January 26, 2007 :: Lightning Replacement / New Server

Started by Jason, January 26, 2007, 07:18:29 PM

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Jason

This thread is being emailed out to all clients this evening.  See this thread for the "All Client Email:"
http://www.charlottezweb.com/forums/index.php?topic=624.0

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Our server "Lightning" has been online for 2 years as of this month.  It has done an AMAZING job with very minimal outages.  (check the stats board if you don't believe me!  http://www.charlottezweb.com/forums/index.php?board=12.0 )

Lately we have discovered an issue with the operating system that we can't repair without doing a full restore of the primary harddrive.  It is fine right now, but as the need to update software arrives, the system is going to become progressively more unstable.  Doing a full restore means wiping the drive, reinstalling the operating system and then restoring all accounts from backup.  That's a fairly standard process but would result in an unavoidable outage -- probably several hour's worth.

Rather than trying to coordinate all of that and deal with an extended outage, I've opted to upgrade to a completely brand new server. 

I've ordered a brand new server today in the same datacenter where our two latest servers (Cyclone and Hurricane) are housed in Atlanta, Georgia, US.  This server has more power than Lightning -- and rightfully so -- it's two years newer.

I'd like to introduce:

"Firestorm"
Dual Opteron 244
2 GB ram
2 x 120 GB SATA drives

It's being secured and configured as I type this and will likely be usable by the end of the weekend.  After that time, I will begin reaching out to all clients on that box to transfer their accounts.  In many cases, I can move everything without you noticing anything.  In the cases where clients have custom setups (like dedicated IP's, SSL certificates, database-driven sites/forums) I will work with you to schedule convenient times for us both to minimize any disruption.  I plan to complete all of these moves over the next several weeks -- with a tentative completion no later than the end of February.

Once your site is moved, you will be required to update your nameservers.  Don't do anything now, I will provide instructions to each of you once your sites are moved.
  (If I designed and maintain your site and domain name, I'll handle all of this)

For those of you who have also been seeing email issues on this server, this should certainly correct that.  This server is in a different state, in a different datacenter, on a different network and on a different operating system.  I apologize that the email issue has carried on this far for some of you -- I've become a bit frustrated with the support the datacenter provided which is part of the reason I'm happy to relocate this one with 2 out of 3 of our other servers.

Please post any questions/concerns you have in this thread.  In the grand scheme of things, replacing a 2-year old server with a stronger, newer one is going to be a fantastic move, though it's obviously a little work for some of us (most notably me!) in the short term.

I look forward to your feedback.

Regards,
Jason

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HOW DO I KNOW IF MY ACCOUNT IS ON LIGHTNING?!

There are several ways to tell if your account is on Lightning:

1.  What are your nameservers?  If you have your nameservers for your domain name set to ns3.charlottezweb.com and ns4.charlottezweb.com, you are on Lightning.

2.  If you open a command prompt on your pc (Start > Run > "cmd" on Windows) and then type:  "ping mysite.com" where "mysite.com" is your website, you will see the IP address it's pinging.  If that shows 67.15.82.49, you're on Lightning.

3.  Post here asking and we'll let you know...

3.  Email Jason!  When all else fails, email me and I'll let you know!

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edit:  added placeholder link to All Client Email
edit2:  fixed nameserver numbers in item # 1. above
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CountryLady

Jason, you have the nicest business manners. Thank you for taking such good care of us.

We have one site on Lightning that involves a forum, but it is practically at a standstill this time of year, and we can be very flexible on the change. With all you have to do, make it as easy on yourself as possible where we're concerned.

Our other site is on cyclone, and we couldn't be happier.

Again, thanks for all you do for us.

  :)
Chance favors the prepared. Come join us at OurCountryHaven.

marcobarrera


Jason

One of our two new servers, Firestorm, is now online and ready to take over the accounts presently on Lightning.  I will start transferring accounts manually over the next several days.  If you have a preference around when you'd like to be moved, please let me know.  I'd like to have this fully completed within the next two weeks.

Jason

Feb 13, 2007  --  Update:

I started the first waves of moves tonight and have completed about 10 accounts so far.  I have notified these clients.  All appears to be going very smoothly and with dns redirection on Lightning, I can almost make the propagation immediate which means no noticeable disruption to your site(s).

