Server upgrade (Read 3615 times)

Update: The server upgrade is tentatively scheduled for Monday at 9 PM EST (2 AM GMT). It should take about 2 or 3 hours. During this time, you will not be able to access any page on RA. Original Message: Hi folks, Some of you have noticed that RA is having sporadic performance issues lately. Its user base has grown to the point where the server is working every second of every day. RA has been running on its own server for several years now. The ever increasing load has put a strain on the server, resulting in unresponsiveness during peak hours (or whenever the Google bot feels like visiting). My original plan was to upgrade the server within a year but decided to upgrade it now. The new server arrived yesterday. It is a more capable machine and should be able to handle the load for years to come. I will put it through its paces this week and I'm planning to make the swap some time next week. I am planning to do the upgrade after 9 PM to reduce the number of users being affected by this. Hopefully it won't turn into an all niter because I'm too old and pampered to relive my college days. During the upgrade, RA will not be available. I do not know how long the upgrade will take because the bulk of the work involves moving the database, which has gotten quite large. I will do several dry runs before the actual upgrade and will get a better estimate of how long the upgrade will take. I will keep you updated on the status and the actually date. As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. eric :-)

Kinda reminds me of this: http://runningahead.com/forums/post/05bb2abdec96425ca2efcf6a35ba6c48#focus

Im a computer guy and know about moving Databases.......TAKE YOUR TIME......we can wait.... Great Web site - I love it... JohnA

Hmmm...I can't remember when I last donated to the cause. So I'm off to the homepage to click the little PayPal button and support my favorite home on the net.

So should we all go in and export our training data just to be safe?

No need to export your data. Here's what's involved: I plug in the new server, which will have all the software installed on it. I would shut down the web server to prevent anyone from adding new data to the database. After that, I will copy the data from the old server to the new one. The data on the old server will not be touched. After the database is moved over to the new server, I will bring up the web server and we'll be good to go. If something goes wrong during the copy, I will bring the old server back up and figure out the next step. John A: I'm going to try two different methods of moving the db. I'm hoping that copying of the datafiles over would be sufficient. The alternative method is to do a db dump and then an import, which is very time consuming. eric

Im not going to answer for Eric, but I have done a lot of database transfers and upgrades (one just a few days ago).. First he will have a copy of everything (as is) when he starts...if for some reason it bombs out on him, he can just go back to the current server and nothing changes - he will just have to try again later.... If it works (which he has about a 99% chance of immediate success) nothing will change again.......for you.....except that you will probably notice that the server and web site are working a little quicker... All the data and entries in your logs will look just like they look now. If you try to enter something on the day he is transferring the data you wont be able to - so just remember it or write it down on paper for the day and enter it when the system is up (it wont be that long).... What he is doing is normally a pretty easy process - it just can be time consuming setting there watching the data copy......I doubt seriously if anyone has anything to worrry about.......JohnA

I doubt seriously if anyone has anything to worrry about.......JohnA

Especially because it's Eric doing the server switch. This place is his baby and he actually cares about fellow runners...and isn't out to make a buck.

Especially because it's Eric doing the server switch. This place is his baby and he actually cares about fellow runners...and isn't out to make a buck.

... but new servers cost money.... Just saying. Paypal buttons help alleviate financial pain. Neil