Comments on: Holding pattern http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/ A status report centre for the Battlestar Wiki Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:01:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: Steelviper http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-109 Steelviper Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:31:59 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-109 Awesome. On the one hand, I worry about covering the $300 per month, especially during the "offseason". However, hopefully our new wikis will be able to help pull their weight, and we'll need some more horsepower to run multiple sites (especially considering that we were barely able to keep up, if that, at the peak usage of a single wiki). I guess worst case we can always drop down to a lower tier if funds/advertising revenue/traffic dictates. Awesome.

On the one hand, I worry about covering the $300 per month, especially during the “offseason”.

However, hopefully our new wikis will be able to help pull their weight, and we’ll need some more horsepower to run multiple sites (especially considering that we were barely able to keep up, if that, at the peak usage of a single wiki).

I guess worst case we can always drop down to a lower tier if funds/advertising revenue/traffic dictates.

]]> By: Brad Templeton http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-110 Brad Templeton Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:16:03 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-110 Go for the extra CPU, you surely need it! I would also recommend, not that you need more to do, but that you redirect the DNS on battlestarwiki.org to some server that just returns a server down notice (perhaps with link to the blog). Just put a short TTL on the DNS record, so that when you are back up, you can switch to the new server with no wait. Being totally down is not great form -- folks have links to the battlestar wiki and it's better if they show a notice rather than a failure. Perhaps do it as a temporary redirect so spiders are not bothered. Go for the extra CPU, you surely need it!

I would also recommend, not that you need more to do, but that you redirect the DNS on battlestarwiki.org to some server that just returns a server down notice (perhaps with link to the blog). Just put a short TTL on the DNS record, so that when you are back up, you can switch to the new server with no wait.

Being totally down is not great form — folks have links to the battlestar wiki and it’s better if they show a notice rather than a failure. Perhaps do it as a temporary redirect so spiders are not bothered.

]]> By: Catrope http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-111 Catrope Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:18:32 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-111 I'd say go for it! The extra bandwidth you buy for those extra $40 per month results in more pageviews (more people can visit simultaneously, and people view more pages as they load faster), which in turn boosts ad revenue. I don't know how much money you make on the ads, but they could (at least partly) compensate those $40. I’d say go for it!

The extra bandwidth you buy for those extra $40 per month results in more pageviews (more people can visit simultaneously, and people view more pages as they load faster), which in turn boosts ad revenue. I don’t know how much money you make on the ads, but they could (at least partly) compensate those $40.

]]> By: Joe Beaudoin http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-112 Joe Beaudoin Tue, 03 Apr 2007 22:12:06 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-112 I posted an maintenance page, which also doubles as a 404 error page. As for that extra $40 dollars a month, that is covered by Amazon.com / iTunes commissions. I posted an maintenance page, which also doubles as a 404 error page.

As for that extra $40 dollars a month, that is covered by Amazon.com / iTunes commissions.

]]> By: Brad Templeton http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-113 Brad Templeton Wed, 04 Apr 2007 00:13:10 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-113 I haven't studied behaviour lately, as to which is better to present spiders. A 404 may convince link-checkers etc. that there are dead links and report them to webmasters. I think the spiders of search engines are smart enough to require seeing this (or site down) for longer than a few days to get upset. I think the best approach is still a Redirect-Temporary to another page (perhaps on this site) explaining things. Spiders understand temp redirct and will re-fetch when things are back to life. Users see something to explain what's up. With luck you're alive before too long anyway. I haven’t studied behaviour lately, as to which is better to present spiders. A 404 may convince link-checkers etc. that there are dead links and report them to webmasters. I think the spiders of search engines are smart enough to require seeing this (or site down) for longer than a few days to get upset.

I think the best approach is still a Redirect-Temporary to another page (perhaps on this site) explaining things. Spiders understand temp redirct and will re-fetch when things are back to life. Users see something to explain what’s up. With luck you’re alive before too long anyway.

]]> By: Talos http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-114 Talos Wed, 04 Apr 2007 02:23:32 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-114 Yeah, go for the performance, the wiki definately needed it. Yeah, go for the performance, the wiki definately needed it.

