***Why TFP was down today and what you need to know***

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Status
Not open for further replies.
SeanB

SeanB

0
TFP Expert
Platinum Supporter
LifeTime Supporter
Mar 27, 2007
2,608
Missouri City (suburb of Houston, TX)
If you tried to access the site today from around 10am until almost 6pm CST, you would have seen a message from hostgator, our server hosting company.

According to an e-mail I received AFTER the site was taken down, we were exceeding server capacities and that is why the site was down.

I've explained in subsequent (and many) e-mails that I believe the spike was probably due to the recent upgrade, but asked them to verify normal usage. After much effort, I have gotten them to re-instate the site. However, I've been warned that if we "bring down the server again," I will need to move the site to a dedicated server or another host.

I don't have a problem going to a dedicated server, other than the big price increase, BUT would first like to verify that we are exceeding the limits.

There is a chance that they will again bring the site down without prior notice. I apologize and will do whatever I am able to prevent this.

Please know that if the site does go down again without warning, this is why and it means I am moving to a new server. Changing servers causes between 24-48 hours downtime, after which the site would be back, just as it is now.

Again, I apologize for the unplanned interruption and will do what I can to prevent a recurrence. However, if it DOES happen again, expect the site to return within 48 hours.

Thanks,
Sean
 
Sean,

Do they not give you access to site statistics as a matter of course? IMO that's an important feature of a hosting package so you can see what pages are visited, where the visitors come from, where they go, how long they stay, etc.

Take a look at what's offered by quess.com. Fred Forrest is the guy who runs it. We've been with him for years and years, never once had any downtime, and his customer service is excellent.
 
Anna, I have access to site stats, but not in a way that tells me what percentage of server resources I'm using at any given time. I'm working (or trying to) with Hostgator now to evaluate and determine the actual numbers and what the next step will be.

Tag, while I'm very annoyed /disgusted etc, I don't know for sure that another host would be any better. If you'd asked me about hostgator up until a week ago, I'd have given them glowing remarks. While this is a major snafu, it's not a pattern - not yet anyway.

If I do move to a dedicated server, the site performance will benefit, but my costs will go up by a large margin, even during the winter when traffic slows to a crawl. We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, but I'll do whatever is necessary to keep the site running at full capacity.

Sean
 
I have to admit I was a little unhappy trying to get my board fix for the day. ;)

You guys provide a heck of a resource that has extremely helped a new pool owner like myself.

I currently have a dedicated box of my own operating 2 other sites. I would be more than happy to host your site for you free of charge.

Let me know if you are interested and I can set you up with a login and you can migrate over.
 
teppy said:
well, I have gotten a great deal of help here with my pool chemistry and am grateful. I have supported this site and will do it again if I am asked to. Maybe you will have make this a members only site.
Click to expand...

I can understand where you are coming from with your statement and I am now a TRUE believer in this website but one thing you have to remember is that all of the current members are believers in the “BBB system” and other benefits of this site but the new potential members are going to be really hesitant on joining a member’s only site until they get to sample of some of the benefits of this site. When I first joined I was VERY skeptical especially after being “pool stored” for so long.

Eddie
 
If you need to do something in the future to keep the site going I'll toss some more balonies (sp) in the kitty. This site is what I've been looking for to get away from the "pool store".

My pool is only a week and a half old and I've spent less than 20 bucks on chemicals for clear water and balanced chemistry (of course I have the TF-100 test kit to help). My neighbor is at $200.00 and still chasing his tail. This site saved me so much money and grief I may send you some anyway.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I agree with everyone else. That this site has provided to an valuable resource for me. I learn something new just about every time I visit. I have no problem supporting the site in anyway possible,even if it means paying for it. No more "poo stored" over here!
 
MojoRisin said:
I have to admit I was a little unhappy trying to get my board fix for the day. ;)

You guys provide a heck of a resource that has extremely helped a new pool owner like myself.

I currently have a dedicated box of my own operating 2 other sites. I would be more than happy to host your site for you free of charge.

Let me know if you are interested and I can set you up with a login and you can migrate over.
Click to expand...

No thanks. No offense but I don't actually know you. I would only ever consider something like that. I feel a lot more comfortable using a paid, professional service. I need guaranteed uptime and a back-up.

Thanks,
Sean
 
SeanB said:
MojoRisin said:
I have to admit I was a little unhappy trying to get my board fix for the day. ;)

You guys provide a heck of a resource that has extremely helped a new pool owner like myself.

I currently have a dedicated box of my own operating 2 other sites. I would be more than happy to host your site for you free of charge.

Let me know if you are interested and I can set you up with a login and you can migrate over.
Click to expand...

I feel a lot more comfortable using a paid, professional service. I need guaranteed uptime and a back-up.

Thanks,
Sean
Click to expand...

yeah real professional shutting someone off and letting them know after the fact.. lol
 
Like I said, I'm not happy with them, but they do have 24/7 customer service. I was able to get the site restored and I will be able to get it moved if need be.

If I hosted with some unknown 3rd party and that person got hit by a bus, I could very well lose my site in an instant. I didn't mean any offense and appreciate the offer. I just don't think it would be a wise move on my part.
 
SeanB said:
Thanks for all the offers to contribute. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it - we aren't there yet. However, rather than have members donate multiple times, I'd hope that those who are using the site for free consider helping out first. ;)
Click to expand...

I agree with this...on our car club forum/non-profit site we, on a regular basis, poke...nicely at people getting tons of advice and not coughing up a little $$$...our annual rates are more than Sean's lifetime (and I'm a lifetime member there). I think it's up to all of us to help encourage, nicely, non-paying members to help out...even if it's only $5, the advice they're getting here is priceless, honest, informed, and most of all from pool owners (and a few of great special contributors) who all make it worth while!

It's really up to us who have already supported Sean and all his helpers (who should get most of the credit ;)) to make sure it keeps going...but in a very nice way.

Thanks Sean, sorry for the troubles today...it'd be nice to have a TFISP :D
 
Hi Sean

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you recently experienced with Gator although I must say it doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
They are renowned for pulling the "excessive usage" stunt to get sites to 'upgrade' to a dedicated server when it was never really necessary.

No matter how hard you press them they will not tell you what your usage spike was, they don't tell you how long it was for or even how they have measured it. There are many reputable hosts out there.
I speak from some experience on this as I have had hosts try this on me with a number of sites I administer. One forum has 13,000 active members, over 400,000 posts and an average online count of 200 navigating the forum, picture gallery and chat room. All that on a shared hosting 20 Gig bandwidth package running primarily on php and shtml. I took them to task on it and actually proved that what they thought was my script causing the blockage was quite wrong. Another hosted site had run a script that blocked my site from accessing MySQL so it looked likely site was the blockage, but it wasn't, it was just at the front of the queue.

PHPBB is not a bad resource-intensive package. If the host cannot accept a temporary slow down as a result of table locking during an upgrade then they are not worth using.
 
I would echo what Sean said. There are a number of better hosts out there and it does sound suspect how your hosting company just shut down your site. Most companies would prefer to submit you with a large bandwidth overage charge at the end of the month, or at least warn you that you were way over your bandwidth use for the month. I would agree that they're pulling some cr*p to get you to upgrade. Have you looked into 1 and 1 (1and1.com)? They're a very reliable professional hosting company with many packages (Windows and Linux servers) to meet most if not all hosting requirements. I personally use them and recommend them.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply