# System Upgrade: Please Report Problems



## Mike Bobbitt

All,

This morning the server was upgraded, causing some downtime while the upgrade was run. Things appear to be working now but if you see something broken, please report it here so I can look into it.

Thanks
Mike


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## Bruce Monkhouse

Search function not working?


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## Mike Bobbitt

Yep, checking into that now...


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## Mike Bobbitt

Fixed!


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## Edward Campbell

At the top and (sometimes) the bottom of a page, like this one, I see:   Army.ca Forums » The Orderly Room » Milnet.ca Admin » Post reply (  Re: System Upgrade: Please Report Problems ) I don't think the " &nbsp" is supposed to be there.


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## PMedMoe

I'm getting that too.


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## my72jeep

For about 1/2 hour this morning my screen went all green.


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## Jimmy_D

For half hour this morning. I was only able to acess the main screen.


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## PMedMoe

my72jeep said:
			
		

> For about 1/2 hour this morning my screen went all green.



That happened to me as well.


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## my72jeep

Sorry, but good it wasent my new laptop.


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## Edward Campbell

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> At the top and (sometimes) the bottom of a page, like this one, I see:   Army.ca Forums » The Orderly Room » Milnet.ca Admin » Post reply (  Re: System Upgrade: Please Report Problems ) I don't think the " &nbsp" is supposed to be there.




Fixed, the " &nbsp" is gone.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks all, those were all problems of my making, and should be solved now.


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## cupper

Couple of times last night and just 5 minutes ago got an error message when switching from one thread to another.

Something about the SMF server.


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## 211RadOp

^^ Same


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## cupper

Search function kicking back server high stress error too.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah we had some load issues yesterday. Haven't solved the issue yet so the automatic "cooldown" may kick in from time to time, stopping core services and starting them up again once things calm down. As far as I can tell so far, it's just heavy use.


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## alocin

Hi there  

Clearly showing my neophite leanings here, but something little that I've noticed has changed.... Not sure if it's a mistake or was changed on purpose. 

On the drop down menu up top, "Forums," clicking on "Recruiting" used to lead to the index page anchor titled "The Recruiting Office." Now it leads directly to the one board called "Recruiting." 

Or: The link used to go here, http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php#c8     now it goes here http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php/board,16


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## PMedMoe

Anyone else get a "Database Error" message for the last 30 minutes or so?   ???


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## Old Sweat

I did.


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## Sig_Des

Yup. You haven't lost your mind. This morning anyway ;D


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## PMedMoe

Beadwindow 7 said:
			
		

> Yup. You haven't lost your mind. This morning anyway ;D



Oh, I lost that a long time ago.....   :nod:


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## Edward Campbell

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> I did.




 :ditto:


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## jollyjacktar

Yes, repeatedly on different areas of site.


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## Jimmy_D

Me as well.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Long story short, part of the server migration happened this morning - not the good part - and that was just fallout from it. Thankfully it was a quick fix.


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## jollyjacktar

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Long story short, part of the server migration happened this morning - not the good part - and that was just fallout from it. Thankfully it was a quick fix.


Are you saying that servers are like ducks and geese and migrate yearly?  I have been seeing lots of Canada Geese and Mallards in the air and on ponds.  But have yet to see any servers flying by.


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## Old Sweat

jollyjacktar said:
			
		

> Are you saying that servers are like ducks and geese and migrate yearly?  I have been seeing lots of Canada Geese and Mallards in the air and on ponds.  But have yet to see any servers flying by.



You haven't been near Mike's house when he has been having a bad day!   :rage:


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## jollyjacktar

:rofl:  never thought of that.


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## Edward Campbell

Were "we" down for 2+ hours this AM? Or is the problem here, at my end?

Couldn't connect with either _MS Windows_ or _Apple_ ...  :crybaby:


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## PMedMoe

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Were "we" down for 2+ hours this AM? Or is the problem here, at my end?
> 
> Couldn't connect with either _MS Windows_ or _Apple_ ...  :crybaby:



Not just you, Edward.  I was unable to connect as well.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, it was a maintenance reboot gone bad, but all is good now.


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## tango22a

Mike:

Was unable to connect also... I also may have a router problem at my end.

Contacted my ISP and was shuffled off to tech svcs...then bounced to router tech svcs... ALL lines BUSY!!.. then call was dropped!!!

Perhaps I need a new router ?...Really hate getting fobbed off!


tango22a


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## Mike Bobbitt

tango22a said:
			
		

> Perhaps I need a new router ?



Sounds more like you need a new ISP!

The problem this morning was definitely on this end.


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## tango22a

Mike:

Changed router...Seems to be working fine!

ISP is a Rogers subsidiary and they say there are NO faults in their system....I still think a lot of ISPs are choking down on subscribers' band-width!

Would change ISP if I could but only option is on Rogers Cell line.


Thanks,

tango22a


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## Occam

tango22a said:
			
		

> ISP is a Rogers subsidiary



Teksavvy?


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## tango22a

Occam:

Internet Service Provider

Cheers,

tango22a


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## Occam

No, I know what an ISP is, I was asking if your ISP was Teksavvy.   ;D

edit:  Never mind, I'll PM you to keep the thread on topic...


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## Mike Bobbitt

Sorry folks, had a hiccup this morning and may have lost some posts from the wee hours of the morning.


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## Dissident

You did indeed. Oh well.


