So what the HELL just happened?
 

<img src="images/ninjabeg3sml.jpg" align="right">Wow, well that was a pretty rough week. No, it wasn't your computer, Tru wasn't arrested, I didn't fly to the Bahamas, and Meat hasn't gone native (ok, he's still wearing animal skins and war tats, but he's getting to work on time and he's stopped yelling so much). So what the hell happened? Well for starters you should know we've moved out NY, and we're now located in Dallas, Texas. Why, well, read on...

Short story: a tech support guy at the old server data center has birdfood for brains and managed to fry the OS on the server while adding some RAM. Flipped them the bird and moved the site to Texas.

Long story: a tech support guy at the old server data center has birdfood for brains and managed to fry the OS on the server while adding some RAM, couldn't figure out the problem, then just blamed me for modifying the kernel (operating system, if you will), which was just bs. Then for 2 days support techs at the data center and my reseller tried to correct the mistake, and made it worse, and worse, and worse. Midgetspy can attest to the mess they left behind when we finally got access to the server again. In fact, they couldn't even load up one of the hard drives, they just said "gotta format it". After trying a few different things, Arnie from ArniesAirsoft logged on and in 2 minutes he was able to fix what 2 groups of support technicians couldn't fix for 2 days. Well, that was a sign to me that we were dealing with some pretty sub-standard help, and even if we DID get the server online, I just didn't trust them not to screw it up again.

So Tuesday night I finally threw the towel in and started looking for a new host. Mid way through Wednesday I found a hosting package with ThePlanet.com in Texas that would suit our needs, and they got the order processed and server online in less than 4 hours from getting my payment. Not only that, but everything works. I couldn't say the same for the old server when I received it.

I'm not sure if we'll notice the difference yet, but this server is considerably more powerful than the old one, (3.2Ghz HT vs XP 2.0Ghz). It's not as cheap as the last place, bt the support level is alot higher - it just means, more raffles! I gotta say thanks to all the donors, as embarassing as it was that this happened right after the last raffle ticket sold, it also couldn't have come at a better time - I had the means to move on to a new server right away, thanks guys, it really makes a huge difference.

So, sorry about the downtime. I think it's a record for ASC. But the site runs fine, even the server ran fine, just can't predict the effects of human stupidity sometime. Thanks to Midgetspy and Arnie for helping me get things running again, and ThePlanet for having the best customer service I've run into for awhile (we'll see about their network speed in the next few weeks).

I think that about covers it... if you find something isn't working properly, let me know.

-Miles


FTP Accounts for all supporters will have to be setup again. I haven't lost your files, I just need to recreate the account.

'Least the sites up again.
Good job on getting enerything up again.
It wasn't realy that long but might've felt like it to some, (like a crack head having to wait for thier dealer to show up) lol

I'm sure I won't be the only one to say it but the work everyone involved puts into keeping asc online in these situations is greatly appretiated.
Now go get some well deserved shut eye. ;)

Thanx guys n cheers.

Fantastic job on recovery.

That's awesome you managed to fix everything so quickly, then. Good show!

Stupid techs.. Hopefully the providers you're with now know the concept of back-ups, and secondary quick recover systems. Redundancy.. Redundancy.. Redundancy..

some people's children.. :smack:

It's awesome to see my addiction has returned with even greater speeds and dependability. I can't agree more about the timing Hojo. If it was going to happen eventually it was best to happen now.

Wow... I was having withdrawls.

Funny thing is, I got alot done around the house in the last week! Time to cut that out!

I left friday the 9th, came back sunday the 12th, saw ASC down and got sad. Thaught I could handle 1 or 2 days without ASC but I started getting the shakes man. Just needed 1 hit on the site, finnaly got it.

Hooray for asc! :)

I think everyones suffering from withdrawl. Awsome job hojo on getting the site back up and running

Thanks for gettin it up and running again!!

I'm with Lynch... I was actually going through withdraw

Damn! I was just getting caught up at work.

Damn, I'm really glad to see everything running properly (went out for dinner just after getting it online). We didn't lose any data or anything. Porting the whole site over wasn't all that bad, dealing with the mess the techs left on the other server was.

Looking forward to getting alot of sleep this weekend. Welcome back everyone.

The gallery seems to be not working.

Fixed. Or it should be now anyway...

Nice to see Airsoftcanada.com up running again and in a more stable status.

Quick question, how reliable is their support?

And how much traffic does this site generate? How big is it?

I know of a host that can provide very good service, downtime for them is measured in minutes, not days. Worst downtime I've seen them have is for 5 hours and that was a pretty bad problem they had.

I ask about bandwidth and size because they are more of a community based server and they usually prefer smaller sites that don't mind sharing a server with other accounts. You can visit them at www.futurequest.net.

The only reason I say this is because 7 days of downtime is excessive. And judging by what was mentioned, those guys at your older provider have the combined IQ of an earthworm, if an Earthworm even had IQ. If the site requires its own dedicated server, then yeah, I will understand. In fact, Futurequest will TELL you that they think you should go get a dedicated server......

