Just how much "maintenance" does this forum need??!

[pkhunter]

Am I the only one or is everyone going through a highly unstable experience with this fantastic and insightful website? Only when I connect in the middle of the night can I be sure to some extent that I will be able to see it. If it's a problem with MySQL going down (shitty database unless tuned to death with InnoDB and such) should we consider something different? The community is much too useful to be down so often? Sorry if this sounds like a complaint but I'd love to help or be of help in any way.

[kandinsky]

Has never been 'unstable' for me. What are you referring to specifically?

Regular maintenance probably involves backing up the database - which is pretty crucial.

[pkhunter]

For the last three days, several times during the day I see the message:

"Down for maintenance..." (2-3 lines of this message, the logo, and nothing else)

[Darren]

The main reason members are seeing the "Under Maintenance" message these couple of days is because we are trying to troubleshoot some issues which are causing the main database server to lock up.

As part of the troubleshooting can only be done when the forums are closed, we have no choice but to put up the Maintenance page. And for those who are familiar, troubleshooting a complex system is no joke with many variables to eliminate.

[pkhunter]

Ok. That's not unusual on MySQL databases as the demands of hosting increase. Just wanted to check that it wasnt just me. Thanks!

[thinkvision]

Oracle?

[pkhunter]

Postgresql.

[Octarine]

Originally Posted by thinkvision Oracle?

Do you want to sponsor the license?

[pkhunter]

Postgresql is a free database, and lightyears ahead of the crap that passes for MySQL. Five years ago, used to be that PG was slow because of its features (full fledged DB). Today, with 8.3 it beats MySQL hands down in pretty much every area and is a joy to work with. I'd encourage the admins of this forum to look at some of the newer bulletin board scripts. VBulletin is beginning to show its age.

[Simon]

Great Idea and Suggestion.

Now comes the Problem.

We'll need Extra Servers to Install Postgresql and newer bulletin board scripts.

Apart from the above, we also need Server Administrator, Postgresql and newer bulletin board scripts experts to assist us in the installation.

Anyone like to fund for the new servers, newer bulletin board scripts and volunteer in the installations?

Originally Posted by pkhunter Postgresql is a free database, and lightyears ahead of the crap that passes for MySQL. Five years ago, used to be that PG was slow because of its features (full fledged DB). Today, with 8.3 it beats MySQL hands down in pretty much every area and is a joy to work with. I'd encourage the admins of this forum to look at some of the newer bulletin board scripts. VBulletin is beginning to show its age.

[pkhunter]

Yes I will be willing to help. I am sure if you can get 5-10 bucks "donateware" from members here, several will be willing to contribute, and it may help. There is a large enough community so that if you have over 200 folks contributing 10 $ each, you have 2000$. Which should be decent enough for a dedicated hosting in Singapore for a few months. More users will mean more.

Please PM me for more. I would love to help. I know Postgresql very well, and know people who can offer very cost-effective dedicated hosting. We can discuss how much traffic you have, and how to migrate this creaky old vbulletin to something a little more modern and better coded (the number of queries per page in vbulletin are what make MySQL show its true non-professional colors).

[pkhunter]

I am not sure WHY you run that kind of setup, but if this forum is the thing you're running, then it can run very efficiently on one single dedicated server with the usual WHM/Cpanel setup. Who uses hsphere anymore? With RAID 10, Postgresql will kick MySql's skinny behind any day of the week.

EDIT: To add, PG runs OS level caching. If you use the right software, like the recent version of Simple Machines forum (easy to export VB stuff to SMF) it has inbuilt caching too. Most threads are "read", not "updated", so that makes sense. In any case, PG will help. For mail server etc, CPanel includes the basics. Why do you need a separate server? I'm running a dedicated server that receives about 100 clicks a day, with over 70k registered users who keep emailing and whatnot. I think it will be worth your while to think of the design of the software you run instead of throwing highend hosting at it; that's a kludge. Happy to talk more privately if you wish.

[woojacky]

I'm kinda sure if Clubsnap decided to run some form of donation drive the people in here will donate for a new system / license.
How about setting up a POLL at Kopitiam side to see who willing to donate? hehe

[DeusExMachina]

PG and MySQL suck! MS Access FTW!

But yes... MySQL is not known to scale gracefully with large datasets, even with Innodb, bad things happen. But if you're stuck with it, tune your queries or run procedures instead, pcode executes lots faster.