Server migration
WEBMASTER’S NOTE: If you are reading this note (and I have a sneaky suspicion you are), you are seeing the new server. Congratulations!
As previously mentioned, we are moving ahead with our plans to switch to a new Web host, on account of our current company, Dreamhost, sucks mightily. (You may have noticed the site was down for a while Tuesday afternoon. Again.)
My fat brother Jeff, who handles the technical side of this site and uses small words to explain complicated things to me, said that the changeover will mean this: Sometime today (Wednesday), the comments feature on this blog will be turned off. This is because the switch from one server to another will be happening, and anything posted in the interim would get lost. Once the transition is complete — 24-48 hours — you’ll be able to post comments again.
In the meantime, everything else should work fine. You should still be able to browse the site and read stuff; you just won’t be able to add new comments on the blog. But considering you couldn’t do that at all up until a week or so ago, I imagine you can probably live a couple days without it again.
September 27th, 2006 at 12:15 am
Just a note: due to the wonders of DNS propagation, the transition time will be different for everyone. Here is what will be happening, in bigger words, just in case any of you are interested:
Sometime today, I will do what my boss likes to call “flipping the switch,” because he likes to imagine that everything I do is as uncomplicated as turning a light on or off. Flipping the switch actually means changing the DNS (domain name server) for ericdsnider.com so that instead of pointing to the Dreamhost server, it instead points to our brand new server. The DNS record is what your internet connection checks when you try to go to a website. When you type in “www.ericdsnider.com” in your browser, your internet connection checks with its internal DNS and says, “Hey, where should I go to find http://www.ericdsnider.com?” The DNS tells it where to go (not in a bad way), and it goes there.
The thing is, every ISP (internet service provider) has its own DNS server, and it is up to them how often they update it. So when I flip the switch later today, I will be changing the main record, but it won’t take effect for YOU until YOUR ISP updates its records. That is why it can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours, and why it is different for everyone.
Once I have flipped the switch, I will turn the commenting OFF on the Dreamhost server. However, commenting will still be enabled on the new server. So once commenting is once again enabled for you, that means that your DNS has successfully propagated. And you didn’t even have to do anything!
There you have it: more info than you ever wanted.
September 27th, 2006 at 7:24 am
I win!
September 27th, 2006 at 8:17 am
No, Randy. The switch has not yet been flipped.
September 27th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Now do I win?
September 27th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Nope I win!