and should be saw'n logs before 11..!!
But I'll be back around 4am... that is if there's still something left to come back to..

Good luck with the move Editor Bob..!

dannyt986 · #6 30.03.2009, 22:10

I hope you already trebled the time your IT people told you it would take?

In that case as a user I'll only double it again just to be sure... and cross my fingers and toes.

Seriously, hope it goes well.

D

Editor Bob · #7 30.03.2009, 22:43

OK, forum switch off coming in a couple of minutes.

Hopefully nobody's busy composing an epic post or PM right now, else it will be lost.

As ashishshah said, see you on the other side.

Editor Bob · #8 31.03.2009, 00:20

Hello? Hello? Is this mic live?

Hmmm, I don't think it's working.

Natasha · #9 31.03.2009, 00:20

Welcome back!

That was the most painless downtime ever.

Scott · #10 31.03.2009, 00:20

Outstanding!

Editor Bob · #11 31.03.2009, 00:21

Oh, it does work. Wow. Very good.

Looks like it pays to be very drunk while doing these things.

Editor Bob · #12 31.03.2009, 00:27

OK, to confirm, we're now operating on a completely new server from yesterday.

In case anyone cares, the machine is a 2 x Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ 2352 with 16 GB of RAM. Physically located in Baden Baden, Germany - that's about 140 km directly north of Zürich.

Now the new hardware is sorted, the fixing of the various software problems can begin.

RobertF · #13 31.03.2009, 01:39

Excellent job Editor Bob.

I've seen this site move homes a few times, I've even assisted on occasion. This time it was quite painless. Good planning and execution.

I hope it likes its new home and is happy there for a long time.

drsmithy · #14 31.03.2009, 01:56

	Quote:	Editor Bob
	OK, to confirm, we're now operating on a completely new server from yesterday. In case anyone cares, the machine is a 2 x Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ 2352 with 16 GB of RAM. Physically located in Baden Baden, Germany - that's about 140 km directly north of Zürich. Now the new hardware is sorted, the fixing of the various software problems can begin.

As someone who does this sort of thing for a living, I, personally, would be very interested in the hardware (and software) driving EF.

Charlie Horse · #15 31.03.2009, 05:31

I guess it worked!

Editor Bob · #16 31.03.2009, 10:15

Ooops, a minor hiccup this morning.

The site was unintentionally down between 9.15am and 10.10am today.

Sorry about that.

We're investigating what caused it to try and prevent it happening again.

bill_door · #17 31.03.2009, 10:20

	Quote:	Editor Bob
	We're investigating what caused it to try and prevent it happening again.

it doesn't like your german coffee in the morning!

well done for the smooth transition.

bill

TheWolverine · #18 31.03.2009, 10:22

	Quote:	Editor Bob
	OK, to confirm, we're now operating on a completely new server from yesterday. In case anyone cares, the machine is a 2 x Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ 2352 with 16 GB of RAM. Physically located in Baden Baden, Germany - that's about 140 km directly north of Zürich. Now the new hardware is sorted, the fixing of the various software problems can begin.

Is it just me, or did the grass just get greener ?

Itzoe · #19 31.03.2009, 10:45

congrats on the smooth transition