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## navymich

I think that AO may have reset or gone back in time too.  I wasn't due to have a refill until about noon (CST) but when I just checked in, it said: "You missed out on 13341 Combat Readiness by not checking in earlier! -40 Morale".  I can't remember my rank that I leveled up to earlier but I know it wasn't showing my complete combat experience for the day so far.

Definitely no worries about the loss of morale, just wanted to let you know about the possible hiccup.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, basically everything rolled back to a snapshot from this morning. Server image was corrupted and not booting, so I had to do an emergency restore.


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## Journeyman

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> .....may have lost some posts from the wee hours of the morning.


So, _this_ was the morning I chose to be helpful and nurturing in the Recruitung threads, regardless of the posters' DNA deficits or their mothers' glue-sniffing during pregnancy.....not mocking in the Navy and Air Force topics, despite the Army's natural superiority (hello, given our absence of gills or wings, we live on the land) .....and even take the obnoxious, bandwidth-wasting dumbasses er, fellow site members off of <ignore>....

.....and those posts are all gone now?

Oh well, I tried.   :dunno:


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## Colin Parkinson

Getting sporadic "Can not connect" pages, generally solved by going back and trying again.


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## larry Strong

airmich said:
			
		

> I think that AO may have reset or gone back in time too.  I wasn't due to have a refill until about noon (CST) but when I just checked in, it said: "You missed out on 13341 Combat Readiness by not checking in earlier! -40 Morale".  I can't remember my rank that I leveled up to earlier but I know it wasn't showing my complete combat experience for the day so far.
> 
> Definitely no worries about the loss of morale, just wanted to let you know about the possible hiccup.



Got the same message.....


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## Pat in Halifax

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Sorry folks, had a hiccup this morning and may have lost some posts from the wee hours of the morning.


Okay, I thought I was loosing my marbles. I KNOW I posted something this am about a CFAEP Grad because I struggled to upload a pic.  Turned 50 a couple months ago and just figured it was one of the side effects!!


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## Ignatius J. Reilly

Larry Strong said:
			
		

> Got the same message.....


I had more or less the same thing.


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## tango22a

Mike:

Same here too !!


tango22a


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## Wookilar

And here I was thinking I had skipped my meds yesterday or something. Could have sworn I made posts lol Good to know it's the system and not me  :Tin-Foil-Hat:


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## Colin Parkinson

Funny on some threads I click on, I get a message "temporary unavailable, sever under stress", then the next thread is fine.


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## Journeyman

Just accept that Mike is going back to school and conducting some cruel experiment 
for Psych class, logging the key-strokes until your account "goes offline"


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## Mike Bobbitt

Haven't had a lot of time to look into server load issues, but there is a distinct pattern emerging. I will try to be more vigilant and track down a cause. I'm sure it's something I am doing.


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## Bruce Monkhouse

Mike,.....last night between 1 and 3 Ontario time I had several "high load" issues,......some kicked me off, and a couple of times it disabled the search function.


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## Mike Bobbitt

I've made some tweaks to when backup and maintenance jobs run. Hopefully this will help!


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## Mike Bobbitt

Just completed a review of the database performance settings. There was a lot wrong. Hopefully there is less wrong now.


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## TN2IC

Keep up the good work Mike. You are doing great bud.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Folks, a major upgrade was completed this morning, please let me know if you encounter any issues or 'weirdness' with the site.


Thanks!
Mike


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## Dissident

It seems faster.

ETA: MUCH faster.


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## Journeyman

Mike:
I've gotten multiple

The following error or errors occurred while posting this message: 
*Your session timed out while posting. Please try to re-submit your message.*  

This has not been limited to any particular thread, and without an inordinate amount of time spent while composing messages (sure, I type with two fingers and take that extra time to spell-check/proofread....)

I've been dealing with it by copying the post, refreshing the screen, and pasting the text. It's posted without problem on the first subsequent try each time.


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## Edward Campbell

Journeyman said:
			
		

> Mike:
> I've gotten multiple
> 
> The following error or errors occurred while posting this message:
> *Your session timed out while posting. Please try to re-submit your message.*
> 
> This has not been limited to any particular thread, and without an inordinate amount of time spent while composing messages (sure, I type with two fingers and take that extra time to spell-check/proofread....)
> 
> I've been dealing with it by copying the post, refreshing the screen, and pasting the text. It's posted without problem on the first subsequent try each time.




That used to happen to me, too, as late as yesterday ~ and I adopted the same solution, but all has been good since this morning's update.


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## Journeyman

I got it once yesterday and two times this morning.  :dunno:


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## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks... I think I've found the source of that one and fixed it. Please let me know if you see it again.


Cheers
Mike


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## Journeyman

It was the 'rude sarcasm filter' again, wasn't it?


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## Mike Bobbitt

You're still posting, so I guess not.


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## Journeyman

Harsh Mike; just harsh.   :'(


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## Colin Parkinson

Interesting, went from a thread back to "updated posts" and got a green screen with the header bar and nothing else. Had to close and reload. Mind you it could be our old browser.


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## Bruce Monkhouse

I just got a bunch of posts that were "unread" even though I've read them.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Hmmm. I just did some system maintenance that may have been the culprit there.


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## Bruce Monkhouse

Hey Mike, is the calander about to run out?? There's no 2013,...or is that because you know when the world is ending?


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## Mike Bobbitt

I don't want to let the power go to my head or anything, but... 2013 now exists.


