board update june 2022

[griffin]

On monday (June 27th) the messageboard will disappear, and I have run out of options to prevent that from happening.

I was informed by the current server host 4 weeks ago that they were shutting down, so at least they gave some warning, but everything I've been doing to re-locate the site and board, has gone wrong (surprise surprise).
I was planning to move the board onto a different domain name, which meant that I needed to move two domains onto a new server host (the other domain is hosted on an american host), so I had to find a new server host first... something that was delayed by a week because I was bed-ridden with bronchitis for about a week just after I was notified, and most days I didn't do much other than some searches for different options (including the recommendations from here).

I found 9 suitable candidates in Australia, and sent out messages to verify that they could host a messageboard like this, and to give some ideas on costs (plans) and if they could do the transfer of the board for me (quoting the fee).

Only 3 replied, with one saying that they were unable to provide the services I needed. Of the two that were able and willing to help, I decided on Digital Pacific.

I started removing all non-board files over to one of my other domains, and signed up to Digital Pacific to host the OTCA domain, and the OZFORMERS domain (as I have wanted the board on that domain for a couple years now, but haven't had the confidence after the issues of the current server host, and problems when I last tried to upgrade the board software).
The main reason why I wanted to move the board to a different domain is (aside from the better name to remember because it is our name) because a transfer between different hosts would result in the board being active in two places at the same time to different people for up to 3 days (as it takes time for each internet provider to know the new location), so everything posted at the old location is then lost at the new location, and I didn't want to have the board switched off for 3 days to prevent that.
I never got around to doing it myself, and I didn't have any luck asking people I trusted to see if they were able to help... so I should have had this done a long time ago so that there was plenty of time to work out the problems without the stress of rushing at the last minute.


This is what I started with:
OTCA (board currently located) - host closing down - registered in Australia
OZFORMERS (wanted to be the new location) - host is in America - registered in America
TOYCOLLECTORS (used for file storage) - host is in America - registered in Australia
(a fourth domain is registered in Australia but not currently hosted anywhere)

I also started the registration transfer for the OZFORMERS domain from the US registry to the Australian one, so that when I had everything set up, I would just edit the name-servers, which could make it quicker to propagate to fellow Australians from that Australian registry.
Unfortunately (surprise surprise), the registration has been lost in the transfer. It was supposed to be 1-3 days, and it is now over a week, and while it is in "transfer" status, no one can work out why, and I can't change the name-servers... so I couldn't risk having the new Australian host take on that domain and set up the messageboard there, because if the registration transfer doesn't resolve itself had to leave that domain on the American server.

That left me with three options...
1 - move the board to the new host which already has the OTCA domain on a hosting plan, which will result in the board disappearing for a period of time, and later when I can finally get the OZFORMERS domain registration resolved, the domain will also be hosted at DigitalPacific, and the board would be moved between domains at the same server host.
2 - move the board to the OZFORMERS domain at the American host, and when the registration is eventually resolved, I would then move the domain and board to the Australian host (also resulting in the board being shut down for a few days during the transfer).
3 - move the board to the TOYCOLLECTORS domain at the American host, and when the OZFORMERS registration is fixed up and the domain hosted at the Australian host, the board would be moved to the OZFORMERS domain, which would mean minimal interruption of access to the board, as it would be opened at the new domain with a fresh copy of the database from the old location.

I have decided to go with the first option, as it has less risk, and has less for me to do (so less for me to screw up).
The server host has a transfer option, that has them copy everything from the old host, onto their system. They don't do anything technical, so if something isn't compatible, or something special needs to be done, they don't modify anything... it will either be at the new host as-is, or not at all (if they had a problem accessing the old host or files).
That happens tomorrow night (after 8pm, so I will turn off the board around 7pm and make a final copy of the database), and I won't know until Monday morning if it was successful, and I won't be able to check it out until Monday evening to see if it was successful, and if there is anything I need to fix up anything.

Even if there is a miracle and it the board and database are transferred completely and works at the new host, I won't know it because this server host doesn't give out "access domain addresses" anymore, and I didn't find out until after I signed up. The access domain address would direct your internet browser to the server host and then direct you to the specific domain being hosted on it.... which I could have given people to have access to the board at the new location while their internet providers were being updated with the actual address of the domain.
So now I would have to wait a few days before I get access to the actual domain to see for sure that the board is working, because I have to change the name-servers at the domain registration so that my own internet provider can start looking at the new location.

But since I am expecting something to go wrong, after that 2-3 day wait for me to be able to see the actual site, it will take me some time to figure out how to fix it, and then have the board back up an running... probably next weekend at the earliest.

Worst case scenario - the server host wasn't able to move anything across tomorrow night and I will have to set up a new messageboard from scratch and try to upload the last copy of the database and hope that it can access it (I have never uploaded a backed up copy of the database, so it will be a learning experience).
It will also be a lengthy experience, as my current internet speed is 0.3 mb/s upload, which will mean about 20 hours to upload the 1.3 Gb database... if the connection doesn't drop out.


