BOINCstats/BAM!

BOINCstats: Unexpected downtime

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:53:06 GMT

2010-01-04: The user table from the site crashed which in turn made the website unreachable. We had a little over an hour of downtime.

BOINCstats: Unplanned downtime

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:15:10 GMT

2009-08-26: Last night we had a long six hour downtime due to the datacenter people exchanging core switches. They promised that we would be put on a temporary switch during the maintenance but they failed to do so or the temporary switch just didn't work.

BOINCstats: Replacing database server and maintenance on the webserver.

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:59:39 GMT

2009-07-02: Friday July the 3th I will replace the database server with the new server. This will not cause any downtime. However, two of the harddrives from the webserver need to be replaced because they indicate that they will fail soon. For this I have to shut down the webserver. I don't know exactly for how long, it all depends on how quickly the RAID controller can rebuild the array. Maintenance will start around 9:00GMT.

BOINCstats: Database server fundraiser

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:42:14 GMT

2009-06-19: Dear visitor and user of BOINCstats. It's that time again where I ask for your (financial) help :). BOINCstats has grown over the years, many things have changed, we added a separate webserver, we joined forces with Primegrid, last year we upgraded our hosting to our own rack, and we created many many stats. But one thing never changed. One proud server was always there. It was the BOINCstats webserver, then it also hosted Primegrid, and after adding the server for Primegrid and the BOINCstats webserver it became the backbone of the stats: it runs all the updates and prepares the stats for the webserver. But all good things come to an end sometime. Lately the database server has been struggling, it became unstable. It's also getting slow because users and hosts keep increasing, but the server can no longer be upgraded. So, it's time to replace it.... The parts for the server have been ordered, but you can understand that it's not a €250 budget computer. So I'll say it quickly so it won't seem that much: we need €2000. If you like BOINCstats, BAM!, the forum, the user profiles or if you just like your daily portion of stats, then please consider donating a small amount. You can do so on the donation page. Thank you very much for your support! Willy.

BOINCstats: Scheduled downtime

Sat, 16 May 2009 20:19:34 GMT

2009-05-16: The datacenter where the BOINCstats servers are located is upgrading its server racks. Therefore the servers have to be moved to another floor to free up the old rack. Monday may 18th starting 12:00 GMT BOINCstats will be down to move the servers. Expected downtime is one to two hours depending on Murphy's involvement. This will also affect PrimeGrid as their servers are in the same rack and will be moved as well.

BOINCstats: Network problems

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:38:23 GMT

2008-11-25: Our rack seems to lose network connectivity from time to time, with today having a major downtime of over two hours. DC staff has checked the network cables and found nothing wrong with them so it might be our switch. Fingers crossed for them finding a cable breakage in our network cable or otherwise it's back to the hardware store.

BOINCstats: Scheduled downtime: Monday October 27th 2008

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:51:25 GMT

2008-10-23: Monday October 27th 2008 I will move the BOINCstats and PrimeGrid servers to the new rack. I can't guestimate the exact downtime, but it will be several hours, since I will have to drag the servers up to the first floor and there will be network changes. I'll start with PrimeGrid so that Rytis can test his servers and connections while I move BOINCstats. Let's all hope that Murphy has a day off!

BOINCstats: Hosting plan changes

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:12:36 GMT

2008-10-04: Rytis and I have decided to change our server plan from co-location to hiring a rack. This will have several advantages and a disadvantage. We need your help once more. Read more about it in the comments of this article.

BOINCstats: Planned outage

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:05:09 GMT

2008-10-01: In the night of October 1st on October 2nd the datacenter (where the BOINCstats and PrimeGrid servers are located) will replace several key elements of the power grid. Due to this, the servers will be powered down at October 1st 23:00GMT. The downtime is unknown at this point, but it will be at least three hours. Of course, during this time, BOINCstats and BAM! will be offline. I apologize for the inconvenience and I sincerely hope that this will be the last of the downtimes.

BOINCstats: Unexpected downtime...... Once more

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:17:11 GMT

2008-10-01: Again an unexpected downtime caused by the datacenter. All servers (BOINCstats and PrimeGrid) lost power and were down for two hours.

BOINCstats: Team profiles

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:28:09 GMT

2008-09-28: All new on BOINCstats/BAM!: team profiles. Team founders will find a new item in their BAM! menu to create a profile for their team. This profile is visible for everyone and can be used to blatantly promote the team. It offers the option of joining the visitor to the team, lists all members (who have BAM! accounts) and visitors can send messages. All in all this is a perfect way to promote teams, so team founders: why wait? Create the profile now!