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## PMedMoe

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> I don't want to let the power go to my head or anything, but... 2013 now exists.









 ;D


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## cupper

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> I don't want to let the power go to my head or anything, but... 2013 now exists.



I thought you were just hedging your bets. ;D


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## dapaterson

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> I don't want to let the power go to my head or anything, but... 2013 now exists.



[unix geek]

But does 2038?

[/unix geek]


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## GAP

Whoa!! Whoa!....take it easy! He's gotta be exhausted recreating 2013, and you just want him to jump into something else? sheesh! 








Mike....just credit my account...... :bowing:  :bowing:


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## Mike Bobbitt

dapaterson said:
			
		

> [unix geek]
> 
> But does 2038?
> 
> [/unix geek]



We'll cross that apocalypse when we get to it.


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## cupper

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> We'll cross that apocalypse when *IF* we get to it.



TFTFY


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## dangerboy

Probably the wrong thread for this but, was some cosmetic stuff done to the look of the site?  The headers "Navigate, Admin, Forums, Services, Information, and Contact Staff" look different.  If I am not imagining things, they look better with this change, looks more clean.


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## Bruce Monkhouse

...and they drop down with nice big letters.


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## GAP

oh......nice.....


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## Edward Campbell

Yes, very nice ... especially helpful for those of us with poor eyesight. Much appreciated, Mike. I can adjust my settings a bit ...


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## 211RadOp

Yes they are nice and big, but from my DWAN computer they do not give the ability to click on them.  The menus drop  when I mouse over, but as soon as I try to move my mouse down the menu they disappear.


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## DAA

Send in a "Work Ticket" to your respective Help Desk.  I am sure it will be resolved in 6-8 weeks......

But here on Army.ca, it may very well be quicker!


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## Edward Campbell

211RadOp said:
			
		

> Yes they are nice and big, but from my DWAN computer they do not give the ability to click on them.  The menus drop  when I mouse over, but as soon as I try to move my mouse down the menu they disappear.




Works fine for me on both my PC/Chrome and iPad/Safari.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks for the feedback guys... These are indeed new menus. They *should* be more compatible/standards compliant than the old ones, but I see that may not be the case from DIN computers/ I'll have a look and see if I can make them better.


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## Old Sweat

I am unable to access any of them. If, for example, I am trying to access Forums, it disappears when I mouse onto it.


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## dapaterson

DWAN baseline still runs XP sp3 with IE 7.  Likely the source of the problem.


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## McG

I also notice the line of links that includes "Home", "My Messages" and "Profile" appears overtop of (and obscuring) the drop-down menues.


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## McG

MCG said:
			
		

> I also notice the line of links that includes "Home", "My Messages" and "Profile" appears overtop of (and obscuring) the drop-down menues.


Same problem on the home computer when using IE, but all is good with Firefox.


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## Bruce Monkhouse

I see we reverted back to just after 0600 this morning and lost about 6 hours of posts....


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## Nfld Sapper

Yeah just noticed that Bruce.....


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## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, long story short we had a rollback. It's been a crappy day.


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## Nfld Sapper

AO the problem once again or is it something bigger Mike?


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## Mike Bobbitt

Side-effects of chasing the AO and other problems. Took a couple of risks I shoudln't have, apparently.


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## Nfld Sapper

Oh... it does happen, hope you can track down the problems


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## Bruce Monkhouse

Don't worry Mike,..someday you'll be a star..


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## GAP

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> Don't worry Mike,..someday you'll be a star..he's not?...but.....but...... ;D


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## navymich

The new menus are useable on DWAN now, not sure if you changed something Mike?

And was the site down overnight?  I was unable to get on it from about 2330-0400 CST.


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## BeyondTheNow

When on the Ipad, any time I choose to reply to a post or a personal message the 'Navigate' drop down menu activates as soon as I click 'reply'.


Edit: Sorry, same on the IPhone as well. It doesn't hinder anything in any way, I just noted that it wasn't doing that before the re-formatting of menu bars took place.


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## Swingline1984

I don't know if this is an upgrade issue or not but when I try to access the site from Chrome (my primary browser) I get the following:

An Error Has Occurred!
Sorry Guest, you are banned from using this forum!
You are connecting to Army.ca from a banned location or using a banned service. If you believe this is in error, please contact Army@Army.ca and include ID# 1174 in your message.
This ban is not set to expire.

When I use Firefox or Safari it's all good.


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## Mike Bobbitt

1984 that issue should be resolved now. As for the other issues (primarily the recent outages), they're under the microscope but proving to be very difficult to track.


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## maxwel_fredrick

I'm having trouble accessing any threads on Army.ca Forum (the green one). When I click a thread it takes me to the index page every time.

I was able to log in here and can view the threads no problem.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Not sure what's going on there, but I don't think that one's a site issue... threads are all working OK for me and each site is just a 'mirror' of the others. (So if one's working, they're all more or less working.) Is it still acting the same way? Does it do it across multiple browsers?


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## maxwel_fredrick

Hi Mike,

It messes up every once in a while. If I am browsing forums.army.ca, and this problem happens, I can navigate over to either the forums.navy.ca or forums.air-force.ca and I can view the threads again.


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## GnyHwy

If possible, searches should automatically prioritize by topic searches first, followed by most recent or most common.


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## Dissident

I can't seem to be able to edit my posts anymore...


