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View Full Version : UKCT (STCC) Hardware Upgrade - Friday 27th April

SamH
26th April 2007, 23:14
The server which hosts the STCC servers, as well as the licence database and look-up functions, will be offline for a period of time today. We're upgrading to a nice new AMD640 4200 dual-core, to alleviate some of the burden of handling the STCC and UKCT functions.

The simtouringcarcup.com websites and forums, and the STCC videos will still be available for download. The only components that will suffer downtime are the public server and licence look-up features (including userbars).

I am advising Victor of the iminent downtime, and I think he may choose to turn STCC userbars off for tomorrow until the upgrade is complete. If you can't see your userbar, don't panic.. it will be back :)

Thanks.. AND apologies in advance. We can't swap a processor without shutting down the server :shy:
Becky Rose
27th April 2007, 11:20
Net effect of hardware upgrade: Everyone stopped racing and filed reports...

@Sam: Was I starting to eat too much CPU? You never said, I thought it was trundling along on near 0% - that's why I kept adding stuff :D
Viper93
27th April 2007, 12:20
LOL I was under the same impression that the STCC side of things was tidly winks compaired to the Uberness of you servers =)
SamH
27th April 2007, 15:18
Heck, our server's been perpetually on the verge of China Syndrome for months! LOL!

The most important element of the upgrade is the dual-core. This way, we can allocate specific processes to processors. This will reduce, if not eliminate, the occasional mass disco's we have suffered when the one current processor, even for a moment, is asked to do more than it can do without stopping doing everything else. Most of the time, the existing processor hovers between 8 and 16% usage.. too high for a gameserver/MySQL/FTP/email/webserver with WinRAR installed ;)
the_angry_angel
27th April 2007, 15:26
too high for a gameserver/MySQL/FTP/email/webserver with WinRAR installed ;)What? No autogk ;) :D
SamH
27th April 2007, 16:16
No wotty? LOL
Bob Smith
27th April 2007, 20:04
AutoGordianKnot, much like older GordianKnot but made for idiots and thus all the useful got features removed, or buried into "hidden" displays. Interface design was not that guys strong point. A shame, the program is so bloody useful.
the_angry_angel
29th April 2007, 22:27
AutoGordianKnot, much like older GordianKnot but made for idiots and thus all the useful got features removed, or buried into "hidden" displays. Interface design was not that guys strong point. A shame, the program is so bloody useful.I'd argue it's more useful to click and go, especially when things are being bulk done over RDP :p
SamH
29th April 2007, 22:46
Whooooooosh! Straight over my head, matey! :razz: :shy:
qoncept
8th May 2007, 20:29
Sam, maybe it would be better to have a seperate server running the STCC(/UKTC) instances and the DBMS? Not sure if its a possibility, but that give the LFS server all the resources possible and minimize hiccups. I'd guess the STCC software and DBMS take up next to no resources most of the time, and several instances could run since its not as realtime sensitive as the LFS server.
Becky Rose
8th May 2007, 20:32
It costs around £100/month to rent a server, £30-40 or so a month to put your own into a datacentre. I was going to do this until I ran into problems with my work and now I cannot afford to. I have the server here all ready to go. From what I can tell the server is not under heavy load.
qoncept
8th May 2007, 20:46
Ah, I wasn't figuring in the cost of web hosting. That does get expensive.
qoncept
8th May 2007, 20:47
Not sure this is the place to talk about it, but are all the servers privately owned by you? I had kind of guessed that that would be overly expensive and that they were probably owned by other people, sort of like a franchise.
SamH
8th May 2007, 20:52
These days, UKCT leases their hardware server. We used to put our own in datacentres, but frankly it's cheaper for us to lease the latest dual-core machine every year or so than it is for us to buy it once, and upgrade it annually. The TCO works out less if we lease :)

[edit] The hardware now ticks over at around 1% with 17 LFS servers running, including all the MySQL hits they generate :)
The Moose
9th May 2007, 01:19
Talking of servers...is there still the plan to add single seater servers, or has that all gone out of the window now? I fully understand if it has.
SamH
9th May 2007, 01:23
It's not ruled out, it's ruled in. :D

Not only that, either.. we've no plans to just tread water.. some things wicked, this way come ;)
The Moose
9th May 2007, 01:28
It's not ruled out, it's ruled in. :D

Not only that, either.. we've no plans to just tread water.. some things wicked, this way come ;)

Most intriguing Mr H :).
Sounds like the end of any chance of me getting my life back then:smileypul:D