BOINCstats: Unexpected downtime...... again

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:54:19 GMT

2008-09-27: And another unexpected downtime caused by the datacenter. All servers (BOINCstats and PrimeGrid) lost power and were down for nearly an hour. We are quite fed up with it now and I will start looking for other co-location or rack options. This will unavoidably mean paying more than we do now, but this much downtime is clearly unacceptable, especially for BAM!. If you know decent hosting in the Netherlands in the area of Roosendaal or Rotterdam (or anywhere in between) feel free to drop a note.

BOINCstats: Unexpected downtime

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:50:13 GMT

2008-09-19: The webserver was disconnected from the network by accident by the datacenter staff making it unaccesible to the outside world. I only noticed this after an hour or so, at which point I first did some checks, then decided to reboot the server (via remote APC). This didn't solve the problem so I made a call to the datacenter where the problem was found. The forced reboot corrupted the user database, therefor after the reboot nobody could log in. The database was repaired without dataloss.

BOINCstats: Country deeplinks changed!

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:59:43 GMT

2008-09-01: Deeplinks to pages related to countries have changed for the BOINC combined stats. They will also change for the projects in the coming week. This is needed to relieve stress on the database.

BOINCstats: Database problems

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:11:57 GMT

2008-08-22: Due to massive database problems the daily update will be delayed for at least three hours. Update: As you all know, Murphy is a big friend of mine, so he arranged that the network in the datacenter went down when I was restarting the daily update. So, we are delayed for yet an extra hour. Update (18:25): Just restarted the daily update. And another update: There was a small fire in a power convertor. The fire also damaged (but did not destroy) a fuse, which prevented the diesel generator to kick in.

BOINCstats: New BOINCstats framework

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:30:09 GMT

2008-08-18: BOINCstats has undergone a major revision to its framework. Though the general look may seem the same, behind the exterior much has changed. The framework was completely rewritten to be safer and more compatible with certain browsers. So, what has changed: - The divs that give the site its look have been replaced, some browsers had problems rendering BOINCstats correctly. - Some backgrounds and colors have changed. - The menu sections can be dragged to any position you like. Same goes for the front-page. When you are logged-in the changes are stored in your profile. - Parts of the forum and PM code are updated or replaced. BOINCstats no longer implements the changes from the BOINC trac but goes its own way with the forum code. - The forum, PM and shoutbox have a WYSIWYG editor. - The shoutbox supports a limited set of BBcodes. - The profile pages are completely changed. It's now possible to be friends with other BAM! members. - And a lot of minor changes that I won't bother you with. As with all major changes, there may be problems/bugs. Please report them in the bug section of the forum. I hope you enjoy the new look and features. If you have suggestions or new ideas, don't hesitate to tell me about it in the forum.

BOINCstats: Network problems

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:19:46 GMT

2008-07-28: The data center where the BOINCstats and Primegrid servers are located had problems with the network tonight causing both BOINCstats and Primegrid to be unreachable for some time. The problem still causes intermittent network interruptions. We apologize for the downtime. Rytis and I are looking into renting a server cabinet instead of the current co-locating. De disadvantage of the co-locating is that our servers are spread across the server floor which is not helping with stability. At first glance this seems actually cheaper, but the catch is that the energy costs will be charged afterwards and at the moment we have no idea how much power we actually use. We keep you informed.

BOINCstats: System Administrator Appreciation Day

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:06:14 GMT

2008-07-25: Today is SysAdminDay so take this opportunity and give your sysadmin a big hug (or more!).

BAM!: Limited number of BAM! user accounts compromised

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:36:52 GMT

2008-06-23: A hacker has succeeded in retrieving limited information from a few members of BAM!. The members that are affected have received an email. The hacker in question reported the exploit himself and stated that he wouldn't abuse the information. Yet I urge the ones affected to at least change their password. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. At least it put me back into the real world, and I'll check all of BOINCstats for further exploits.

BOINCstats: BOINCstats and BAM! now also in Turkish

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:56:08 GMT

2008-06-02: BOINCstats and BAM! are now available in Turkish. Thanks to CoolnQuiet for the translation. Languages can be selected by clicking on the flags at the top of every page.