New host for this site - FOUND

Questions and updates for http://www.railroadfan.com are posted here. If anyone has suggestions, either post here or email me at zack@railroadfan.com.
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~Z~
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New host for this site - FOUND

Unread post by ~Z~ »

I have purchased a plan with a new host, knownhost.com, and am in the process of transfering everything over. I believe the transfer will start after 7pm EDT on Wednesday April 2nd. This site has never been moved in its' current format with the message board and gallery, so I hope there won't be any problems during this move. Please be patient over the next couple of days if there are any snags during this process. Please email me if you have any difficulties:
railroadfan@gmail.com
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Scooterb
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Unread post by Scooterb »

Alright!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Be seeing you on the other side

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~Z~
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Unread post by ~Z~ »

I'm turning back on the message board section for a while... the gallery is doing it's backup right now, so the gallery is currently offline. My host is doing most of the backup and transfer process, so I'm kind of at their timeline for when to shut down parts of the site. Still hoping this will all be completed tonight.
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~Z~
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Unread post by ~Z~ »

After all of the work yesterday, I basically got nowhere. My old host where the site is still located is having a hard time creating a solid connection to my new host to transfer all of the files for the site over. My guess is that it's still going to be a couple of days until the transfer is complete. I'll leave the message board running, as really none of the site's files are being changed besides the huge MySQL table...Gallery will be offline though while these backups and transfers are trying to take place.
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~Z~
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Unread post by ~Z~ »

Here's some updates on the progress:

All of the files for the message board and gallery have been transfered to the new host. I am currently waiting on my old host to release the domain name of railroadfan.com so that I can get it set up on the new host. Until that happens, I can't point the name of railroadfan.com to the new servers, therefore, making the message board and gallery not work.

When they finally release the name, I will need to turn off the message board access while I move the large database that runs the message board and gallery. After it is moved, it may take around 24 hours for people to be able to access the site again.
I'll keep you all posted as this progresses.
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Scooterb
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Unread post by Scooterb »

24 hrs :cry: :cry: :cry: my gosh what am I gonna do without this site for 24hrs.............................

Aleks
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Unread post by Aleks »

We'll all be going into withdrawls without our fix.
How will we ever survive!!!

sd70accsxt700
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Unread post by sd70accsxt700 »

Wont be bad for me, heck I can kill 24 hours between 15 hours at work, and 8 hours sleeping. I think I can manage for one hour.


PS let me know what day it is going to be (just not my rest day) so I can plan on making sure I work the max 12 hours that day. He He He He. :wink:
https://flic.kr/ps/jSuAb My Flickr photos!

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~Z~
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Unread post by ~Z~ »

After some testing, the new site is operational... just can't move everyone over yet until I can get my domain name of railroadfan.com pointed to the new servers..amazed how long this process takes

We tried to transfer the domain name of railroadfan.com from my old hosting services to the new one, but they failed at providing a correct authorization code, so we get to start over...looks to be another few days until I can get the name of railroadfan.com over to the new host. When that finally happens, I'll shut off the message board to transfer the database to the new host, then turn the board back on. Railroadfan.com will then point to the new site after about 24 hours.
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~Z~
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Unread post by ~Z~ »

Alrighty, new hosting site looks like we are going to try to go live tomorrow (Friday 04/11.) I'm going to be turning off the message board approx 7:30am. Going to transfer the database to the new site, then start pointing railroadfan.com to the new hosting service. They are guessing that it'll only take 6-7 hours until you can start logging in, but you should be able to see the site relatively quick. If you aren't able to log in, I'm going to make it so that you can just post as a guest during that day until everything gets updated. I'll see ya on the other side! Stay tuned to the main page at http://www.railroadfan.com for updates.
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Scooterb
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Unread post by Scooterb »

One thing I have learned is never cut something over on a weekend......
Good luck... Hope to see you on the other side..............

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~Z~
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Unread post by ~Z~ »

Per Scott's thoughts about not doing this over a weekend and having a lack of support, I think I'll give it a try on Monday instead.
Also, the new host said they are in the process now of finishing moving the railroadfan.com name to their hosting services, and wanted me to wait on doing the final cutover.
Thanks for being patient all, site will get moved soon enough.
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Norm
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Unread post by Norm »

Zack,

You may not find the new server any better than this one. I just read an article on Yahoo news about "Black Holes" in the internet that, if still available, may be interesting.

There is some 'slowness' on our Cessna Pilots Forum as well. It may be something we just have to put up with till the ISP's get a better handle on things.
Norm

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~Z~
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Unread post by ~Z~ »

Norm wrote:Zack,

You may not find the new server any better than this one. I just read an article on Yahoo news about "Black Holes" in the internet that, if still available, may be interesting.

There is some 'slowness' on our Cessna Pilots Forum as well. It may be something we just have to put up with till the ISP's get a better handle on things.
It's possible that it could be worse, but highly unlikely. On the old host, this website is hosted on a single server, that has over 800 websites on it. The MySQL database, the main thing that runs this site, is shared by thousands of websites, all slowing down how this site runs. The current host bans the visitors of this site if they think they are using too much memory/CPU usage. They turn off permissions on my folders that block everyone from getting into the gallery and message board. The server reboots at least daily, and has massive slowdowns at various points in the day. There is no phone support, and tech support is outsources, so they don't write back with very good english in their emails. Plus side though is it's cheap and has tons of space.

New host: website is on a single server, only has 8 other websites that share space on it. I have guaranteed CPU/memory on the box that will always be available. The box only reboots if I ask it to, or if there's some error that comes up. We have a dedicated MySQL box that runs on my slot on this server, so we have tons of resources to run the site with. Tech support is in Washington DC, server is in Dallas. They have quick turnarounds when I contact them, and speak english :)
Downside, it's expensive and has limited hard drive space. I'll get into some of the changes that need to happen around here after the move finishes to the new host. We were on a shared hosting plan, and now on what's called a VPS (virtual private server.)

That in a nutshell is what's been happening, and why I hope this new host will run much better.
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~Z~
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Unread post by ~Z~ »

Website has been moved! If you are reading this, we are live on the new host. Thanks all for being patient during this move, it's much appreciated. Please either PM me, or email me at railroadfan@gmail.com if you have any difficulties with the site. Hopefully access speeds are now improved and reliability will be much higher.

If anyone cannot post, i've temporarily turned on the guest forum. Please post concerns there:
viewforum.php?f=13
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Brian_F
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Unread post by Brian_F »

Only one small issue so far. When posting a photo, after adding the info and
assigning a gallery I hit 'continue' and get the error message

"Destination directory albums/userpics/10311/ is not writable by the script !"

Hey! It's just like last Sunday night at work when the IT guy changed the names
and order of all the server volumes without telling anyone! Hopefully
Zack, this move has not resulted in 12 hour days and 28 hours with no sleep
for you. :lol:
I haven't lost my mind, it's on tape backup here somewhere...

http://www.railroadfan.com/gallery/index.php?cat=10311

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odave
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Unread post by odave »

Thanks for doing all that work Zack. I know how precious anybody's free time is, and I appreciate all of your efforts making this forum so great.

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Justin
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Unread post by Justin »

Glad to see you got everything back up Zack. Thanks for the hard work you put into this site. I enjoy it here. :D
My train pictures can now be found at:
http://trainman86.rrpicturearchives.net

And my train videos at:
http://www.youtube.com/trainman1986

My website, dedicated to my layout, "The Fast Lane" (still under construction)
www.trainman86.webs.com

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