URGENT: Server Replacement 8/23/06!

[Frank Hagan]

For all customers on our messing-about.com server:

An emergency server replacement has been scheduled for tomorrow, 8/23/06.  There may be some downtime as the server is swapped out, and there may be some issues with the "name servers" as we move the servers.

In addition, those of you with community forums (like this one) may experience some odd behaviour as some users enter messages onto the old server after the transition, and these messages do not make it onto the new server.  There is no way to prevent this, as the servers have to both exist for a short time to ensure uninterrupted access to the web sites.  The only alternative is to lock your forums for a short period of time and then reopen them once the transition is complete.

I apologize for the short notice, but the data center has made the decision to replace the server after determining that they cannot wait any longer.

[Frank Hagan]

Nameserver information has been transferred, so those of you with accounts here should be able to access your websites now.  If you need to change your nameserver settings, and your website is on messing-about.com's server use the following:

DNS #1: ns1.messing-about.com - 74.52.103.132
DNS #2: ns2.messing-about.com - 74.52.104.48

This only applies to those with websites we are hosting on the messing-about.com server, and for those who can't access their site.  If you can access your site, then in the immortal words of Rosanne Rosanna Danna, "Never mind".

While the server has switched over, but not all the individual sites are on it yet ... messing-about.com is still in the process, and should be completed by this afternoon.

The new server has:
Dual Xeon Processors (same as before)
2GB RAM (Previously 1GB)
10k RPM Ultra320 SCSI hard drives (Previously IDE)

The faster hard drives will probably make most of the difference in performance.

[Frank Hagan]

The server has been replaced and all accounts transferred.  You can verify this by pinging your site and seeing the new IP address returned.

Use Start * Run and type "CMD" in the dialog box and press <Enter>.  In the DOS window that comes up, type "ping <your website name>" and press <Enter>.  Example:

Code:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Frank Hagan>ping messing-about.com

Pinging messing-about.com [74.52.103.130] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 74.52.103.130: bytes=32 time=44ms TTL=51
Reply from 74.52.103.130: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=51
Reply from 74.52.103.130: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=51
Reply from 74.52.103.130: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 74.52.103.130:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 43ms, Maximum = 44ms, Average = 43ms

Please let me know if any issues arise.

[Frank Hagan]

If you created your site on the messing-about.com server using Front Page by Microsoft, please let me know.  Not all of the accounts had the necessary Front Page Extensions installed with the change over.

Symptoms might be layout related, or things like the Front Page icons, hit counters, etc., not working.

I can easily add the extensions back onto your account, so just let me know.