Server problems there this weekend (server #3). So I haven't added anything there, & been too busy working on the problems to post anything at Betty's. Big headache!
Server #3 is not with the same company we get our 2 hybrid servers from for here & stories. Last fall, when the hybrid server had system-wide failures, I thought it would be a good idea to keep the third server with another company & start a back-up board there. It's a dedicated server, dirt cheap because it's a small one, probably running on an older computer & drives. So it's not powerful enough to handle the traffic we get here or at stories on a busy day.
When we get busy here & at stories, or have increased spam & hack attempts, server #3 serves a lot of our larger files, security , & other stuff to lighten the load on our hybrid servers. If server #3 is down or has problems, when we get busy or have extra spam/attack attempts, I have to set 1 or both the boards to "members only" views to lighten the load on them. With no or very little access to the boards by non-members, the hybrid servers handle everything well without server #3 when we're real busy.
Severs become good, then bad, sloppy, or greedy all the time. If you look at the top best server reviews from just a year or 2 ago, you'd find many of them today are rated as some of the worst, with an almost entirely new list of servers making the top 10.
Just like antivirus software, one doesn't look for the top rated ones, because in a year or so that changes. One looks for the server or antivirus that's the most consistent over the past few years at a good price.
This is another reason why sometimes we move our sites. Sometimes things go sour, & we have to go somewhere else. By also making a new or different domain or address for the sites, we also shake off a lot of the spammers, bots, & hackers for a while too. It's harder for them to follow us to a new address than a regular user. And just like your home computer, every year or so, it's good to do a clean install of everything to get rid of a lot of accumulated junk, corrupt or damaged files, & scraps of old software left behind loitering on the system, taking up space, & slowing things down.
So I may be moving server #3 or juggling around servers soon. Working on a deal because I can't afford what we already have. I don't make enough at my job, & we still don't get enough donations to afford big-ass dedicated servers for both sites. I do not want all my sites on 1 big server in case there's a problem. I like to spread it out over several servers so we're never 100% down when something goes wrong.
So for now, we can temorily live without server #3.
Topic: Pluto, space, & beyond. (Read 46574 times)