So... in the wee hours of tomorrow morning, I will attempt to upgrade the board to version 5 (because the current version apparently can't work on the current versions of php and mysql - typical... as if there wasn't enough problems), which will mean it will be offline for as long as it takes for me to upgrade it and fix whatever is expected to go wrong (like last time).
If the upgrade is completed I will switch it back on, until 7pm... which will have it switch off again for the move, and may not be back up for at least a week.

I have uploaded a status page on the TOYCOLLECTORS domain, which will let people know if the board is still being moved... or if it has been lost completely.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/status.html

If I think of anything else before Sunday night, I will mention it here.
.
.

[Thurmus]

Thank you for all your hard work and bashing your head against a wall you do for us.

Could you upload the database backup to OneDrive or some other cloud storage in advance and that way if you do have to restore it would be a lot quicker? I am happy to give you access to mine if it would help.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Good luck Griffin.

If anyone is madly needing a fix in the mean time, there is the Ozformers discord, where reasonably savvy internet people hang. I'm not internet savvy though... But believe me there are others there
Invite link: https://discord.gg/59uDw5W

[griffin]

Starting to upgrade the board to version 5 before the move, I found that it wouldn't work on this server host... so have left it until after the move.

This server host is stuck on php 7.0.33
The board is using the final version from version 4 (4.2.5).

Version 4 only works up to 7.2.0
Version 5 will NOT work on less than 7.4.0

So for some reason there is no overlap, so I'm not sure how that will work. If you leave it at 7.2.0 to be able to run the old version to upgrade it, the new version won't work... but if you are able to work on 7.4.0 for the upgraded version, the old version won't work.
I just have to hope that when the old version is transferred across (if it gets transferred across), that I am able to access it, or be able to instal the upgrade so that it can still access the existing database.
Otherwise, I would have to take a chance on uploading the upgrade and seeing if it can complete the upgrade process, or if it just crashes and I have to wait for the move anyway.

I guess what ever I choose, it will be the wrong option.

I just hope that I don't have to buy the complete version 5 software if the old board doesn't get transferred across (if the upgrade software will no longer work because there is nothing there to upgrade), as the upgrade software was au$300, and the full version would be another au$400. Add that to the transfer costs and two lots of hosting fees for a month... it will probably mean no new toys for a while.

(buying the upgrade software at the vbulletin site was just another example of how everything goes wrong - I tried to checkout the product, and they kept declining my credit card... so I had to go and log into my internet banking to move money to another credit card, and fortunately that worked)

No matter what ends up happening tonight and tomorrow, I am going to have to hire a web developer to sort it out, and set it up properly this time (as well as the other add-on areas to the site). More expense.


JUST NOTE - This site will still be turned off at about 7pm (QLD time), so that I can download the database, and it won't have any changes that would be lost in the move.

[JJJ]

Back up this morning, I see

[Thurmus]

I would be happy to contribute towards the cost if you need to pay to upgrade.

[Paulbot]

Hope all worked out. Good to see it back up

[griffin]

I'm not so sure.
I can't tell which server host it is still being accessed from, as I have changed the hosting details on the domain registration last night, but I don't know if it would be that quick.

I think people might still be seeing it on the old host, so it could still disappear tonight (the end of Monday).

I might have to save another copy of the database tonight, just in case.

[JJJ]

Well, www.otca.com.au has an IP address of 116.90.51.186, and pinging gets returns from vmcp97.digitalpacific.com.au. I didn't think to check what it was like yesterday.

While it does seem to have happened quite quickly, it can be done quickly, and this does seem to be where you wanted the domain to be hosted.

Still, if it seems to be too good to be true... Now would be the time to do some checking.

[griffin]

Yeah it seems too good to be true.
Especially for me.

I was told that it was only supposed to be a simple "copy and dump" of files into the new host, and it would be up to me to sort out the settings... so the database shouldn't have been set up to work with the settings it needs, nor should it have been able to work on the php settings of the new host.

Actually... I wonder if the board software at the new host is still drawing from the database on the old server, as the "server host" would need to be changed on one of the configure files... and the last time I messed with that file, I lost the board for a week.
I will have to go see if I can find that out, because if it is still drawing from the database on the old server, it will disappear if I can't figure out how to set up the database at the new host before tomorrow.

I will maybe do the upgrade on the weekend (so that if there are problems, I have a whole weekend to figure it out).

And I will still need to get a professional into look into what mess has been left for me, because when I was cleaning out the old server host of unwanted files, it looked like there were 3 copies of the board sitting in there, thanks to the person who moved and upgraded the board for me during the last move. I just didn't want to delete any of them before I could get someone to say for sure that two of them were unwanted duplicates.