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## Mike Bobbitt

NinerSix said:
			
		

> I can't seem to be able to edit my posts anymore...



http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/53191/post-479231.html#msg479231 

GnyHwy, I've set up the search weights based on things like topic title, current activity, etc. but unfortunately "times searched" is not a factor I can use.


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## Dissident

I thought being a suscriber allowed edits beyond the 24h window.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Subscribers can edit the Military Quotes and Military History calendar, but the 24 hour blockade on post edits is unfortunately global. Subscribers can also delete their posts, but that's a tough way to make a change...


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## Edward Campbell

I've gotten a blank green screen and a message that "the server is too busy, please try again later" three times this morning.


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## GAP

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> I've gotten a blank green screen and a message that "the server is too busy, please try again later" three times this morning.



I started getting them yesterday afternoon....after a few minutes I hit refresh and the page comes back....I assume the system was busy..... :dunno:


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## George Wallace

This has been going on for about 24 hours......I think it is because Mike is away on Crse and the site has "begun to play".    ;D


I have also found a lot of SPAMMERS registering as well.


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## Franko

George Wallace said:
			
		

> I have also found a lot of SPAMMERS registering as well.



They'll be banned like always. Besides, who let him go away? I thought we had a vote on this a while ago.

Regards


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## kratz

Must have been a recall after the vote.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, it seems like things always go wrong when I'm away. Or is it just that I'm so damned good at keeping things running when I'm around? 

At any rate, I've made some server changes that should help reduce the problem, and I'll be keeping an eye on things. Thanks for your patience all!


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## BeyondTheNow

Approximately 2-3 days ago I noticed that when logged in on my iPhone, the bar labelled with 'Home, Help, Search...' etc. is all white with only the current location visible. I sort of need to guess where to touch in order to logout or access other options along that line. (I've attached a photo in case I'm not explaining things well.)

I'm on the iPad right now and there are no problems with display and the laptop is normal also. Up until a few days ago, my iPhone displayed everything normally as well. Is anyone else experiencing this? Thanks!


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## Mike Bobbitt

Folks, another major upgrade was performed this morning (OS replacement) so if you notice anything broken today that worked yesterday, please let me know.


Thanks
Mike


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## Bruce Monkhouse

My "quick reply" button is missing.
All I have is "post" and "preview".


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## Occam

There was a "Quick Reply" button before?


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## The Bread Guy

I thought the third button used to be "spell check", no?

I'm not seeing a third button anymore on IE 8 or Firefox 24.1.1, either.


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## dapaterson

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> I thought the third button used to be "spell check", no?
> 
> I'm not seeing a third button anymore on IE 8 or Firefox 24.1.1, either.



Missing here as well.  Not like I used it too often (as my many typos attest).


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## Bruce Monkhouse

You folks are right, the button missing is the 'spell check' button.
I am missing my 'quick reply' but maybe that was on the bottom of the previous post......must think. [on nights, not a strong suit right now]


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## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks. Spell check is back. The quick reply button should still be there (appears for me as a + at the bottom of a thread).

I realize the photo gallery is also out of commission for the moment but will work on that.


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## my72jeep

every third or so click I get a server to busy. is this you me or us?


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## Mike Bobbitt

It's the server. I was hoping that the OS upgrade would help but it doesn't seem to have. It usually passes, in the mean time I will try to track down the source.


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## GPComd

Is this also why Afghan Ops isn't working?
I get this, no matter how I try to get into the game (FB, milnet forums):

This Connection is Untrusted
You have asked Firefox to connect securely to army.ca, but we can't confirm that your connection is secure.
Normally, when you try to connect securely, sites will present trusted identification to prove that you are going to the right place. However, this site's identity can't be verified.
What Should I Do?

If you usually connect to this site without problems, this error could mean that someone is trying to impersonate the site, and you shouldn't continue.
army.ca uses an invalid security certificate. 
The certificate is not trusted because it is self-signed. 
The certificate is only valid for ip-10-28-33-22 
The certificate expired on 5/5/2013 5:31 AM. 
The current time is 12/9/2013 11:33 PM. 
(Error code: sec_error_expired_issuer_certificate)


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## RedcapCrusader

The on-site Search is also not functioning for me using Mobile, Google Chrome, and IE7. Searching the site through Google works though.


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## dangerboy

GPComd said:
			
		

> Is this also why Afghan Ops isn't working?
> I get this, no matter how I try to get into the game (FB, milnet forums):
> 
> This Connection is Untrusted
> You have asked Firefox to connect securely to army.ca, but we can't confirm that your connection is secure.
> Normally, when you try to connect securely, sites will present trusted identification to prove that you are going to the right place. However, this site's identity can't be verified.
> What Should I Do?
> 
> If you usually connect to this site without problems, this error could mean that someone is trying to impersonate the site, and you shouldn't continue.
> army.ca uses an invalid security certificate.
> The certificate is not trusted because it is self-signed.
> The certificate is only valid for ip-10-28-33-22
> The certificate expired on 5/5/2013 5:31 AM.
> The current time is 12/9/2013 11:33 PM.
> (Error code: sec_error_expired_issuer_certificate)



I am also getting this error


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## MeanJean

Is it gone???  :crybaby:


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## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, there were (probably still are) a few things broken. AO and search are now fixed, thanks for the heads up!

Also, sorry for the server load this morning... much of that has been related to tweaking performance settings and rebuilding the entire search index!


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## MeanJean

Thanks Mike!  

I was getting worried that my 136 day playing streak would come to an end.


