# SDMB Server Upgrade **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 15, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586 "2004-09-15T19:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2004, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/1 "2004-09-15T19:27:00Z")
After the transition to the new hosting facility we’ve noticed a degradation in performance of the SDMB on it’s new server. To correct this we’ll be performing an upgrade on the new server which we hope will at least bring us back to the performance we had when it was hosted at the Chicago Reader. That is approximately 3500 new posts a day during the work week. While we could wait for about 7 days to have the upgrade performed during non-business hours we decided it better to proceed ahead as quickly as possible. We therefore are going to upgrade the SDMB web server (which also hosts [www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com)) sometime between 12:00 and 16:00 CDT on Thursday, September 16th. We don’t know exactly when it will happen within that 4 hour time span but we ask you to be prepared for the SDMB to not be available during that time. Thanks, Jerry Davis Information Systems Director Chicago Reader, Inc. 11 E. Illinois St. Chicago, IL 60611 ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/2 "2004-09-15T21:23:25Z")
Let’s be honest. The server performance here blows goats. As in useless. What kind of daily bandwidth thus this server blow? I’d guess you need a dedicated box. Consider banner ads. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/3 "2004-09-16T03:45:22Z")
Whiskey, naked dancing girls, and a suitcase full of thousand-dollar bills for Jerry the Tech God. All hail!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/4 "2004-09-16T03:45:30Z")
I, for one, appreciate the quick attempt at a fix. It would have been all too easy to let us dangle, swaying and twisting in the wind until you got good and ready to deal with the fix. I sincerely appreciate the sense of urgency. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/5 "2004-09-16T03:49:24Z")
You timed for my eveiing in the pub!! Many thanks for being so thoughtful 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/6 "2004-09-16T04:04:55Z")
> [@jdavis](#): > > After the transition to the new hosting facility we’ve noticed a degradation in performance of the SDMB on it’s new server. To correct this we’ll be performing an upgrade on the new server which we hope will at least bring us back to the performance we had when it was hosted at the Chicago Reader. If I’m reading this right, the board was running on its own server, and for some time was living in the break room at the CR offices, under the Dunkin Donuts box. Then, you pick it up and take it to a proper hosting facility, where it’s now bolted into a server rack. Unfortunately, like a ficus, it’s not happy that it was moved, and has been behaving poorly. Poetic license aside, I’ve got the general idea so far? Why was the server’s performance impaired by being moved? If anything, I’d expect it to be better, assuming the hosting facility has a better pipe to the internet than whatever came to the CR offices. And, what was the upgrade? More RAM? Another processor? Went to Animal Kingdom and bought the premium Hamster Kibble? Face it Jerry, we’re geeks and we wanna know! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/7 "2004-09-16T14:01:29Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Why was the server’s performance impaired by being moved? If anything, I’d expect it to be better, assuming the hosting facility has a better pipe to the internet than whatever came to the CR offices. > > And, what was the upgrade? More RAM? Another processor? Went to Animal Kingdom and bought the premium Hamster Kibble? The dedicated server we had for the SDMB at the Chicago Reader is still at the Reader . The dedicated server we had built by our new hosting provider is brand new and unfortunately underperforming. That new server will be upgraded doubling it’s RAM (this is primarily the problem), adding a 2nd processor and a installing a new SMP capable kernel. Jerry ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/8 "2004-09-16T15:06:54Z")
Thanks, Jerry! I’d like to say, though, that I hadn’t noticed how bad the performance has been, probably because I remember how lousy it was in 2002. Compared with THAT it’s been FLYING! ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/9 "2004-09-16T15:07:17Z")
Did anyone think of the hamsters? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/10 "2004-09-16T15:58:14Z")
Thank you, thank you. I’d been holding off posting a “performance since the hosting switchover sucks like a battalion of leeches and vampire bats after a pretzel fest” post, giving y’all time to tweak and optimize settings, but it has truly been bad. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/11 "2004-09-17T00:31:38Z")
The board is now so fast that I’m posting from _five hours into the future_. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/12 "2004-09-17T00:39:37Z")
I was just about to ask about that too. The time stamps on the old posts are right, but the new ones all appear to be GMT. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/13 "2004-09-17T00:45:08Z")
Things are really smoking now. The board is much perkier now! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/14 "2004-09-17T00:46:01Z")
I’m confused. Are we severing connections with the Chicago reader? ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/15 "2004-09-16T20:16:35Z")
Wow, it’s much faster now, but I notice the posting times are off again. ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/16 "2004-09-16T20:21:17Z")
The upgrade is essentially finished. We may still do something to improve the multiprocessing capability of the backend database but that should be transparent to all. The server clock got screwed around with again so a number of posts will be out of order. The clock is now back to where it should be. I’m seeing a reduction in load on the server and an increase in outgoing bandwidth usage. These are steps in the right direction. I’ll watch the board’s average new post counts over the next few days and that will give me a better idea of overall performance. Jerry ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/17 "2004-09-16T20:25:36Z")
The time is fixed, but now search isn’t working. I had just finished a successful search and tried another one. I got the message “Sorry! The administrator has specified that you can only do one search every 30 seconds”. I waited more than 30 seconds by the clock, tried again, and got the same message. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/18 "2004-09-16T20:43:46Z")
I’ve thought about this a bit. I’ll speculate that my last successful search was just before the time was corrected, and the software thinks my new search is not 30 seconds after my last search. So this’ll probably correct itself when real time catches up in a few hours, and I can live with that. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/19 "2004-09-16T20:50:49Z")
OK, pinch me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the boards this fast. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586/20 "2004-09-16T22:08:50Z")
> [@jdavis](#): > > The upgrade is essentially finished. I love the little clock oddity we had this afternoon. In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=275976&page=2&pp=30) and [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5267931) some of this afternoon’s posts got anomolously dated ~7pm this evening. Now when people post replies, they’re getting sorted into the thread to a position before the mis-stamped entries. The ‘last poster’ entry is updating properly, but doesn’t point to the actual last post. This’ll probably sort itself all out (with or without permanent errors) by 8pm this evening. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-upgrade/264586.md?page=2)