Board Issues

[Funkmasterr]

It seems like maybe the server is having an issue with connections hanging?

Site has been really slow for me today and I got an error a few times when trying to connect stating there were too many connections. Isn't just me I assume?

I could be totally off too..

[Spang]

It's inconsistently slow for me.

[Xatrei]

Seems to be fine now, but it was really eating dogshit up until a few minutes ago.


I may have spoken too soon. It was really responding crisply for a few minute straight, but now it's slowing down again.

[Fash]

Yup, it is having problems... and sometimes it thinks I want to download the page instead of viewing it.

I have to wonder how many different purposes this server is being used for, and whether or not those other sources contribute... (I have 2 servers and eat the cost myself, so this mostly comes from jealousy in that they're able to get vv'ers to hand over wads of cash, when I have comparable equipment and pay for it myself while living check to check.) My tinfoil neck-tie suggests the vv telethon is a beer fund, and this board gets less attention than that spot between my shoulders that I can't reach. I love this place, don't get me wrong...

[Winnow]

Yup, it is having problems... and sometimes it thinks I want to download the page instead of viewing it.

I have to wonder how many different purposes this server is being used for, and whether or not those other sources contribute... (I have 2 servers and eat the cost myself, so this mostly comes from jealousy in that they're able to get vv'ers to hand over wads of cash, when I have comparable equipment and pay for it myself while living check to check.) My tinfoil neck-tie suggests the vv telethon is a beer fund, and this board gets less attention than that spot between my shoulders that I can't reach. I love this place, don't get me wrong...

I've never understood the bucketloads of cash used to run VV. You can get outstanding performance from Dreamhost for pennies. The hosts of VV, old and new, have had issues that services costing 1/10th of the fees don't.

As you mentioned, the only reason for spending lots of cash on this server is for things that VVers don't participate in that I'm aware of.

[pyrella]

I've been paying for the board out of my own pocket for several months now. I still get the occasional donation - but we haven't had a 'push' in a long time.

As far as specifically today - lesson learned....a domain catch all, and spammers using random@domain at a rate of 50k+ messages a min makes for a slow board. I've removed most domain catch alls.

As far as what VV uses or doesn't - it used to, we had all kinds of services over the years from voice chat, to hosted games, to irc, etc.

True enough people aren't using those on VV specifically anymore....and we (I) haven't been asking for donations either. Donations are also exactly that - contribute if you'd like, don't if you don't. You also notice we don't put forth the time and effort we used to either. You get what you pay for.

[pyrella]

As far as wads of cash and beer fund - you're welcome to pore over the Paypal logs from day 1 if you'd like to set up an independent fraud protection team or something.

Although, I should take the hint and bring it down. It's still several extra hours of work a month that I'm paying for out of my own pocket. Sure I have a few other sites that I personally reap benefit from (guild, personal, etc) - but as was pointed out, I can throw those on a 10$/mo site - it's just nice being able to have full control, instead of a shared box. When we have problems, they are our problems, not someone else that affect us.

[Xatrei]

Thanks, Py. Also, fuck those idiots.

[Boogahz]

I thought Py was using the donations for an engagement ring

[pyrella]

I understand the comment was semi tongue in cheek (i saw the tin foil reference!) - but it got me thinking.

Year to date, I've gotten one donation from the same person who does every year - and for some reason....it just takes straight from my bank every month the entire amount, instead of the difference between my existing balance.

[Winnow]

Thanks, Py. Also, fuck those idiots.

Fuck you too!

There was no reference to a lack of respect for the upkeep of the board mentioned in the posts above.

Eat shit linux lover.

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You do a great job Py (and other high level mods). With that out of the way, those are crazy monthly fees for this message/download board! What's the total bandwidth each month? (for VV, not the other things running on the server)

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The question was answered though. Py pays himself for the additional use that requires VV to be on an expensive server as opposed to something like Dreamhost that would support the VV member board, bandwidth and storage space for $10/month. It was a valid inquiry I've also made in the past. I've experienced solid, speedy service on a few hosting sites that have multiple data backups in case of issues, so they do remain an option for the VV board at a later date if Py decides to retire the other activities on the server.

