The Time Has Come: Getting a new server

[Edward Campbell]

Good............now you have about 8-9 months to set up a build fund of say.....$50.00 each. This will allow you to go into the next renewal with $$ in hand, whether it is simply a renewal of what we have or an upgrade.

What you don't use of the annual builder's fee (voluntary) gets put aside to accumulate for the next year.  The site is growing, as are the costs. You are gonna need it.

Just to be clear.......the builders fee is voluntary and in addition to the subscription fee.

It's the cost of one short pub crawl.

:bravo:    :goodpost:    :nod:      :cdnsalute:  etc, etc, etc.

Count me in, too, Mike.

 

[WPJ]

Great decision Mike you have done an outstanding job. This will make future upgrades easier.

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Folks, in about a month's time (03 May), our current server lease will expire, and so we need to make plans to ensure we not only have a server, but are not rushed into a poor decision from an economical point of view. With that in mind, I've taken some time to update the notes posted previously here, to include our current setup and a proposed option. All prices are in USD except where converted:

Current Specs Server type: Amazon EC2 m1.large 7.5 GB RAM 4 (2 core x 2 unit) 160Gb disk based storage 64-bit architecture Network: Moderate / 500 Mbps Database Server: db.m3.large Database Storage: 20Gb

Proposed Specs Server type: Amazon EC2 m3.xlarge 15 GB RAM 4 vCPUs 2 x 40 Gb SSD storage 64-bit architecture Network: High / 1000 Mbps Database Server: db.m3.large Database Storage: 20Gb

Current Costs (monthly, based on March 2015) Data Transfer: $76.35 EC2 m1.large server platform: $37.44 Storage/backup: $19.80 Database: $92.78 Up Front Cost: $1,200 for 3 years Total Monthly Cost (current): $226.37 USD or $264.84 CDN

Proposed Costs (monthly) Data Transfer: $76.35 EC2 m3.xlarge server platform: $43.80 Storage/backup: $39.60 Database: $92.78 Up Front Cost: $1,345 for 3 years Total Monthly Cost (proposed): $252.53 or $295.45 CDN

So the good news is that the new proposed server has only a slightly higher monthly cost. This is because the costs for traffic and database remain the same, while costs for the server itself and storage go up. (We need additional storage, because the new server comes with faster SSD disks, but less overall space.) It is also an upgrade in terms of the performance specs, which is good.

The bad news is that at this point, it would be a stretch to meet the $300 / month server costs, let alone the $1,345 up front fee. I'm also mildly concerned about the proposed server suiting our needs for 3 years. The current server had a good run, and in the end it's worked out OK, but it is definitely straining at times under the load of our userbase. We have had to separate out our database services and make some (occasionally drastic) changes on the server to keep things chugging along, but we have made it.

All this to say, if you have been on the fence about subscribing, please consider it now, it would be a great help.


Thanks
Mike

 

[vonGarvin]

All this to say, if you have been on the fence about subscribing, please consider it now, it would be a great help.

I cannot emphasize enough the point about subscribing.  This site is a gold mine when it comes to information for any person even remotely interested in Canada's armed forces.  The cost per person is meagre, but don't think that you can't make a difference.

If that doesn't work, pay up, or else:

 

[acen]

Gladly jumped into the fray with a subscription. This repository of corporate knowledge is well worth preserving.

 

[The Bread Guy]

If that doesn't work, pay up, or else:

Damn you, Technoviking, stop it, STOP it - I'll pay, I'll pay  ;D

Seriously, TV's right about the value you get. 

I just had all my brakes done, but a few shekels are inbound, Mike - keep up the great work.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I had the advertising come up for one day while my new subscription was being processed................worth every penny [for me] to not see that.

 

[ModlrMike]

Renewed today!

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Thanks everyone, the support is a definite help! We are well on the way to an improved server that should see us through the next 3 years of growth!

Cheers
Mike

 

[Fishbone Jones]

If that doesn't work, pay up, or else:

Can't beat the original though. I loved that magazine.

Oh yeah, buy a subscription!!

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Inbound, should take care of the up front cost difference.

Same drill as before.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

Contribution sent from TD, with thanks!

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Thanks for the support all, we are well on the way for our new server. I have a couple of consulting contracts that should come in to cover off the remaining cost. I anticipate the changeover will happen sometime during the week of 27 Apr, to ensure it all goes smoothly before the current lease runs out.

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Folks,

Good news, the server migration is complete, and so far, no significant issues have been discovered. Please let me know if you find anything unusual (that wasn't unusual yesterday too) and I'll look into it. I ended up going down a slightly different path than originally planned, but the end result is the same: a higher performance server than what we had a few hours ago.

Thanks for all your support and patience through the transition.


Cheers
Mike

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Thanks Mike,

Give a shout if there's anything else.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

The site is flying fast.......excellent.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Keep getting this when trying new threads. Go 'Back' click again and it's OK.

 

[George Wallace]

Keep getting this when trying new threads. Go 'Back' click again and it's OK.

Having the same problem.

Database Error
Please try again. If you come back to this error screen, report the error to an administrator.
Back

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

Hmmm... I'm clearing a few things up, hopefully it will take care of the error.

 

[George Wallace]

Was running into that error quite frequently around three hours ago.