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## kratz

Thank you for all the hard work Mike.

I was going to post that AO has not seen a holiday "gift" in more than a year.
*hint*


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## PMedMoe

Not sure if it's the upgrade, but I'm getting a blank page for "Army.ca".   ???


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## Edward Campbell

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Not sure if it's the upgrade, but I'm getting a blank page for "Army.ca".   ???




So was I, but we're back in business.


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## vivelespatates

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> So was I, but we're back in business.



Same here!


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## cupper

Blank page, and server busy error


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## Nfld Sapper

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Not sure if it's the upgrade, but I'm getting a blank page for "Army.ca".   ???



Same here from a DWAN computer.......


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## RedcapCrusader

cupper said:
			
		

> Blank page, and server busy error



Getting the green "Server busy..." error quite often as well


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## tango22a

Getting server busy message almost every time I attempt to log on.


tango22a


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## GPComd

It would be nice to be able to do more than 2 mouse clicks in Afghan Ops without the server too busy message coming up.


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## Mike Bobbitt

GPComd said:
			
		

> It would be nice to be able to do more than 2 mouse clicks in Afghan Ops without the server too busy message coming up.



That unfortunately is part of the problem. AO adds significantly to the server load, so when we see the site straining it is often because of AO activity. I haven't had time to consider a re-write or even detailed investigation, and it could be a while yet. If things get bad (or stay bad) I may have to suspend some AO functionality until I can get things under control. Don't want to do that, but I also don't want to keep bringing down the site.


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## larry Strong

Been getting the "server busy" code when trying to go into my "new reply's to post's" yet I will instantly enter the "unread posts" no problem. Not a big issue, just thought I would let you know.




Cheers
Larry


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## Mike Bobbitt

As you probably know by now, the site was down most of the day. Short explanation is that the new server image from the 9th had some hidden issues, and so the site has been rebuilt based on a new server.

That means many of the problems I've fixed over the last week or so may reappear - please let me know.

Unfortunately this will not likely resolve the performance problems we have been seeing, but please know I'm working on those as well.

Thanks for your patience.


Cheers
Mike


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## Edward Campbell

Mike, I was getting tired of this:







    ... but I just want to say a HUGE

THANK YOU

    ... for all that you do for our community.


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## Nfld Sapper

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Mike, I was getting tired of this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ... but I just want to say a HUGE
> 
> THANK YOU
> 
> ... for all that you do for our community.




 :goodpost:


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## PMedMoe

I echo E.R. Campbell's sentiment.    :bowdown:


But I almost died (of boredom)!!!   :endnigh:

k:


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## kratz

et al.....  :goodpost:


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## FJAG

Larry Strong said:
			
		

> Been getting the "server busy" code when trying to go into my "new reply's to post's" yet I will instantly enter the "unread posts" no problem. Not a big issue, just thought I would let you know.



Same here intermittently for a week now. 

This a.m. the website was not available on several attempts.

Thanks for all your efforts on our behalf.

 :cheers:


----------



## Journeyman

I just assumed that the recent influx of retarded ill-informed posts by Olympic-quality dimwits new members caused the server to be put on suicide watch.


----------



## Franko

Mike - system load high 8.27

Been happening a lot lately.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, that's the big issue I've been struggling with. The server is under a pretty constant heavy load. I've been trying to make configuration and performance tweaks but it's dicey business. Now I know why there are experts for things like this.


----------



## kratz

As always thank you for the dedicated work Mike.

It sure looks festive around these place today.  :gottree:


----------



## RADOPSIGOPACCISOP

Journeyman said:
			
		

> I just assumed that the recent influx of retarded ill-informed posts by Olympic-quality dimwits new members caused the server to be put on suicide watch.



Works fine for me, maybe it's just locking out all the eleventy one year old windbags.


----------



## cupper

Been getting server busy notices periodically as well.

But there is a new issue that has cropped up.

I get a bunch of multi-coloured glowing blobs across the top of every page. They almost look like Christmas lights.

 :christmas happy:


----------



## dapaterson

cupper said:
			
		

> Been getting server busy notices periodically as well.
> 
> But there is a new issue that has cropped up.
> 
> I get a bunch of multi-coloured glowing blobs across the top of every page. They almost look like Christmas lights.
> 
> :christmas happy:



Couldn't be Christmas lights.  They're not tangled, none are burned out, and you didn't have to get out the ladder in a snowstorm to put them up.


----------



## brihard

cupper said:
			
		

> Been getting server busy notices periodically as well.
> 
> But there is a new issue that has cropped up.
> 
> I get a bunch of multi-coloured glowing blobs across the top of every page. They almost look like Christmas lights.
> 
> :christmas happy:



Cannot be Christmas lights. One of my thumbs would be hurting, and a small hammer would be elsewhere in the room, launched behind some piece of furniture with a crescendo of invective.


----------



## Journeyman

RADOPSIGOPACISSOP said:
			
		

> Works fine for me.....


It was actually down for everyone, if you'd bothered to read and comprehend the site owner's post.


----------



## Edward Campbell

I'm not sure this is _system upgrade_ related but it is a problem: I cannot access Army.ca. Milnet.ca, Navy.ca and Air-Fordce.ca all work, but Army.ca returns a blank screen.

 :dunno:


----------



## Colin Parkinson

Same here, nothing on the screen


----------



## Edward Campbell

It's back for me.

Godammit, blue is hard on the eyes!


