UMSF - Server Switch 10th & 11th May Options

[djellison]

After the great 'server drive' fund raising by UMSF members, we have our dual 3ghz server up and running. I have another domain hosted on it already. It has been fast, and 100% stable ( touch wood ) for 2 months.

Thus, the intention is to move UMSF to the new server this weekend.

At approx 1200UT ( 1300 my time ) UMSF will be 'turned off'. The database is rather large, and can not be moved in an instant - nor can the 4Gb of attachments.

After the forum is switched off, a full backup will begin, sending the entire forum content to the new server ( this has been tested just now - and takes 2-3 hours )

Only once the full backup is successfully completed, will the DNS settings be changed, pointing the domain to the new server.

Once the backup is completed, the database must be repopulated on the new server, the attachments moved to the right place, the settings updated and checked - and only once the forum itself is up and running will it be turned 'on' again. At that point, it will take a couple of hours ( potentially significantly less ) for the domain-name shift to propagate across the web to your own ISP.

The move is scheduled for what is the quietest days of the week, and the quietest hours of that day for UMSF - to minimize withdrawal symptoms. Things might not go perfectly, so you'll just have to hold tight.

To keep everyone up to date - I will use a new external blog ( http://umsf.blogspot.com/ ) with news of the transfer - once UMSF is down, check there for details!

[ElkGroveDan]

Perfect. I am also moving my home this weekend so I'm glad to see I won't miss anything as I try to reconnect and reconfigure at the new house.

Now, I'd like a few nods of sympathy from everyone. I am moving from a bustling suburban community to a rural agricultural area. So I won't have the cable TV company that I now use for my internet connection and will be forced to use the local phone company's DSL service......

The consolation is that I now have really dark skies at night, so I may dust off the telescopes and go back to that wonderful hobby again. I might even get myself something newer and state of the art to teach my kids with.

[djellison]

I am moving from a bustling suburban community to a rural agricultural area.

You do know the countryside smells of poo? That's all there is. Livestock, and poo. I spent the best years of my youth in the countryside, most of it standing in, on, or near...poo.

[Stu]

You do know the countryside smells of poo? That's all there is. Livestock, and poo. I spent the best years of my youth in the countryside, most of it standing in, on, or near...poo.

The BEST years?! What the **** were you standing in, on, or near during the WORST years?!?!?

You do the countryside a disservice, sir. We also have the heady aromas of tractors spilling diesel oil... muddy sheep soaked with wee... muddy sheepdogs soaked with sheep wee... Argos chain-decorated chavs splashed with cheap Aldi "Rhino" or "Raptor" aftershave, and other olfactory delights...

Bet all you LA dwellers are reet jealous now, eh?