]]> By: Marcus http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-116 Marcus Wed, 04 Apr 2007 03:05:56 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-116 I always thought that it was more the MySQL server that needed to be upgraded rather then the http server. Then again, that is based solely on just browsing the site. I always thought that it was more the MySQL server that needed to be upgraded rather then the http server.
Then again, that is based solely on just browsing the site.

]]> By: Joe Beaudoin http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-117 Joe Beaudoin Wed, 04 Apr 2007 04:08:09 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-117 We've been keeping an eye on both servers, which involves Shane and I basically keeping an eye on the process list via SSH while the server gets slammed fifty thousand ways to Colonial Day ;-) and reviewing the statistics after that. What it boils down to is that Athena, as she is right now, is fine. That issue we solved. Our issue has always been the processing power of Apache / Squid on Apollo, which has painfully been apparent a few days immediately following the first airing of an episode. We’ve been keeping an eye on both servers, which involves Shane and I basically keeping an eye on the process list via SSH while the server gets slammed fifty thousand ways to Colonial Day ;-) and reviewing the statistics after that.

What it boils down to is that Athena, as she is right now, is fine. That issue we solved.

Our issue has always been the processing power of Apache / Squid on Apollo, which has painfully been apparent a few days immediately following the first airing of an episode.

]]> By: Steelviper http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-118 Steelviper Wed, 04 Apr 2007 11:53:09 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-118 I had the same initial thought regarding the upgrade (upgrade the machine without the extra RAM, swap the older machine to the SQL machine, possibly swap the names). And if it turns out the new machine needs more RAM it looks like we should just go month to month, since it appears that "lifetime" is more relative than we realized and the odds are pretty good that the apache server will need periodic upgrades as deals like this make themselves available. I had the same initial thought regarding the upgrade (upgrade the machine without the extra RAM, swap the older machine to the SQL machine, possibly swap the names).

And if it turns out the new machine needs more RAM it looks like we should just go month to month, since it appears that “lifetime” is more relative than we realized and the odds are pretty good that the apache server will need periodic upgrades as deals like this make themselves available.

]]> By: sascrotch http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-120 sascrotch Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:06:24 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-120 Sounds great, but why change the old Apollo to Athena? Just curious. Sounds great, but why change the old Apollo to Athena? Just curious.

]]> By: Steelviper http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-121 Steelviper Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:35:45 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-121 If you mean functionally, it's because the SQL box doesn't need as much horsepower as the machine that actually serves all the web traffic. If you mean why switch names... "Athena" was intended to be the repository of knowledge (Goddess of Wisdom and what not), so that name may travel to whichever server happens to serve that role. If you mean functionally, it’s because the SQL box doesn’t need as much horsepower as the machine that actually serves all the web traffic.

If you mean why switch names… “Athena” was intended to be the repository of knowledge (Goddess of Wisdom and what not), so that name may travel to whichever server happens to serve that role.

]]> By: Boxy http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-122 Boxy Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:52:35 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-122 Hell Yeah Macs would be better than that other stuff, its great were getting so big Hell Yeah
Macs would be better than that other stuff, its great were getting so big

]]> By: Spencerian http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-123 Spencerian Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:49:53 +0000 http://bswiki.woo-yay.net/2007/04/03/holding-pattern/#comment-123 As a Mac tech, I'd say sure, we'd get good throughput, but it's still cheaper to build your own boxes and ensure you have diverse support options from several vendors and not one. If anyone wanted to host mirrors on their Macs, I'm sure Joe wouldn't say no. :) I'm game for more web power; going with the Conroe and swapping the IDs of Apollo and Athena would be fine with me. As a Mac tech, I’d say sure, we’d get good throughput, but it’s still cheaper to build your own boxes and ensure you have diverse support options from several vendors and not one. If anyone wanted to host mirrors on their Macs, I’m sure Joe wouldn’t say no. :) I’m game for more web power; going with the Conroe and swapping the IDs of Apollo and Athena would be fine with me.

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