GC Recent Downtime

[John]

There was an issue with GC's web server hard drive which caused the dataset to go offline & took down GC with it. Looks like the site was offline Nov 27 & 28, maybe part of Nov 26 as well. Sorry for all that downtime.

I did some testing, ran some backups, running some other scans overnight and a few more things to do tomorrow (other backups, etc).

GC should be back to running normally again.

It's possible we could have additional unexpected downtime if there is a hardware issue that's causing this, though. Will see how things go over the next few days as I further check on things.

[Phrozen Sands]

At first I thought you were changing the interface or putting the site on the new server you mentioned awhile back.

[carnation]

Thank you for dealing with it!

[3DGator]

thank you so much.

[Phrozen Sands]

Big John with the mad computer skillz! Thank you, sir!

[John]

Server hard drive is definitely having an issue. Overnight scan detected & recovered a few minor issues with it. Probably a good idea to replace that drive soon as I can, so I'll be making plans for that. I suppose it's possible that the hard drive issues could cause the site to go offline again, even in a way where it takes much longer to get back online. So if GC unexpectedly goes offline again like the other day, anyone reading this probably has an idea of what's going on. I'll post updates to GC's Twitter/X page if that happens: https://x.com/greekchat

Originally Posted by Phrozen Sands

Big John with the mad computer skillz! Thank you, sir!

Okay, now I'm convinced that we need better emojis / smileys on GC. Right now I could use the smiling emoji with a cowboy hat and sunglasses. Hmm... maybe these two will work for now:

Originally Posted by Phrozen Sands

At first I thought you were changing the interface or putting the site on the new server you mentioned awhile back.

Actually, GC has been on the new server for a few months now, since the end of July. Not a "new" server as in brand new but just new for GC.

Previously, from 2013 through July 2024, GC was running on a server I built and colocated at a datacenter in Atlanta. Now GC is on a server that I'm renting from a datacenter in Kansas City. The new server is probably 50% faster CPU wise, has 2.5x RAM & much more bandwidth.

The site interface / new forum software is still a work in progress. We will eventually get there, though.

[Cheerio]

We heart your work, John, and appreciate all you do for your audience

[Phrozen Sands]

Originally Posted by John

Server hard drive is definitely having an issue. Overnight scan detected & recovered a few minor issues with it. Probably a good idea to replace that drive soon as I can, so I'll be making plans for that. I suppose it's possible that the hard drive issues could cause the site to go offline again, even in a way where it takes much longer to get back online. So if GC unexpectedly goes offline again like the other day, anyone reading this probably has an idea of what's going on. I'll post updates to GC's Twitter/X page if that happens: https://x.com/greekchat



Okay, now I'm convinced that we need better emojis / smileys on GC. Right now I could use the smiling emoji with a cowboy hat and sunglasses. Hmm... maybe these two will work for now:



Actually, GC has been on the new server for a few months now, since the end of July. Not a "new" server as in brand new but just new for GC.

Previously, from 2013 through July 2024, GC was running on a server I built and colocated at a datacenter in Atlanta. Now GC is on a server that I'm renting from a datacenter in Kansas City. The new server is probably 50% faster CPU wise, has 2.5x RAM & much more bandwidth.

The site interface / new forum software is still a work in progress. We will eventually get there, though.

For real though. That’d be smooth if you made it to where we could post emojis so we could get an idea of what each other looks like IRL Lol.

How long does it take to build a server like that?

[AGDee]

Thanks for the update!

[aephi alum]

Thank you for all your hard work!

You're not using the cloud? Any particular reason? (I'm guessing $$$)

[John]

Sorry for all the downtime the past few days. GC had another round of hardware issues.

Started working on it late Sunday night. Had to run some scans overnight and more Monday to verify the issue is sorted out for now. Along with full backups.

Originally Posted by aephi alum

You're not using the cloud? Any particular reason? (I'm guessing $$$)

Missed this when you posted it previously. Not using the cloud for GC, but would consider if I found the right deal. My guess is that cloud hosting would be way too expensive. I've hosted GC on various co-located & dedicated servers over the years.

[PGD-GRAD]

THANK YOU so much for keeping us all united in our devotion to our Greek organizations. Your hard work is truly appreciated!

Jimmy Dean wrote this song just for you: BIG BAD JOHN!!!

[carnation]

Thank you, John!

[Cheerio]

Thank you for continuing the hard work, John.

Just FYI, I am unable to click-on to GreekChat's homepage from Google, it still goes to the Error/Offline page.

I accidentally got onto GC today thru directly Googling GCs Song Name Game page, and carefully maneuvering from there to be able to let you know there's still a small error in the system.

ETA: Then, when I posted this and attempted to go to GCs homepage, I got the Error/Offline GC Page again.

[NinjaPoodle]

Originally Posted by John

Sorry for all the downtime the past few days. GC had another round of hardware issues.

Started working on it late Sunday night. Had to run some scans overnight and more Monday to verify the issue is sorted out for now. Along with full backups.

Thank you John!