Announcements

EarlG

(22,940 posts) Wed Mar 19, 2025, 07:34 PM Mar 19

Expected DU downtime for maintenance: Thursday March 20, 2 PM ET (UPGRADE COMPLETE, UPDATED THURSDAY 4 PM ET)

This discussion thread was locked by EarlG (a host of the Announcements group).

Update, Thursday 4 PM ET:

The server upgrade has been completed and everything is looking good so far. A few notes:

First, we are very hopeful that this will alleviate the 504 problem we've been having lately, but there's still a chance that the problem may occur. If it does, we'll have to continue work on other solutions.

Second, we only upgraded our front end servers today, which should significantly improve performance. However, we also need to upgrade our database server, which we will do sometime in the next few weeks. I'll post another announcement when we're getting ready to do that.

Aside from that, any time we perform an upgrade there's a chance that something may glitch out. If you notice any weirdness over the next few days, just send me a PM to let me know.

Thanks again for your patience!

EG

Original message:

Hello all,

As you are probably aware, we've been having some issues keeping the site online recently, and we have had to periodically restrict traffic by flipping DU to "Members Only Mode," during which only people who have a DU account and are signed in can read the site.

This sort of thing can be caused by any number of factors, so unfortunately it's taken us a while to get to the bottom of it, because we had to eliminate a variety of possibilities. However, we think we may have a handle on the situation now. Essentially, we've gained traffic over the last few months, and we think our current hardware setup is not robust enough to handle the current load. Or as Elad explained it to me:

We believe that simply upgrading our setup should resolve the situation, so we will be going offline for a little while on Thursday afternoon to perform this upgrade. Expected time for maintenance is one hour, although if everything goes well it could be a short as 30 minutes.

In case you are wondering why we don't do this in the middle of the night, the simple answer is that if something goes wrong, it's usually quicker and easier to deal with tech support during the daytime.

That's all for now -- once again, the site will be offline on Thursday March 20 at 2pm ET for (hopefully) somewhere between 30 minutes and one hour, assuming all goes well. I'll post again once the upgrade is complete.

Thanks for your patience while we attempt to resolve this ongoing issue.

EarlG

55 replies

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Highlight:

Expected DU downtime for maintenance: Thursday March 20, 2 PM ET (UPGRADE COMPLETE, UPDATED THURSDAY 4 PM ET) (Original Post) EarlG Mar 19 OP

Thanks very much, EarlG. greatauntoftriplets Mar 19 #1

Thanks, EarlG. Rare the site that is so honest and transparent. I'm sending in a contribution right now. erronis Mar 19 #2

Thanks for the heads up n/t malaise Mar 19 #3

Thank you for everything you do Danmel Mar 19 #4

Yup! Mine, too! wordstroken Mar 19 #30

Thank you EarlG. sheshe2 Mar 19 #5

"Essentially, we've gained traffic over the last few months" BumRushDaShow Mar 19 #6

Thank you! 2naSalit Mar 19 #7

Thank you, your efforts are appreciated - an old trekie EastBayGuy Mar 19 #8

Thanks Earl ornotna Mar 19 #9

Thank you EarlG. c-rational Mar 19 #10

Guys, do you need any help with buying new equipment for the upgrade? Just ask. n/t TygrBright Mar 19 #11

Good time for all who have a little spare change to make a 1-time special donation. (nt) Pinback Mar 19 #28

Thank You So Much EarlG & Elad! Cha Mar 19 #12

Thank you for the explanation... Think. Again. Mar 19 #13

I thought it was a maga attack. BidenRocks Mar 19 #14

Sorry, the timing doesn't work for me True Dough Mar 19 #15

Pet rocks? Niagara Mar 19 #18

Just yours, Niagara! True Dough Mar 19 #24

Awesome! Niagara Mar 19 #26

... littlemissmartypants Mar 20 #47

You could combine it with BumRushDaShow Mar 19 #19

Wow! True Dough Mar 19 #22

We should all meet for cocktails in the DU Lounge after? sheshe2 Mar 19 #27

Thanks for all you do. democrank Mar 19 #16

You guys rock ALBliberal Mar 19 #17

Thank you for the update. William769 Mar 19 #20

Thank you for your hard work! slightlv Mar 19 #21

Thanks for the heads up orangecrush Mar 19 #23

Thanks for the heads-up, my dear EarlG! Elad's response is priceless! nt CaliforniaPeggy Mar 19 #25

And if something goes wrong, it's easier to order takeout nilram Mar 19 #29

Thanks, EarlG. I thought it was me. wordstroken Mar 19 #31

Thank you, EarlG🤩 sueh Mar 19 #32

For some of us, that IS the "middle of the night" JoseBalow Mar 19 #33

Oh thank gawd! I thought I got another hide! Iggo Mar 19 #34

Thanks Big Earl!! And a sip of kombucha for James Doohan (RIP) Montauk6 Mar 19 #35

Thank you Captain Clouds Passing Mar 19 #36

11:00 AM in Tucson, AZ Ptah Mar 19 #37

Hey EarlG and your group: THANK YOU(s)!!! calimary Mar 19 #38

Good luck!!! And thanks for all you do, we appreciate it!!! CaptainTruth Mar 19 #39

Thank you, EarlG and Elad. I can only imagine how frustrating and niyad Mar 19 #40

Thanks EarlG. boonecreek Mar 19 #41

Thank you sestina Mar 19 #42

Thanks for the up date. Who_Me Mar 19 #43

Thank you Scotty!! Good luck and happy hunting! SWBTATTReg Mar 20 #44

Thanks for all the hard work Earl...much appreciated MiHale Mar 20 #45

Keep up the good work! n/t Jacson6 Mar 20 #46

Hope the increased traffic has also moonscape Mar 20 #48

Good luck surfered Mar 20 #49

Almost forgot about this announcement. Emile Mar 20 #50

Kick n/t malaise Mar 20 #51

We're back. Growing pains are good problems to have. Thanks! . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Mar 20 #52

Yeah malaise Mar 20 #53

Do you have a link for contributions to the upgrades??? ultralite001 Mar 20 #54

do you need donations? Mountain Mule Mar 20 #55

greatauntoftriplets

(177,685 posts)

1. Thanks very much, EarlG.