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[Timesharetalk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Timesharetalk]

Our server based in Dallas has had problems and it looks like they will have to do a full restore, so it could be anything between 1-5 hours before the site is back up again.

To check on the status/updates, please look at -

http://support.qbic.co.uk/default.asp?page=status_live

If you are a member, please email as many other members as possible if you have their email address. Once things are back up, I will email everyone to tell them.

Thanks, and apologies for any inconvenience.

Paul

[Guest Close Quarterbore]

Man I feal your pain! I have started looking at mechanisms that would allow me to set up a backup server so that if our main server was to go down that I could go to my registrar and change the DNS settings and be back running in an hour or two...

The problem is that requires money or excess server capacity that I just don't have yet... If I figure out a way to automate it I will let you know...

Good Luck!

[Timesharetalk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Timesharetalk]

"The problem is that requires money"

Always the way. This is the first major outage since I started the site. Normally Fridays are a quiet day so minimal damage I hope.

Colocation here we come ..... Gonna have to charge higher fees !

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

I'm getting a "server taking too long to reply" just a minute or 2 ago. Hope to see it up and running soon, Paul.

[Timesharetalk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Timesharetalk]

Update - (oh my day goes from bad to worse ! )

It is with regret that we are still having major issues with this server. It appears there has been multiple hardware failure along with the corruption to the operating system. Engineers at the datacentre are replacing hardware to track down the effected parts but as of yet the server is still not online. We do realise the importance of the speed that this server is back online but until we can fix the issue obviously the server will not be functional. We have also taken the decision that once the server is running we will not simply be running a full disaster recovery to bring the server back to it's original state. Instead we will be completely re-configuring the server again to ensure no issues with the previous installation of the operating system are carried over to the fresh install. Once we have done this we will then restore all client data to the server.

I have asked the host for an estimated timescale. Once I know this I will update here. I estimate it will be tonight.

To check on the host status/updates, please look at -

http://support.qbic.co.uk/default.asp?page=status_live

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

I am really sorry to hear of the server problems. Timesharetalk is a great site.

I suspect Sunterra is grinning, however, given some of the material that former Sunterra executive Ian Podesta, now a whistleblower, has been posting on the Sunterra board there, and is now at least temporarily unavalible!

[Timesharetalk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Timesharetalk]

Steve,

Thanks for the compliment. Sunterra may be grinning now, but trust me, they wont be next week. I rang Ian yesterday as he thought Sunterra had got to my site too. He was relieved when I explained what had happened. Keep a very close eye on Ian's posts over the next two weeks and news sites/press releases.

Site update
The current host has totally lost the server after trying the re-install. They will be restoring the lost server to another server as a pro-tem measure until they get the machine replaced.

After much deliberation and cogitation, it is time to make a big break here as things have grown so well over the last two years.

Quarterbore - This will make you cringe - I have just forked out for a dedicated server (with redundancy).

Cheap ? No way, my other half is not a happy lady. May have to consider a re-mortgage or float the company.

Practical ? Yes. I now have full control over the server. The site will be the ONLY site on that server, and I can configure as I please.

The server is -

Dell Poweredge Intel Dual Xeon 3.6Ghz Processor (with Hyper threading)
8Gb DDR2 SDRAM (400Mhz)
2x Maxtor Maxline III 250GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disks (Load balanced)
RAID 1
Private Vlan
10Mb/sec Capped
Sitting behind a Cisco PIX 515E Firewall on a Pipex Tier 1 Network with 50,000 Mbit Connectivity (unlimited) located in the UK

For those who are not up to speed on computer specs, the site will now be sitting on a Ferrari F40 instead of a Ford Focus.

This may well take the rest of the weekend and possible into Monday to get sorted out as I have to wait for the old host to restore the files as he has a more current backup of the database (Site was backed-up at 4am and server fell down at 8am) and also for DNS propagation to take place.

More updates as and when .... And thanks for the support

[Guest Close Quarterbore]

Steve,

Thanks for the compliment. Sunterra may be grinning now, but trust me, they wont be next week. I rang Ian yesterday as he thought Sunterra had got to my site too. He was relieved when I explained what had happened. Keep a very close eye on Ian's posts over the next two weeks and news sites/press releases.