Just my 0.02 cents. I just think this downtime is excessive as well as unacceptable (not to you but to those sub-amoeba guys at your old host).

Dear ASC.

I have been sitting here and missed you, my heart cant bear to be without you so long, so please dont be gone that long again.

Thanks for the suggestion, but yeah, we require a dedicated server. We outgrew shared hosting awhile ago, and the site is still growing quite fast.

7 days of downtime had nothing to do with their network really, it was down for 7 days because the old server was toast, and we migrated. Technically there was nothing wrong with old server or the connection, just the idiots handling the hardware. I don't have those concerns at theplanet, they've already proven they can take care of business, quickly and effeciently. Previous to that, their downtime was minutes at a time, if that. But I can't really trust the guys with the keys, so I decided to go elsewhere...

We push around 200GB per month, 3-4 million clicks. Grows a few % per month, though.

Im glad to see ASC back online, I was worried that I may never see it again...really. Just glad your back.

hahaha.. omg, that picture is so funny.. You have a larger one ?
Ninjas killed my server.. hhaha

Very true. My semester was looking promising. So much for that...

WELCOME BACK ASC!!!

jones jones jones.... ;p

Glad to see ya up and running again... ;)

Yeah gj it's running pretty smooth, you'd never know there was a problem. Problem being the understatement of the month... heh

Nic

Finally Miles, now you can get your ass out of the house and over to Joe Rockheads. Can we get back to our climbing already?

good work honestjohn, welcome back

ITS ALIVE!!!!!!! THANK GOD, MSN Chat to find out what was happening in the world of ASC just does not cut it!

So any pics from the Baha's Hojo :-P kiddin 8)

so if you just sold the last ticket, when do we find out that I won the USP?

thank god its back. i was starting to lose it. if school wasn't there to keep my mind of it i would probley would have the people in white coats take my me away for a long time

The only trauma I suffered was not having anything to do at school when I had finished looking at everything on ebaumsworld and wimp.com.

I was actually on ASC seconds before it went down. I was harboring a guilt all this time that I was to blame. You know...last person to see it alive = most probable suspect.

Me and Sadiztix thought Big Brother finally came down on ASC and we were taking bets on who would be the bitch...you or Tru...

Glad to see we're back, though. :D

-J

Good work! Welcome home :D

I'm in good mood cause its back, so, did you get anti-ninja ninja. :)

Great work Hojo :tup: I have a basbeall bat you can borrow if you plan on heading to New York anytime.

Wb ASC, now you may continue to suck away my time and money. :D

I don't know if Homeland Security will let me in the country if the purpose of my visit it to bash some heads and smash some windows with a Louisville or a 9-iron.

Use a sponge bat. :D You won't do any damage or get in trouble. But it sure as hell would feel great :cheers:

Kinda funny... cuz it happened the same day my computer went tits up!

I thought something going on for a sec... Maybe I can blame the same IT guys for killing my computer too!! Lol

Great job! Sounds like it was a nightmare. Good to have you back on line.

And I thought the goverment shut it down or something..Phew.

Hey Hojo, there are a few people who can't seem to connect to the website no more.

(Malfrat, damorek...). any chances that could affect that?

Well, I was only just able to get back on and believe me, I've been checking every hour. ;-) Welcome back ASC!

Depending on people's ISP, some take longer than other to refresh the DNS list.

Basically, your internet service provider needs to get the updated addresses regularly. But how regularly they do it, is up to them. If they don't update it as often, then the url airsoftcanada.com will still point to the old (and busted) server. Until they refresh the list, they are out of luck, unless they go to a computer using a different ISP.

It should resolve itself within the next day or two. Generally, 48 hours is all that is needed.

Wow, it's AMAZING job guys.

When i couldn't come onto the site i started to cry....i was in a fetal posistion sobbing for days...J/k i was plinking cans...good to see the site back tho yay...hooray for ASC

ah... finaly! my fix.... ahhhhhh!

Good job Hojo!

I can now leave all the other substandard airsoft website and feed on this one :lol:

Une semaine sans ASC m'a donné la preuve que je suis un drogué. J'ai trouvé les journées très longues parfois. Je suis très heureux de revoir ASC de retour online. Je vais pouvoir revivre. :smack:

Je vous remercie pour votre bon travail. Vous rendez un énorme service au airsoft au Canada. :tup:

Miles, if they permit someone with a blood stained chainsaw over the border in yanky-doodle-town, I'm sure you can take a bat or golf club across with minimal hassle at best.

i felt so lost almost cried and pulled all my hair out :(

Do we need to PM you again to get our FTP accounts recreated hojo?

Thank god, I thought the judgement day was coming, when I got the 404 from a routine browse of ASC....

I love this place.

was weird
everyday i went and checked ASC untill I saw the notice on arnies

had to substitute my ASC time to hardcore amature p0rn

Good Job
 

I must agree, Stupid tech sometimes who do not know what they are doing.. Good job on getting the site back up so quickly guys.

