Replies

Sir, I wasn't trying to cause any problems, I just remember that I received thanks from many of the new members when I re-posted this last year...

That's ok, I was just bringing the record up to date. I should've added an "all" to the to list.

And in between the two posts above, I also posted this:

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a39e34e5f619f.htm

Server downtime due to increasing load - should we have a fundraiser to upgrade?

Activism/Chapters Breaking News Announcement
Source: Free Republic
Author: Jim Robinson
Posted on 10/10/2000 10:14:07 PDT by Jim Robinson
Very sorry about the erratic behavior of our server lately. The daily traffic has been increasing slowly, but steadily for the last few weeks and I expect that it will continue to grow until after the elections. Looks like we're going to need some new hardware and also a redesign of our database. The current design is CPU and memory intensive under heavy load. This is going to require time and money. We wanted to hold off on any fundraisers until after the judge rules on the lawsuit, but I do not know if we can make it. The ruling continues to be delayed for first one reason and then another and I do not expect it to be good for us anyway. We expect that we will be enjoined from posting full text and also there will either be attorney fees or damages awarded. We will immediately ask for a stay of execution while we appeal, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

In the meantime we are struggling. I hate to ask, but we've done just about everything we can to keep the server running with the current configuration. I guess the choice will be up to you, the Free Republic participants. Should we raise the money at this time for upgrades, even though we know that the traffic may be reduced as a result of the imminent order and /or it that it will probably fall off significantly after the elections? Or do we continue to wait?

This upgrade will be fairly significant. We already have two servers, each with dual processors. The solution will be to add another dual processor server, beef up the existing servers with more memory and more disk, and upgrade the software. The additional server will be used to process database searches only, to take the load off the database posting and web traffic servers. There will also be fairly significant changes required in the software, the operating systems, and the network to implement the new configuration. John will have his work cut out for him to get all of this accomplished within a short period.

I really did not want to do this at this time and have been delaying the inevitable, but now looks to me like we either have to do it or get used to struggling every day with a server that is constantly subject to overload conditions. Being as how we skipped our September quarterly fundraiser, we are also desperate for operating funds, and we have some additional legal exenses coming.

My savings are now totally tapped out, so all funds used in the operation from this point forward will have to come from donations. So what do you say folks? Should we continue to scrape by or should we attempt the upgrade?

1 Posted on 10/10/2000 10:14:07 PDT by Jim Robinson
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Yes, this article SHOULD be posted every year. Actually, it should be posted more often than that -- every time that major and uninformed attack on how JimRob runs FreeRepublic rears its ugly head.

I've been here since 1998, and I learned some things from this which I had not known prior to now. There are not many people whom I respect totally, always, and without reservation. JimRob is one of those rare few -- and I wager the same goes for the attitudes that most other Freepers have about JimRob.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, Janice Brown: Guilty of 'Judging while Honest' discussion thread. IF YOU WANT A FREEPER IN CONGRESS, CLICK HERE.

Yes, this article SHOULD be posted every year. Actually, it should be posted more often than that -- every time that major and uninformed attack on how JimRob runs FreeRepublic rears its ugly head.

I've been here since 1998, and I learned some things from this which I had not known prior to now. There are not many people whom I respect totally, always, and without reservation. JimRob is one of those rare few -- and I wager the same goes for the attitudes that most other Freepers have about JimRob.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, Janice Brown: Guilty of 'Judging while Honest' discussion thread. IF YOU WANT A FREEPER IN CONGRESS, CLICK HERE.

Yes, this article SHOULD be posted every year. Actually, it should be posted more often than that -- every time that major and uninformed attack on how JimRob runs FreeRepublic rears its ugly head.

I've been here since 1998, and I learned some things from this which I had not known prior to now. There are not many people whom I respect totally, always, and without reservation. JimRob is one of those rare few -- and I wager the same goes for the attitudes that most other Freepers have about JimRob.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, Janice Brown: Guilty of 'Judging while Honest' discussion thread. IF YOU WANT A FREEPER IN CONGRESS, CLICK HERE.