I've got over 7TB of bandwidth allowance and 600GB of storage on Dreamhost. I seem to get around 10Mbps+ downloading from the server.

Py's a teck geek. I understand having other projects on the server. I doubt that's what is causing these slowdowns. It's more likely the provider in general having bandwidth/routing issues.

[Fash]

I was under the impression the donations would have been a lot more.. I wasn't trying to be accusatory, so i apologize, but hey we're all a lot clearer on the situation now. My bill is up to $180/month now with 2 servers, and I totally understand wanting to be in control of things. I'd host this place for free. (I'm terrible at sales, lol)

[noel]

I've been wondering when there was going to be another donation drive. It seemed like it should be coming up soon.

I've always been happy to donate, so don't feel like you have to pay for this shit out of pocket unless you want to.

[Boogahz]

For a couple months, I have been getting this error when first accessing the board or switching threads/forums:

General Error
SQL ERROR [ mysql4 ]

Too many connections [1040]

An sql error occurred while fetching this page. Please contact an administrator if this problem persists.

This is usually happening when the board is reacting slow overall.

[Morgrym]

For a couple months, I have been getting this error when first accessing the board or switching threads/forums:

General Error
SQL ERROR [ mysql4 ]

Too many connections [1040]

An sql error occurred while fetching this page. Please contact an administrator if this problem persists.

This is usually happening when the board is reacting slow overall.

I had this exact same problem over the weekend. Ultimatly, I was able to log out and could see the main list page, but when I would click on a topic, the error would pop up, same if I tried to log in...BAM! Error.

It cleared up later in the day on Sunday. /shrug

[pyrella]

Ran some apache memory recalculation tool - supposedly will help. Feels snappier at least.

Then again restarting apache and mysql did that too...for a little while.

[Spang]

It's fucking up again.

Can we go back to giving you guys money?

[Winnow]

It's fucking up again.

Can we go back to giving you guys money?

It's not the money, it's the server.

[valryte]

I was getting that error a lot the past couple of days. What ya do? spill the beer you bought with my money inside the server? JK...seems to be running better now.

[pyrella]

It seems to be mysql running out of connections - which is odd as traffic is generally down. We are still getting hit with tens of thousands of emails a day. They all get bounced with the anti spam, but the anti spam is also taking a toll.

[Winnow]

It seems to be - which is odd as traffic is generally down. We are still getting hit with tens of thousands of emails a day. They all get bounced with the anti spam, but the anti spam is also taking a toll.

I tried searching for possible solutions. This thread had some comments:

Your host stated that there is a maximum of 8 users running queries at a time -- this is a rather low limit. The error simply means that more than 8 users have attempted to query the database at the same time (e.g. loading a page). The solution for this is to ask your host to raise the limit, but as they seem to indicate that they've no intention of doing this, your best bet would be to find a new host.

What's the max queries for VV set at?

Here's the thread:

http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopi ... &t=1075665

[pyrella]

max connections 100

[Sylvus]

We made a couple more changes tonight that should hopefully improve board performance. We'll have to wait and see.

[Canelek]

You should go back to having a yearly drive. Perhaps reinstate VVs and you can even hir Sylvos to LARP for the entertainment.

[pyrella]

Actually a board I'd created on the gtfo.org site 3 years ago was running an oooooold un-locked down version of phpbb. As in anyone could register/make a post. No captcha, special link, authorization, or anything else.

Long story short:

42 million records - thousands of messages a day.

Sylvus tracked the mysql usage and I nuked the board/database/etc.

[Thess]

You should go back to having a yearly drive. Perhaps reinstate VVs and you can even hir Sylvos to LARP for the entertainment.

The donate link is still up. http://www.veeshanvault.org/donate.htm

[Canelek]

The key point was the LARPing though.