----------



## my72jeep

still getting ""Server too busy, please try again in a few minutes..."" all most every time I'm on.


----------



## venom800tt

I'm still getting server busy when trying to send PM. Sometimes it works but usually the error comes up


----------



## Rifleman62

> Still getting ""Server too busy, please try again in a few minutes..."" all most every time I'm on.



Same. US location, if that makes a difference.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

my72jeep said:
			
		

> still getting ""Server too busy, please try again in a few minutes..."" all most every time I'm on.



Unfortunately it's just like it sounds. The server is overloaded and shedding services to stay online. Sometimes you can't search or can't view recent threads or if it's really bad you can't browse at all while it clears. I attempted early this morning to adjust some server settings to improve performance. The bad news is it temporarily made things worse, the good news is I know what _not_ to change next time.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Folks,

The recent influx of support has allowed me to spend some resources on the performance issue, and I am going to declare premature victory. Or at least a protracted stalemate. Hopefully the server performance issues will be less frequent now, as I realize they were becoming quite disruptive. (Some of that was actually me working on the problem and making it worse.)

I'd like to say a huge *THANKS* to all those who supported the site and helped turn this problem around.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## GPComd

It's been several days now since I have last seen the white screen of death on Afghan Ops.
Thanks for making the game playable again! :cheers:


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Excellent, I'm very glad to hear that!


----------



## PuckChaser

GPComd said:
			
		

> It's been several days now since I have last seen the white screen of death on Afghan Ops.
> Thanks for making the game playable again! :cheers:



Excellent news, maybe I'll get back into the game now!


----------



## dimsum

Is it just me or does anyone else find they can't search for anything at all?  It just comes up with a blank "search results" screen, even when I look for very common words.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

...and fixed. Thanks!


----------



## McG

Mike,
A couple times recently, I have attempted to send PMs but when hitting the "send message" button I get linked to the recipients profile page and the message disappears.  At least once, I sent a PM and did not realize an error had occured but assumed that the succesful conclusion of sending the message was now to deposite me onto the profile page.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

I haven't seen that or been able to reproduce it yet, but I will keep digging. Are you clicking on anything other than the buttons?


----------



## McG

I did use the on screen buttons.  It is not constant either, as I can immediately retype and resend with success when I catch the error.

I have had the problem in internet explorer on a Windows computer and in Safari on an iPhone.  I have horrible bandwidth (but as good as anybody gets in my area).  Could that be a factor.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Army.ca will not load ... all I get is a blank, white screen. I'm posting this from Navy.ca, which does work, as do Milnet and Air-Force.  :'(


----------



## PMedMoe

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Army.ca will not load ... all I get is a blank, white screen. I'm posting this from Navy.ca, which does work, as do Milnet and Air-Force.  :'(



Same here.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Fixed... thanks for the heads up.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Fixed... thanks for the heads up.




Thanks, Mike ...







... and thanks for ALL you do here, Mike to provide this service for ALL of us.


----------



## Journeyman

I didn't think to check Navy, Milnet, or Air-Force.ca when Army.ca didn't load -- I just put myself on suicide watch.   :facepalm:


----------



## Edward Campbell

It's happening again ... I get this on Army.ca: 

     *Temporarily Unavailable*

     Due to high stress on the server the forum is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.

But Navy.ca, Milnet.ca and Air-Force work fine ... except for the awful colours  :


Edit to add: but Army.ca is OK now.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Journeyman said:
			
		

> I didn't think to check Navy, Milnet, or Air-Force.ca when Army.ca didn't load -- I just put myself on suicide watch.   :facepalm:



Normally I wouldn't either. Being essentially mirrors of each other and literally running the same code, database etc. it seems improbable that one would break while the others work. Normally all are down or all are working since they are essentially just a new coat of paint for the same core service.

However, the cache on Army.ca went bad, which is not shared across all sites so it took down one without the other. Very rare I would think.


----------



## Fishbone Jones

Search engine doesn't return any results no matter what term or word is used.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Fixed it... Properly this time.


----------



## kratz

All day today, I have been getting HTTP 500 Internal Server Error (white page) when attempting to view Navy.ca

Tonight I remembered this thread and thought to check Army.ca (and other ghost sites).
The solution works, but just to let Mike know one of the sites is down.


----------



## Fishbone Jones

kratz said:
			
		

> All day today, I have been getting HTTP 500 Internal Server Error (white page) when attempting to view Navy.ca
> 
> Tonight I remembered this thread and thought to check Army.ca (and other ghost sites).
> The solution works, but just to let Mike know one of the sites is down.



This was happening the other day but with army.ca. See Mike's explanation above. These are all mirror sites, with the same content just different colour backgrounds. If one doesn't work, just use one of the other two. They will be identical in content and layout.

If I understood what Mike was saying.


----------



## kratz

Thank you Mike.    ;D


----------



## McG

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Army.ca will not load ... all I get is a blank, white screen. I'm posting this from Navy.ca, which does work, as do Milnet and Air-Force.  :'(


It is doing this again.


----------



## Edward Campbell

MCG said:
			
		

> It is doing this again.



 :ditto:

Army. ca: White screen

Navy.ca:  Works fine ... except it's all blue!


----------



## dangerboy

Getting the same issue, trying to login using windows 7 and google chrome.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Sorry, it's fixed now. Same problem, the cache goes bad for one site and causes it to crash. It's a bug in the forum software unfortunately, and one that sounds like it will be fixed in "a future release."


