Server Migration - January-February 2013

Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
As some of you know, the end of last July Elsmar lost a lot of Google "organic" search traffic. I called it the "Elsmar Crash". Obviously Elsmar depends upon traffic from Google's "organic" search results especially for "Log Tail" search queries.

Panda and Penguin...

For 2 weeks I had to do a lot of "soul searching" with respect to what to do. Traffic has picked up but it has not regained it's 2011 traffic levels. We're essentially back to 2009-2010 traffic. Not a problem. The bottom line is I wanted to see what was going to happen. Google's Panda and Penguin updates literally destroyed many web sites. Luckily Elsmar appears to be recovering decently from the 2 "Crash" weeks. Even with the traffic drop we are still doing well as a niche discussion forum. December is always slow but so far entering the second week of January things are looking up.

The 2 week "crash" was a financial freakout on my part because it was *so* significant that in October I even ceased invoicing the advertisers (whose income is important to supplement AdSense income) but I have kept the ads online (free advertising) for now. To me it's a moral issue. I have never solicited any advertisers. All advertisers contacted me. Thing is I know at the time each signed up they had "traffic" expectations. I have an unusual approach to advertising. I am trying to figure out how to approach this aspect right now. But, the bottom line is I have monthly fixed expenses that I can not reduce. And, of course, my time. If all advertisers cancel it will cost me some $$. But for now it appears I can at least come out even with regard to fixed expenses on Google's AdSense alone.

I seriously thought about taking Elsmar offline and ending the hassle. My plan was to offer it to one of several people here if they wanted it, which I doubt they would have. I mentioned this to one advertiser who said his company would take it all off my hands and keep it going "in the same spirit" as it is now. That was a few months back, but I'm sure they would still want it. I really don't want to sell Elsmar.

Anyway - I have been monitoring things and I don't see my taking Elsmar offline as an issue at this point. I foresee at least another 6 months. Probably 12. Maybe longer. It's hard to say because Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ have siphoned a lot of people's time. This is sort of an old "Hang Out" and obviously doesn't have the clout it did in the pre-Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ days.

I guess the bottom line is I will be keeping Elsmar online for the foreseeable future.

As some of you may or may not know - The Dec 2011 migration to a new server caused a lot of problems. Long story. Bottom line is I had to "fire" my server admin. I could go into all the gory details, but that would be too much to type. I am getting ready to contract with Progent to migrate to a new server. This is not going to happen for a couple of weeks. It should be "transparent" and go smoother than the DEC 2011 migration. The reason for the migration is the old server admins have the current server really screwed up. The only way to do this "The Right Way" is to start with a "clean" server and only copy over necessary files leaving behind all the "stuff" the old server admin left there. There is too much guessing at what they put on. That is, rather than trying to "clean up" the current server it makes more sense to essentially start from scratch. All told it will probably cost more but it eliminates the risk that something will be missed.

Anyway - That's the scoop right now. Just a "Heads Up"...

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Shameless Plug: Not many people "Donate". If you like Elsmar and you have not done so, you can help financially (Progent isn't cheap).

Question(s) and/or comments welcome.

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Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
Server Migration Update - 16 January 2013

The new server is being provisioned tonight. It may be a few days to a week before it is configured by Keith. Then will come the migration. I don't expect that for maybe 2 weeks from now. I'm not sure what Keith has on his schedule. I will update this thread as progress is made.
 

Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
Re: Server Migration - January 2013

31 January 2013 Update: Technically the files have all been transferred to the new server. I had a very long day so it will be tomorrow before I take a look and start troubleshooting. The actual migration should take place late next week or the following week. We want to make sure all the bugs are worked out. I will be testing it starting tomorrow and through the weekend. During that time we will also be "tuning" the server and a few other things.

As always I will keep you informed of progress. I appreciate your patience.
 

Geoff Cotton

Quite Involved in Discussions
Hi Marc,

Thanks for the up-front info.

It seems a long time ago since I joined the cove, its grown and matured a lot since then....... thanks to YOU !

How can we help?
 

Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
I appreciate the thought, but there's nothing you folks can do at this point. What has to be done has to all be done on this end right now.

One day next week or early the week after I'll let everyone know when we make the actual DNS changes which will start sending everyone to the new server. It *should* be transparent to everyone.

However - I can test most things but I can't test everything. Once we're on the new server there will be a thread started to post problems any of you find (hopefully none...). After the actual change to the new server is where your role will be important - Reporting bugs/problems.
 

Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
Server Migration Update - January-February 2013

This is a brief update. I have been doing testing on the new server. At this point I think we are ready. Keith and I have tentatively set Thursday evening (Valentine's Day, folks!) 14 February 2013 to "throw the DNS switch".

A quick "About Keith": Keith is a talented and professional engineer. He has a Master’s degree in Technology, many advanced certifications, and extensive consulting experience. As I have said, Keith works for Progent.

This should all be invisible to all of you. There were some "hiccups" during the DEC 2011 migration, as well as a number of serious compatibility issues that were not anticipated. I made a lot of assumptions back then and I did not do diligent testing prior to the migration. I do not expect problems this time. Keith has set up the new server and eliminated a lot of trash, some of which we have dated back to the 2007 migration. So far I am very impressed.

I would go into detail about the many things we have done, but I'm sure it would bore you. And, to be honest, it would take up a lot of typing to list everything.

I am letting you know about the migration to keep you abreast of things that are happening behind the scenes. As I said - This should be transparent to 99% of you, and unlike the old days DNS propagation shouldn't be an issue.

As a "heads up" - I am the one who has been doing the actual testing so at this point I believe any "hiccups" will be from some sort of test I missed. I have tested the forum software - uploading attachments, pictures, and all that is involved. I have tried to list and test every function I could think of. That's not to say I haven''t missed something. There will be a thread for reporting problems.

This date *is* subject to change should something come up, but at this time I am relatively certain we have looked at, and tested, all functions in the forums, as well as the server and the other pages on the site, and we will keep on the current schedule.

Marc
 

Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
Server Migration - 13 February 2013 Udate

I just spoke with Keith. The changeover is set for between 7PM and 9PM Central Standard Time (US) on Thursday 14 February 2013.

Because this server is in the same server room & data center the changeover will be a *bit* different than before. Instead of "seamless", there will be a 10 to 15 minute break in service when the forum will be unavailable. This is because Keith is exchanging the IPs on the servers so we don't have to change DNS entries. This also eliminates the old "DNS Propagation" issues. I have no idea how he does it, but that's what he said he is going to do.

The reason for the break is that the forum will be shut down, the database on the current server ("Elsmar 1") will be migrated to the new server ("Elsmar 2") rather than going through the sync process, and the forum will be turned back on as soon as the database is on the Elsmar 2 and the IP is switched.

NOTE to Moderators: During the switch you will still be able to see the forum. Everyone else will get a "Closed" notice (with the reason) and that is all. Moderators will know the forum is closed because there will be a Warning at the top and bottom of each page. If you see the notice, do not post or make any changes.

Some of you may remember that we had some weird problems with the sync back during the DEC 2011 migration. Because we are changing IPs on the servers there will be no domain DNS change so there will be no issue of DNS propagation or database sync problems.

As you all know, server migrations give me the willies. I'll be a nervous wreck until a few days after the change over is complete and I know everything is working as it should. I will also be starting a "Bug Thread" for you to report any issues. I have spent a lot of time on Elsmar 2 testing over the last week+ and so far I think I have found every bug. But I know that's too much to ask for... And there are some things I simply couldn't test because the server has to be not just be online, but the IPs and some other things have to match. In addition, the organization (directory structure) of the servers is completely different so I think I have checked every path issue in config files and such - But... My assumption is "what can go wrong will go wrong". I did use a check list (Na, na to check list haters here). The question is whether when making my list I hit every point. Hopefully I didn't miss any, but that's betting against fate.

Anyway - That's the scoop as of 7PM EST (US).

Marc
 

harry

Trusted Information Resource
Was there a migration? :tg: :tg:

I mean everything went so smoothly and not noticeable (I admit I wasn't around evey minute but was around every hour) - Seamless!!

Needless to say, many hours must had been spent on the planning and background work. Many thanks for all the hard work, Marc. :applause: :applause:
 

Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
The switch to the new server will take place in approximately 12 hours.

Technically the files have all been migrated to the new server. That is what I have been testing on for a bit more than a week.

After the switchover this thread will be updated. It should be "seamless" *except* the forum will be closed for approximately 10 (possibly 15) minutes, but there will not be a DNS change.

Remember there will be about a 2 hour window during which the change will happen. At this time it is impossible to say the exact hour and minute.

After the switchover: Please report bugs here: Server Migration Bug Report Thread - 14 February 2013
 
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