Scheduled Server Outage/Move - August 22/23

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Gobberwart
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Scheduled Server Outage/Move - August 22/23

Unread post by Gobberwart » Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:08 am

In view of the ongoing issues with our shared hosting account, I've taken the decision today to move the game to a new hosting provider. It's quite a lot more expensive, but should hopefully be a lot more reliable as well.

Anyway, moving the site is no small task, and I'll be starting the process at around 10:00AM Melbourne time on Saturday 23rd (that's around midnight GMT, and late on the 22nd in the US. Convert to your timezone as appropriate). I expect the actual transfer, including full backup and restore, to take no more than a few hours, however updates to the DNS system may take significantly longer (anywhere from 4 to 24 hours). Sorry for the inconvenience but it has to be done, and I'd rather get it out of the way ASAP.

Please note that both the game AND the forums will be down, although the wiki will remain online so I will probably try and get someone there to post updates regularly for anyone playing at home.
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Re: Scheduled Server Outage/Move - August 22/23

Unread post by Gobberwart » Thu Aug 21, 2008 2:11 pm

UPDATE: The new server is all configured and ready to rock and roll. All that remains to be done is:

- Take a final backup of files and data
- Copy to new site
- Import database
- Test
- Delegate the domain

I've already done the first four once and verified that it works ok, but it'll need to be done again to ensure everything's right up to date.

Unfortunately, there is a potential issue with the last item on the list, and this could well prove to be a showstopper until it's fixed. The domain is currently registered with hostmonster.com and it turns out they have a bug/misconfiguration in their domain management system which is preventing me from registering the new nameserver addresses and redelegating the domain. I have a support ticket logged, but even though they offer "24x7 support", what they actually mean is I can ring up/web chat and they will log a ticket for me, and then I just have to wait. Up to 24 hours.

I will keep you posted.
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Re: Scheduled Server Outage/Move - August 22/23

Unread post by Gobberwart » Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:24 pm

At this stage I'd suggest it's looking like the move won't be going ahead as planned. I've still heard nothing from Hostmonster, and probably don't expect to for a while yet. I'm still hoping to stick to the schedule but time will tell.
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Re: Scheduled Server Outage/Move - August 22/23

Unread post by Gobberwart » Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:26 pm

Well, a last minute fix from hostmonster means that we're almost certainly going to be going ahead with the move as planned after all.

Due to revised planning, the ONLY thing that should go down will be the game itself. Forums, Wiki and other bits and pieces should remain online and working normally.

Stay tuned.
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Re: Scheduled Server Outage/Move - August 22/23

Unread post by Gobberwart » Fri Aug 22, 2008 2:13 pm

New site is in place and technically operational, however due to DNS propagation delays, some people will still see the old site, which is currently in "Maintenance" mode. This should be resolved within a few hours, but it CAN take 24 hours (or more) depending on how often your ISP updates DNS information.
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