I'd like to request everyone on Lightning to contact me to schedule their moves at this point.  I will be conducting them in the evenings (EST) and all weekend.  If you need a custom time, I'll see what I can do.

It's important if you have a custom setup (like a dedicated IP, SSL cert, etc) that you contact me quickly so we can coordinate all of this since we'll need to assign you a new IP, etc)

Please send me an email directly or post here if you want to let me know when I can proceed with your account(s) and I'll pickup where I left off on Thursday evening.  (With tomorrow being Valentine's, I know better than to schedule something then!)

Note: If you are on Lightning, we *have* to get this accomplished and your nameservers updated within the next two weeks to make sure your site(s) don't drop offline when Lightning is powered down for good. Thanks!

Cheers,
Jason

bitwiz44

I have dedicated IP. IF Im on lighting, not to worry- just do what you need to do I'm good with it.

Jason

Quote from: bitwiz44 on February 14, 2007, 09:37:58 AM
I have dedicated IP. IF Im on lighting, not to worry- just do what you need to do I'm good with it.

Thanks -- I'll schedule you for Thursday evening then if that works for you?

Jason

This post below is being sent to all clients tonight 2/19/2007 as the third email on this topic:

URGENT:  If you are on our server Lightning, your attention IS REQUIRED to ensure you don't have any loss of service.

This email is a third followup to the email I sent in January.  You can find today's email as well as the previous two here: 

http://www.charlottezweb.com/forums/index.php?topic=623.0

URGENT:  I've moved everyone who has contacted me so far.  If you have been moved and have updated your nameservers, you have nothing further to do.

If you are on Lightning and you haven't yet contacted me to schedule your account move, please do so immediately.  I can do them almost any night this week as well as on Saturday.

This server is going to be turned off next week so we need to act now.  Once your site is moved and you update your nameservers with your registrar, the nameserver change can take several days to update world wide.  Therefore, if we do your move at the last minute, it's possible that your site will be offline for some viewers as soon as that server is turned off next week.

Please post to the forum thread I linked above or email me directly to schedule your move if you have not done so already.  The move is very painless, requires no visible downtime (if we do it now), and will likely only require you to update your domain name afterwards.

Failure to act on this will mean your site(s) will go offline at some point next week. 

Thank you!

Regards,
Jason

Jeff


Jason


itsjustme

Go ahead and move wannafindit.  Let me know when I should change the name servers, and to what.

Thanks,

Dave

Jason

Quote from: itsjustme on February 20, 2007, 02:57:07 PM
Go ahead and move wannafindit.  Let me know when I should change the name servers, and to what.

Thanks Dave.  I'll move it tonight and shoot you an email once complete.

Jason

A final notice was emailed directly to all clients on Lightning just now (Feb 22, 2007):

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Greetings Charlottezweb Customers on our server Lightning,

This email marks the 4th and final notice on our Lightning server move.  If you have already completed your move with me, please ignore this final warning.

As of this moment, approximately 37 clients have not contacted me in response to the last 3 emails I've sent.  Without your compliance to update your nameservers, your website(s) and email will go offline next week when Lightning is powered down.  Even if you go out and update your nameservers at that time, your site(s) will stay offline throughout the propagation period which can potentially take up to a few days or more.

To allow a safe amount of time for your domain name updates to propgate around the globe, we *need* to finish your move(s) no later than this coming Sunday evening (February 25). 

For those who do not respond, I will move your accounts to complete my part but without you updating your domain names (which I can't do for you), your sites will drop offline next week.

Thank you to everyone who has worked with me thus far.  The moves have been going very smoothly. I've heard some great feedback about the new server's performance so hopefully you're enjoying that as well.

For all the details, please consult this thread on our forum:

http://www.charlottezweb.com/forums/index.php?topic=623.0

Kindest Regards,
Jason Saunders
Charlottezweb.com



Jason

All sites have now been removed/transferred from Lightning. 

If you haven't updated your nameservers, I'd advise to do so immediately.

Lightning will be formatted (for security) and powered down in two days (this Wednesday).

If your nameservers haven't been changed and completely resolved, your site(s) will go down at that time.

It looks like I've heard from almost everyone so this project, though extremely tedious, looks to be fairly well handled at this point. 

Thank you everyone for your help.  I hope you're enjoying the new server!

Cheers,
Jason

Jason