New Server Needs Testers
Tue Sep 28 2004

Hi one and all,
The new server is up and running and if people would like to please give it a visit and e-mail me if there is anything that isn't working, gives a 404 error or such like... You can go to the new server at http://smarty.deardiary.net and please use it as you would use the normal site, except bear in mind that anything you do will NOT be saved into your regular diary.

I've given it a reasonably good testing over the past few weeks and I think it's ready to go. If I have heard no bad news overnight tonight then tomorrow I am going to switch everyone to the new server. Switching to the new server WILL involve some downtime, approximately 2 hours I suspect. A notice will appear letting people know what gives when it happens. Note that ALL Hamiko services will be offline during the change because they all use the same database. That's DD, OpenFiction, HamiMail (which will become available only to Plus users anyway after the move), HamiPiks and the Forums.

Note that some things like Notifications will go out with a hardcoded 'www.deardiary.net' so you may find its better if you post any test entries on the new server to switch off notifies for those to avoid annoying your readers. Any new users who signed up within the last three weeks can't test the new server because the database snapshot on there is too old. Anyone before that, I'd really appreciate it if you could help me test.

Ok - so all being well, tomorrow is switchover day :)

Steve.

P.S. Cutypops, you can't remove people who have chosen you as friends - however the only thing it affects is whether they get notified when you update (if they chose to be notified) and you CAN switch that off by choosing restricted notifications and setting their permissions to NO. You can do that using the Manage Friends link in your Members Button Bar. I'd ask you to use the forums for questions like that in future though so that everyone gets to see the answer ;)

6 Comments
  • From:
    Anniedark (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Sep 28 2004
    It seems like it'll be a hit :)! Thanks so much for all the energy (and money!) you invest into this site.

    Thanks for letting everyone know about the downtime too - it's handy to know we should expect tings like that.

    Congrats yet again!
    Annie
  • From:
    SOLOSAIR (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Sep 28 2004
    No probs here - with the new server test I made, the pages load very quickly indeed.

    Thanks for all the hard work you put into the site. We very much appreciate it.

    SOLOSAIR. :-D
  • From:
    Yetzirah (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Sep 28 2004
    Ooooo. Brand new shiney server.....
    I'll go check it out right away!

    Write On!
    Y.
  • From:
    Yetzirah (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Sep 28 2004
    So far, looks good. Pages load like lightning!!!
    The front page looks much better too.
    Larger fonts and things are in their proper place.

    Cool!

    Y.
  • From:
    MissTick (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Sep 28 2004
    testing has been positive. One minor thing I've noticed: if I delete my entry, its get composted, but still shown in "10 last updated diaries". (it was "test server TAKE2" entry) Just tested the same on the old site: once deleted, the entry name has gone for good.
    Could be something, that will go away once new server on line.
  • From:
    Cutypops (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Sep 28 2004
    sowwwy...i keep forgetting those are there!

    new server works fine for me!