I’m delighted to be able to share some very exciting news - (OK, I know, I need to get out more…!!)
The performance issues on the existing server were analysed as being due to the shortage of memory, which could not be further upgraded. Tonight an order has been placed for a new, much more capable server on which Club Arnage will be hosted. This should be in place in good time for the 2008 rush, so we should not see any of the performance problems which have dogged the site during the run up to June in previous years.
The new server is being funded solely by money raised through the forum, so can I be the first to say thank you to all who have contributed in any way, whether it be by organising or buying merchandise, chipping in when the site funding was on it’s uppers, or helping/serving on t’committee.
The committee is arranging the procurement of the server, which will be delivered to Lennart for configuration and installation. The server is on a 10 day lead time and was ordered today. I’ll keep in touch with progress and update this thread with some sort of timetable once firmer dates are known.
The new server has many times more memory, so should not only give us faster forum performance and future proofing but also gives scope for new and enhanced services to be considered.
Ownership of the new server hardware will remain with the “Club”. No conditions or restrictions have been placed on the precise usage of the server - it may well be that Dave D’s other sites continue to be hosted on this server, as the revenue from these contribute to the hosting costs. The server will continue to be hosted in its current location.
Lennart worked with Tom to develop the spec of the new server, so for the technically minded amongst you, here is the spec:
Dell PowerEdgeTM SC1435
Dual Core AMD Opteron™ 2216; 2.4GHz, 2X1MB Cache, 95W, 1Ghz HyperTransport
4GB DDR2 667MHz Memory
SAS 5/i Integrated Controller Card for SATA and SAS Hard Drives
Motherboard SATA, 2 Hard Drives connected to the onboard controller
2 x 250GB 7,200rpm 3.5inch SATA hard drive
Static Rapid Rail
On everyone’s behalf I’d like to thank the committee (including past members) for providing the coordination and drive that has brought this long-standing issue to resolution, but once again, most importantly, thanks to all of you who have in any way contributed to this. You will have seen in other threads that there has been some success in broadcasting the Club Arnage “brand”: it’s reassuring to know that the server will be man enough to cope if we were to get an influx of new members as a result.