----------



## kratz

I'm so accustomed to navy.ca that these shades of green on army.ca remind me of a heavy sea state.


----------



## George Wallace

kratz said:
			
		

> I'm so accustomed to navy.ca that these shades of green on army.ca remind me of a heavy sea state.



Just as long as you don't puke on your keyboard, you should be able to satisfy your addiction.


----------



## Nfld Sapper

kratz said:
			
		

> I'm so accustomed to navy.ca that these shades of green on army.ca remind me of a heavy sea state.



You can always go with milnet.ca it has a nice grey colour.....


----------



## PMedMoe

Not sure what you're playing with, Mike but today I have seen a difference in font size, colour, etc.  The only one really bothering me is the font being black on green when typing a post.  Hard to read.


----------



## dimsum

Does anyone else have an issue with the main screen, with the quotes on the right side?  Since the font upgrade, the centre box on my main screen (the one with the thread names) now takes up most of my screen and cuts off half of the quotes box.


----------



## jeffb

Things have changed. I fear change. 

Looks good Mike.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Not sure what you're playing with, Mike but today I have seen a difference in font size, colour, etc.  The only one really bothering me is the font being black on green when typing a post.  Hard to read.



Yeah, that's me. I think I've changed it so that now the textboxes take on a greyish tint when they lose focus. Should be easier to read than that dark green!



			
				Dimsum said:
			
		

> Does anyone else have an issue with the main screen, with the quotes on the right side?  Since the font upgrade, the centre box on my main screen (the one with the thread names) now takes up most of my screen and cuts off half of the quotes box.



The quotes look OK to me at the moment, but I'll keep an eye on things. Thanks for the heads up all!


----------



## GAP

Quote from: Dimsum on Yesterday at 02:07:13


> Does anyone else have an issue with the main screen, with the quotes on the right side?  Since the font upgrade, the centre box on my main screen (the one with the thread names) now takes up most of my screen and cuts off half of the quotes box.




Ditto here


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Is this happening in Internet Explorer? I sort of see it there, but only when I scrunch the window up to a small size.

I authorize you to go get a bigger monitor to resolve the problem. 

(Kidding aside, I will look into it... shouldn't be too hard to make the thread titles wrap...)


----------



## George Wallace

System Load is High: 24.79




That is the highest I have ever seen it.


----------



## Eye In The Sky

Seeing a lot of "server temporarily unavailable" and 'server busy trg again' messages when trying to access the site, log in, show new replies to posts, etc the past few days.


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Yup, something is off kilter............the 'load' is at heights right now that would have crashed it totally before the new server upgrade.


----------



## larry Strong

Eye In The Sky said:
			
		

> Seeing a lot of "server temporarily unavailable" and 'server busy trg again' messages when trying to access the site, log in, show new replies to posts, etc the past few days.





I have been seeing the 'server busy trg again' msg around 0400 MST, Not sure if it is the maintenance schedule or not....




Larry


----------



## PMedMoe

Anyone else experience long loading times and server time outs last night?  I got to the point where I just closed the site as it was unbearably slow.  High server demand maybe?


----------



## Bass ackwards

I haven't had any problems with it being slow but I have seen that "server busy try again in a few minutes" page quite frequently lately.


----------



## PMedMoe

Bass ackwards said:
			
		

> I haven't had any problems with it being slow but I have seen that "server busy try again in a few minutes" page quite frequently lately.



I didn't even get the "green screen" last night.  What I got was like I wasn't even connected to the internet.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

The load issue seems to come and go at times. I've tracked a few sources for it, and am working on steps to reduce load and possibly add another server down the road. Hopefully it doesn't get too bad in the meantime.


----------



## George Wallace

Thanks Mike

I know a lot of people were suffering withdrawal over the last twelve hours.  Great to see the site back up and running.


----------



## Nfld Sapper

Ah so that's why I couldn't get this through the DWAN....


----------



## kratz

That's why knocking on all four doors got me kicked out for so long... :crybaby:


----------



## cupper

I was actually forced to text with my wife instead. >


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah sorry about that guys. Site went down and I went to work. Didn't notice until I got back. It hung in a very peculiar way that wasn't detected by any of my current watchdogs, so I added a new one to the pack. Shouldn't happen again (or at least, should be detected and corrected within 5 minutes next time...)


Cheers
Mike


----------



## Nfld Sapper

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Yeah sorry about that guys. Site went down and I went to work. Didn't notice until I got back. It hung in a very peculiar way that wasn't detected by any of my current watchdogs, so I added a new one to the pack. Shouldn't happen again (or at least, should be detected and corrected within 5 minutes next time...)
> 
> 
> Cheers
> Mike



No worries Mike, it happens


----------



## Edward Campbell

Isi it only me, or is anyone else getting a lot more than usual "server busy" and "temporarily unavailable" messages today?


----------



## Remius

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Isi it only me, or is anyone else getting a lot more than usual "server busy" and "temporarily unavailable" messages today?



Nope.  Not just you.  Although it seems better this aft.


----------



## dangerboy

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Isi it only me, or is anyone else getting a lot more than usual "server busy" and "temporarily unavailable" messages today?



I was getting that a lot this morning, but it seems to be running fine now.


----------



## George Wallace

dangerboy said:
			
		

> I was getting that a lot this morning, but it seems to be running fine now.



JINX!


You had to say that.  And it crashes again.