Site update
The current host has totally lost the server after trying the re-install. They will be restoring the lost server to another server as a pro-tem measure until they get the machine replaced.

After much deliberation and cogitation, it is time to make a big break here as things have grown so well over the last two years.

Quarterbore - This will make you cringe - I have just forked out for a dedicated server (with redundancy).

Cheap ? No way, my other half is not a happy lady. May have to consider a re-mortgage or float the company.

Practical ? Yes. I now have full control over the server. The site will be the ONLY site on that server, and I can configure as I please.

The server is -

Dell Poweredge Intel Dual Xeon 3.6Ghz Processor (with Hyper threading)
8Gb DDR2 SDRAM (400Mhz)
2x Maxtor Maxline III 250GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disks (Load balanced)
RAID 1
Private Vlan
10Mb/sec Capped
Sitting behind a Cisco PIX 515E Firewall on a Pipex Tier 1 Network with 50,000 Mbit Connectivity (unlimited) located in the UK

For those who are not up to speed on computer specs, the site will now be sitting on a Ferrari F40 instead of a Ford Focus.

This may well take the rest of the weekend and possible into Monday to get sorted out as I have to wait for the old host to restore the files as he has a more current backup of the database (Site was backed-up at 4am and server fell down at 8am) and also for DNS propagation to take place.

More updates as and when .... And thanks for the support

Yea, it is nice to have the capacity... this site is on what they refer to as a Virtual Dedicated Server but we as still driving a Ford Focus... Only a SVT Ford Focus...

This site has a lot of trafic but we are not taxing the server too bad... my only concern will be after we have a couple years of data and people are searching a lot. That is when the server load increases...

I would love to hear how the move to the dedicated server as I expect we will need to do that at some point in a year or two at most...

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Back up and running now.

Just went to the site and its operational again.

[Timesharetalk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Timesharetalk]

Tonyg,

The files have now been re-loaded onto a temporary server by the current host.

I am currently taking a local backup of the site (approx 1 hour) and then the files will be put up on the new server.

It will then be a case of waiting for DNS propagation before everyone can see it on the new server.

I need

Quarterbore,

The transition has been very smooth actually. The main reason is the new server uses the same Control Panel and configuration as the old host therefore the settings are practically the same. The supplier has been excellent and pulled out all stops for me as he knew the situation I am in. They fired up and configured the machine within 1 hour. I have immediate access through IP address and VNC.

The time consuming parts are -

Downloading the existing site (even on my 8Mb DSL line it is a long time)
Uploading files to the new machine
DNS and nameserver propagation (the usual 4 - 24 Hrs)

Hopefully, this will be the last time I have to do this for a very long time.

[Guest Close Quarterbore]

Did you gzip your files before download? I am on Fiber Optic (FIOS) and I have great speed but a gzip sure makes the download and upload easier...

It is also a great time for any software updates...

We use Host Rocket (link at bottom) and they can provide us with a dedicated server with all the same contols I have now... We have been down a couple times but this host has been quick to get us back up.

Congrats again... well, I assume congtats are appropriate

[Timesharetalk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Timesharetalk]

No I didn't gzip before download. I prefer not to use compressed files over ftp protocol as there is far more chance of corruption - personal preference.

Host Rocket are big so they will (should) have a very good support structure. Most of the big hosts are US based as data centres are prolific and bandwidth is as check as you petrol is compared to us.

Jumping on to one of their dedicated servers should be very smooth and easy.

I prefer not to host in the US as running a .co.uk domain on a US server/IP block does not help with SERPS and Page Rank.

Just out of interest, what kind of speeds do you get on FIOS ? I wish it was over here as you have it. Closest we have is local cable but they still are restricted to around 8Mb (although Telewest gives you up to 10Mb) or LLU with the major ISP's. The best over here is 'Be broadband' at 24Mb, but you have to live in London. BT wholesale have been very slow in upgrading the exchanges but they are currently going through them to open up 8Mb to all home users.

[Timesharetalk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Timesharetalk]

New server is well underway now. I am in the process of synchronising all the files which will take several hours.

I would expect it to be fully visible by Sunday evening.

Paul

[Timesharetalk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Timesharetalk]

It is now 04:05 in the morning and the site is back up and running apart from a couple of minor issues.

These will be resolved later but I really need by bed.

Thanks to everyone for their understanding and support.

Paul