MaverricK

I actually missed this place too. I even missed answering PM's. Its like I had so many extra hours in the day. I didn't know what to do. I missed you guys hahaha.

Isnt the money you making that you missed??!! Just kidding!
Good job guys!

I have it on good authority that your mpg p0rn bandwidth consumption spiked last week... would you like some compromising pictures of your cat by the way...?

Umm... Jay, why would you have compromising pictures of Tru's cat? 8-O

We're not telling, it would compromise Space Command security...

Can't tell you, it would compromise Space Command security... suffice it to say that he is currently a "feline of interest"...

Site is running great now. Good job on getting everything up agian.

Hey, for the techies out there, could we have a more detailed "play by play" of how they made it worse and how it was fixed in two minutes?

Tech Speak for us geeks is t3h s3x4y!!!

Hmm... since you asked, and I'm working on the server right now....




I can only guess, because noone will own up to it, but something like this:

I order RAM through reseller, request to install between 4 and 9 am at the DC.
A week later (I have no reason to beleive they didn't place the order originally), no RAM, reseller contacts DC, DC tech realizes they blew it, and installs ram in a hurry, at 2pm.
Won't boot, kernel panic, he claims I modified the kernel, stick in rescue disk, leaves box to reseller tech.
*Now, at that point, I've gotta say... if I'm installing hardware into a system (I do some windows tech support), first step is to shutdown and reboot or inspect the system specs somehow, make sure it works BEFORE you mess with it... I'm sure he was in a hurry, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure....*

So a few hours later, the reseller techs claim they've got it back online, but the 200gb (/home) isn't accessible, but they say they found my /home anyway *puzzling*.
At this point, AirsoftOttawa.com came online, buck with 6 month old data. That freaked me out, that maybe they had rolled back to a local backup that was 6 months old (although that makes no sense, neither does getting kernel panic from a system that just runs mysql and apache all day long).

I realized they had brought the original 40GB (what I purchased it with, and /boot) with the /home from when I bought the server from them. Well, the only site that was on on that /home before we moved to a 200GB was aso, and it was cpied to the 200gb /home when it was installed...

After 2 days of techs fiddling around with it, the mount schema was a total mess, and the techs had given up (I'm not a linux guy, but I'm learning quick, let's say). I was chatting with Arnie about it, and he offered to give it a try. He managed to remount the 200GB (so data was accessible at least), but everytime we tried to change the mount schema to what /boot and /home should be, the box wouldnt boot. Since I didn't have direct access to DC techs, it meant waiting almost 12 hours before someone would reboot from a local terminal, so every time we experimented, it was another day and a bit lost.

The reseller techs were scared to even try and install the RAM at this point, because of what might (but shouldn't) happen.

That's pretty much when I said "fuck it" and went looking for another host. These guys were fine when things were good, but they couldn't come through in the clinch AT ALL.

Now I'm going to get the old system wiped with a fresh OS, and hopefully sell the contract to someone else, although I don't stand to get much of my capital investment back (I don't own the hardware).


ThePlanet.com has my server online 4 hours from payment time, and smoothed over the transaction process. I've sent off 3 support tickets since I got it (one my mistake, and 2 other small things that needed correcting), and they were all replied to in less than 10 minutes, at any time of day. I got a tech on the phone in less than 45 seconds when I called their 800 number. That's called good service...


and... yeah.


/back to work

HonestJohn:

Just a quick question? : Why are you using US servers for hosting? Isn't there ones here in Canada that could be used?

Just a thought....

Because he is not blindly patriotic.

if he can get a cheaper, better service from Texas, why shouldn't he?

Especially with the USD->CAD exchange these days.

Nic

Hosting is a North American market, I could care less whether my host is US or Canadian, really. I chose theplanet for reliability and a reasonable price for the package I want. There are many US based hosts that will have a better connection to your home computer, than a canadian one might. Physical location isn't the only factor in good performance. A powerful server that's well maintained (from a large provider like The Planet) will go much further than something that's local, but poorer quality.

Thank you HonestJohn ;-) for ansering my question, it makes sence, I myself would probly done the same... Gotta love MORE power :tup:

[sound]tim_allen_grunt[/sound]
i'm sorry, i'm sorry. i couldn't resist :-)

Will huricane rita have any effect on the new asc server? Seeings that the new server is located in texas. (it could be a possibility) It's comming within the next few hours!!!

Erik

My server is also located in Texas. Not sure what region though. *crosses fingers*

But in all honestly, having my server go is quite insignificant to what the people down there are dealing with right now.

Hey dman, I like your little test thing in order to get into your site. I wish I could get all the answers correct though :( why'd you have to make them so hard?

Erik

Most of our routing ends up hitting the states before anywhere in canada anyways... when I had cable and dsl in the same room i'd ping one box with another and it would go from ottawa to toronto to various places in the usa back up through mtl then back to ottawa.... nice trip eh?