Software Upgrade - 30 October 2010

[Pete]

Hi all

 

After last weekend's server move went off without (much of) a hitch, I'll be spending this coming Saturday upgrading the forum software to the newest version.

 

What this essentially means is:

 

DOWNTIME!!!

 

Basically, it's a massive upgrade to this piece of software and, as it's tied into the rest of the site including the files section, it means I've got to take it all offline at once. (Sorry, just emphasizing the scope of the downtime).

 

I'll be starting at 9am (see here for UK time) . The expected duration of the downtime is unknown - I'm hoping it won't take more than 2-3 hours but of course there's only so much testing I can do before the real thing.

 

What I'm aiming to do is have a large notice up on the day in place of the site stating what's going on for those who don't see this message before then and then when it's all done I'll flick the switch and the updated site will be visible to you all.

 

When it's back online, there will be two main changes:

 

1. The forum software will be a major new version, which means new features and things will have moved, so be prepared for a bit of a change to how things are laid out. Also, as it's a major new version that means I've had to re-do the curret design from scratch to work with it. The new version of the design is a bit more basic as we've got other plans over the coming months so I didn't want to spend too much time on it - it will still function well and look very similar to the current design, it just might not look as polished
   
2. The files section as it currently stands will be gone, and instead will be converted to a download script that runs on the forum software. Please note that all links to the old system should redirect to the new one, and this new, more integrated system will be better for us moving forwards
   

 

So there we have it. I'll try and keep disruption to a minimum but as with anything as complicated as this there are no guarantees.

 

After everything's back up, I won't be moving any websites or having to perform major upgrades for a long while - in fact I might go toupee shopping as I doubt I'll have much hair left

 

Thanks again for your patience.

[Sunflash]

*runs around shooting a laser rifle at the ceiling*

 

THE WORLD IS ENDING, THE WORLD IS ENDING, AAAHHHHH!!

 

(Shotting? Seriously? Ugh.)

[FullAuto]

and this new, more integrated system will be better for us moving forwards

 

Unfortunately if we move backwards in time it will prove to be entirely useless.

[Pete]

Yeah, I sort of ran out of reassuring things to say that actually made sense

[Pete]

Upgrade postponed

 

I've postponed the upgrade until the 6th of November. The converter for the files system is nearly ready but still has a few bugs in at the moment and I don't want to rush converting it without ample time to test it.

 

That means I get a weekend off though - woohoo!

[Thorondor]

Fantastic!

 

::

 

So you slouch while we wait - did I get that right?

[Pete]

Not really In a bizarre twist of fate (ie. I was running out of time anyway) the forum skin for the new forum system still isn't ready either so I'll be working on that

[Thorondor]

Thine skin to save...

 

::

 

[Sunflash]

Oh right, it WAS postponed. Hmmm.

 

So any news what happened this morning (central us time?) Got to work and found nothing but server 400 errors(I think it was 400?) across all the Str-Core sites I checked(forums, main-page, and ufopaedia).

[Pete]

Erm... no idea. Something about permissions or something so I'm told, though that's not a particularly clear answer. I suspect it's teething troubles with the new server.

 

I'll be entering an alternate email address in the server settings that will display with that message so that if it happens again whoever spots it can email me to let me know (sadly I'm not on SC 24/7 so I was unaware for a while).

 

Also, I was completely unaware it was affecting UFOPaedia as well - that error is usually just an issue related to a single site, so that implies that it was a server-wide hiccup which is never good.

[Pete]

Okay, so I'm still not sure quite what the issue was with the site downtime earlier today, but Ive asked the hosts to install some upgrades and additional modules to the server (default server software tends to be a few minor versions out of date so I'm asking them to bump them up to newer versions).

 

This will cause some downtime - about an hour or so - so to cause the least disruption I've asked them to do this at 5am GMT. That'll be very early morning for most of Europe and late at night for most of the USA.

 

I'll put a temporary site notice up shortly.

 

Please note that the software upgrades mentioned at the beginning of this thread are totally unrelated and are pencilled in for this Saturday the 6th of November - that date is subject to change though and I'll put up a site notice a few days in advance of it going ahead.

[Gimli]

I got a standard Server 500 error.

[Sunflash]

I got a standard Server 500 error.

 

 

Maybe that's what it was; I was heavily distracted at the time and still sleepy so my memory of it isn't that great.

[Pete]

Okay, so due to lack of time I'm postponing the upgrade again. There's no point rushing and everythings fine as it is just now.

 

Besides, some exciting (well, to me at least) things I've been working in are coming along nicely so I may as well roll those out at the same time It'll all become clear soon - before Christmas definitely.