This is correct
I apologize for the downtime. More problems on the server end yesterday than usual but we're trying to get them all addressed. The majority of the downtime yesterday was on purpose as we went through software upgrades on the server to try and fix the problem. New SQL backend now, and new VM software components. Hopefully this will stabilize the system. In the next couple days I'm probably going to drop in a few more monitors on the server to see if we can more precisely find any remaining problems.
So, sorry about the downtime and hopefully now some of this has been addressed.
Part of the problem is in DNS resolution and not actually the site. Without going into a long technical explanation of which you probably don't care, basically some providers aren't honoring the SOA record from the server's DNS so it results in some people not being able to resolve the domain name while others can. I know this has been a problem for mobile users in the past. Looking into a solution for that as well, which may involve moving DNS services to a different company.
Either way, I appreciate your patience and hopefully we can get it a bit more stabilized.
-Kelly
So, sorry about the downtime and hopefully now some of this has been addressed.
Part of the problem is in DNS resolution and not actually the site. Without going into a long technical explanation of which you probably don't care, basically some providers aren't honoring the SOA record from the server's DNS so it results in some people not being able to resolve the domain name while others can. I know this has been a problem for mobile users in the past. Looking into a solution for that as well, which may involve moving DNS services to a different company.
Either way, I appreciate your patience and hopefully we can get it a bit more stabilized.
-Kelly
That's correct... I have a couple other simple sites on the same server that make it easy to see if the VPS went down. Basically I'm letting them know if they can't get the server straightened out I'll move it someplace else that has dedicated servers.
In case you're curious... We took close to 40 milllion hits last month, and the bandwidth usage of the site is around 250 gig per month. And we're continue to grow at a steady pace. If we served downloads instead of just text pages, we could probably exceed that number on a daily basis!
We are a very busy site with an average of about 500 people online simultaneously at any one time. Kind of cool.
-Kelly
I'll add a little reminder here. If you are that involved with the site, take a moment to contribute to the cost of running it. There is a paypal donation button on the home page.
I know I am overdue to contribute so I will be making one soon.
I know I am overdue to contribute so I will be making one soon.
Website go through various phases of growth, and if you would take the time to read the amount of traffic and had some understanding of how much that really is, you'd understand that it takes ALOT of work to keep a site like this running. Kudos to Kelly for working hard getting things fixed.
leave then, make the site just that much better for the rest of us...
Maybe if more people contributed, the site would have more resources to spend on better servers/software. I'm with you, but this is a FREE site and we really can't complain too much about it.
TKR, I just checked out your site and wanted to give you a thumbs up for the Retics. I was a reptile junky when I was much younger and have a close friend in Edmond that breeds/sells some high-end pythons too. Cool snakes!
TKR, I just checked out your site and wanted to give you a thumbs up for the Retics. I was a reptile junky when I was much younger and have a close friend in Edmond that breeds/sells some high-end pythons too. Cool snakes!
