Hi all. Over the last few weeks, I have been investigating the potential of moving to a new web server/host. Initially, I considered moving our sister site, www.epic40k.co.uk. However, I have decided that it makes more sense to move this site, and then to fold the content from epic40k into this site after relocation.
Why?
I wont lie, the new place will be cheaper. However, this does mean that we are further safe from advertising to keep this place free and unbiased, so that is a good thing in my book. Initially, the current hosts were great value. However, as numbers increase, this is becoming less true. So, the site has outgrown the current hosting package, and that is also a good thing for me. Long may it continue!
The new hosts also have much better limits on both bandwidth and disk space, making future growth much easier and giving good future prospects for whatever direction the site takes.
Also, when the site is moved, I will take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade these boards, and the Wiki. We will be moving over to a new, but similar forum system.
When?
Honestly, at this stage I dont know. This will involved moving the domain name, moving the web material, reinstalling the forums, etc.
I hope to get this process started at the beginning of next week (Monday 16th June). The process could take between a couple of days and an entire week (longer, if it all goes badly wrong!). During this time, the web site will be totally unavailable. My first task will be to install the front page, and from there I will be able to display progress updates. Second task will be to get these boards back up and running. Then the Wiki will return.
Other Bonuses
For those interested, there are other bonuses to the new location. The hosts use 'green' energy, returning renewably sourced electricity back to the grid to compensate for their server usage. This should result in totally environmentally run sites, so you can surf in confidence.
There will also be more database available. Currently, we have a single database, shared with the Wiki and the forum. The new hosts actually allow 100 databases! This means that they will no longer need to be shared, and therefore remain faster for users.
There are other advantages, but these are more 'admin' related.
Member Action
There are two important things for you guys to note/do.
Firstly, while I will obviously make every effort to make sure that absolutely nothing is lost, I cannot guarantee this in advance. Therefore, please make copies of anything that you would hate to lose - for example, great forum threads, PMs, pictures and avatars, etc.
Secondly, the down time will leave you all suddenly with a lot more time than you are used to. When the boards return, I propose that we start a thread. Take the time that you would usually be browsing here, and get some painting done. When we come back, we can display what extra we have managed to get done in the period.
Thanks guys. I hope that this will be a smooth process. When I have a date/schedule for this, I will let you know. Any comments welcomed.
=== UPDATE: 13/06/2008 ===
Hi again. Just a quick update. I have found that the new hosts have the ability to construct the site before assigning the DNS entry. What this
means in English is that this site can continue while I create the new site elsewhere, and then just replace one with the other quickly.
The conclusion of this is that you guys wont notice any difference for a while as work goes on in the background. The downtime for the site will not be next week, and will be later than this. In addition, the downtime should be reduced to around 24 hours.
=== UPDATE: 18/06/2008 ===
Although I initially wanted to change servers with a minimum of board down-time, the entire site will need to be made unavailable for a couple of days.
Originally, I wanted to have downtime kept to 24 hours, sorting out the new site behind the scenes and switching at the final hour. However, because we will be moving to a slightly different forum software system, the database needs to be amended.
Therefore, these boards will close at 10am (UK time) on Monday 23rd June 2008. They will remain 'online' but unavailable. At the same time, the WikiWikiWar community area will also be locked closed. This down time will last up to five days, and we should be back online by Friday at the latest. By the end of this time, either the boards will be reopened - signifying that it has not worked and I have to rethink (
!) - or the new board will be available for use. This system also means that I will be able to ensure that the new boards are correct before taking down the current ones.When we return, the colour scheme may be 'unusual' as my efforts will concentrate on getting the structure and content done and the boards back as quickly as possible. Also, whoever is first logged into the new boards can start a thread to show off what people have painted and got up to over the downtime period.
Although I am stating Friday as the end of the downtime, I do hope that we will be back again a few days earlier. In the next four days before the switch off, please make sure that you have saved a copy of everything that you value. I hope that nothing will be lost, but I obviously cant absolutely guarantee this.
I hope that this is not too stressful for everyone. Your patience and understanding is very much appreciated. Thanks guys, and please feel free to ask any questions.
