March 2007 Outage Explanation

[DrSpooky]

I wanted you all to know that the outage we have experienced the past 36 horus wasn't the result of something horrible with the server. My ISP switched the IP address of the site in an attempt to do some load balancing on their network equipment.

Unfortunately, they didn't change the DNS entry for another 24 hours. So the site was up but you didn't know how to get here.

For those who care, DNS is the magic that maps host names to the numeric IP addresses that machines on the Internet actually are identified by. When the mapping is incorrect, you don't go anywhere.

So we didn't have a hardware failure. But we did get close to a stroke dealing with technical support.

[BlueChair]

Thanks for continuing to do what you do to ensure this place runs smoothly, Dr S!

[Who Shot Sam?]

Thanks Doc!

[legman open to offers]

I appreciate ya pal!

[DrSpooky]

Thanks for the appreciation. I just wish in hindsight, I had sent out a notice before the IP switched so you all know what was up. The ISP shouldn't be doing this again soon.

[Gillibeanz]

Thanks for all your hard work - you are a star!

[DrSpooky]

Gosh shucks Maam... that's real nice.

Seriously now that The Board is back up. My ISP switched the IP address in order to do load balancing. Can any of you tell any improvement in performance or responsiveness from your part of the world?

[mood swung]

well, it loads! that's a HUGE improvement!

thanks for all you do, Doc, and also for explaining it for dummies.

[wardo68]

Well, whatever the reason, it's good to see it up an running again. I was afraid it had disappeared for good. Thanks for the update!

[DrSpooky]

If you ever see an outage and suspect something isn't right, feel free to contact myself or Michele via private email. Don't use a PM because if The Board is down for you, it is often down for us for all practical purposes.

We will be leaving for Munich on 16 March and returning on 24 March. I will try to do some tests this weekend to make sure the server reboots automatically after a power outage.

[oily slick]

well if your WEWE won't IP, then you have a PROB. thank heavens you and DFS sorted that out, cause I ME was getting the DTS. thanks a lot, i was afeared elvis croaked.