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Long time no see!So if you visit the site regularly at all, you'll have noticed that pesky "IPS Driver Error" screen claiming that there's a communication issue with the database. This problem has been increasingly annoying over the past few days, and I've taken some steps to fix it. Unfortunately, they were all just band-aids and the problem came back. Again and again and again. And also possibly again.
I have a handful of options to get us running a bit more permanently, but they're all more noticeable to you guys than what I've been doing so far.
The underlying problem is that the database powering this forum is huge. It's not been pruned (meaning, deleting all items older than a certain date) ever since launch. Every single post ever made here is still here -- even the deleted ones. Because of that, our database is over a gig. That puts a lot of strain on the server even when you view a thread, but it just sits back and laughs at you if you try a search.
Obviously we don't want to lose all the awesome history here, but there are pieces that are pretty safe to lose. The first step will be deleting all marketplace posts that have gone longer than 60 days without a new post. Because seriously, who needs those? Also, there's a bunch of guild forums that haven't been used in practically ever, and we can safely kill those off too.
Before I prune anything else, though, I'm going to make some server upgrades that will require me to pull Imps offline for a few minutes at a time. So if you can't connect in the near future, just try in 5-10 minutes and we should be back
.That's not the biggest thing I want to do, however. What will make the biggest difference is getting this forum updated to Invision Power Board 3. Right now we're on 2.2.2. IPB3 has a few features that make it far (far) less taxing on the server, and treats the database much more nicely to boot. But other than the cost, there's a pretty big catch.
There's no guild forums system for IPB3. Oh crap.
I've spoken to a bunch of you about this and there's mixed feelings across the board. No one wants to see guild forums go away, obviously, but the IPS Database Driver errors have gotten so crazy that the general verdict is that losing guild forums sucks, but dealing with IPS errors sucks more.
But let me make something super clear. In the rare and LAST RESORT case that I have to upgrade to IPB3 at the expense of guild forums, the posts in the current forums will not be lost. Worst-case scenario, we'll have another "Archive" (like for the old phpbb forum that we switched from years ago) for just guild forums, and those with accounts there will always be able to get in and retrieve posts.
Finally, there's one more step I can take to improve things after we switch to IPB3 (if it comes to that). I have another dedicated server that's more customizable, more powerful, and better equipped to handle our site. I'm running another forum there so I can't move Imps there until it's on IPB3 and plays nicer with the server, but it's a good option once we're to that point. In the interest of full disclosure, however, this server is in France. I know, I know, kicking and screaming, etc etc. It has nothing to do with Ankama or that old April Fools' joke coming true ;-). It's just that servers there are oh so much cheaper than the servers here. In fact, about a third of the cost of what we're on right now, for a more powerful machine.
So that's that! I don't want to delay the process too much, but it wouldn't be fair to start deleting posts with next to no warning, either. So if there's anything you want in the marketplace or an inactive guild forum, grab a copy of it before... let's say 9PM tonight, EDT (1AM tomorrow GMT), and I'll make sure not to kill things until then. Cool? Cool.
That's that
. If I have to deviate from this at all or delete more stuff or sell the site to Ankama (just kidding) or anything, I'll post again . Until then, hopefully this gets the place all fixed up!--Kyek
Posted 27 June 2010 - 07:03 AM
. We appreciate all the work you've been doing on this, though, and I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out once we upgrade to 3.0. *HEART*
XxKibaxX 16x Osa Dude :: Kiba 3x Xelor bro on Wakfu Nox