----------



## Flavus101

I also was receiving that error this morning. Seems to have cleared itself up for me.


----------



## Fishbone Jones

I've been getting the same error message for a few days now. Today actually hasn't been that bad in comparison.


----------



## Edward Campbell

The server 'stress' is high again this morning ... for me, anyway.


----------



## George Wallace

ditto


----------



## Nfld Sapper

:ditto:


----------



## drbones

Seems to on and off this morning. It's working now...for the time being  >


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Unfortunately, it's just extra load on the server. When it reaches a critical stage, the server shuts down to prevent an overload, and unfortunately we are hitting that critical stage fairly often. I'm trying to find a solution that is a bit more elegant than just throwing more horsepower at the problem. I have blocked a few sites that were pulling down a lot of traffic, and I'll try to monitor things from here.


----------



## drbones

Thanks for the update.


----------



## George Wallace

Today seems to be exceptionally bad for Error Messages about "Server too busy...."

Currently as I type; System Load is High: 29.97


----------



## kratz

Sadly,

I've been seeing the:


> Server too busy, please try again in a few minutes...


 screen too often.

My experience has been like playing Russian Roulette...two-thirds of the time, when I 
click on a link I get the blue screen of death (server busy).

This has been ongoing for most of the month. I know, it's a busy time of year.


----------



## dangerboy

It may be a busy time of year but I strongly doubt that on a Sunday morning at 0700 hrs (Atlantic Time) there are that many real people accessing the site causing it to crash.


----------



## KerryBlue

dangerboy said:
			
		

> It may be a busy time of year but I strongly doubt that on a Sunday morning at 0700 hrs (Atlantic Time) there are that many real people accessing the site causing it to crash.



Ditto, I was on a few days ago at around 2 a.m EST and was receiving the Server Busy screen.


----------



## kratz

I was attempting to be respectful, curcumsect and tactful for the volunteer nature of the staff and the dedication of the owner to the site.


----------



## Fishbone Jones

kratz said:
			
		

> I was attempting to be respectful, curcumsect and tactful for the volunteer nature of the staff and the dedication of the owner to the site.



Thank you 

I'm sure Mike is dealing with, it the best way possible, for the membership. 

Some things just take time.

The good thing is I'm not spending untold hours reading here


----------



## cupper

Just think of it being good for your marriage.

I'm now spending more quality time with my wife.

I was surprised to find out that we have two dogs. :nod:


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

It is being worked on, a few changes at a time but in the end I think throwing more horsepower at it will be the only proper solution.


----------



## SeaKingTacco

Mike, what do you need? Is it time for an appeal to the readership?


----------



## Kirkhill

SeaKingTacco said:
			
		

> Mike, what do you need? Is it time for an appeal to the readership?



I echo that request Mike.  We know you do this for your own reasons and appreciate the pleasure it gives us all.  But sometimes shoestrings aren't the answer. Boots are required.

As SKT says, let us know what you need.  And remember to take time for yourself and your family this Christmas.  We're all doing fine out here.

Cheers.


----------



## Edward Campbell

:gottree:   :ditto:  all three points, and   :subbies:


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

I made a few changes this morning to help shape traffic a little better... So far it looks like an improvement, but time will tell.

Ultimately I would like to get a second front-end server up. That's the server that handles the web requests, and currently the one that's overloading. My goal is to add a second that is on par or even a bit more powerful and then share the load across them both. As we have been seeing performance issues for a while I have already spec'd out what I believe would be a reasonable solution. There are lots of options, but the most cost effective approach is to reserve an m3.xlarge instance for 3 years. The up-front cost for that plan is $1,345 and $43.80 monthly.

Last month's server cost was $264.84 and unfortunately maintaining that has depleted our surplus so we don't have more money to throw at the problem. (Which is why I've been trying to find technical ways to alleviate the pressure a bit.)

The other fly in the ointment is that our current front-end server contract expires on May 3rd coming up (< 5 months away) so we will need a plan to replace/renew that as well.

This is not a pitch to try to get money from folks; there has already been a lot of generosity and I don't want to keep drawing from the same well. I would much prefer to sign some advertisers and fund our projects that way.


----------



## Fishbone Jones

Santa just dropped a package down your chimney :christmas happy:


----------



## GAP

Why not canvas the membership for volunteers to pick up the $43.80 monthly on a rotating basis, which leaves the subscription fees for the other stuff.

Popping in $43.80 a month once every year/2nd year is not that onerous a load on any one individual (plus their annual fees) if we get enough volunteers.

 :2c:


----------



## Scott

Merry Christmas Mike!

Knowing some of the stories here makes for an easy choice of security question and answer (recceguy)!!!

I'll encourage others to give what they can, when they can. 

 :subbies:


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks guys, some very generous help right out of the gate! I'll start the gears in motion to line things up for a server upgrade - thanks for all of your support!


Cheers
Mike


----------



## Old Sweat

Count me in, Mike.


----------



## The Bread Guy

A few shekels inbound ....


----------



## SeaKingTacco

Count me in as well.


----------



## cavalryman

Loonies headed down-range.   :subbies:


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks all, for the continued support. I'm happy to say that the performance problem seems to have been resolved, and we have been running stable for a couple of weeks now. We also have a decent head start on the server renewal fee for May, so we are in good shape.


Thanks!
Mike


----------



## Kirkhill

Nicely done Mike.

Give a shout out if you need more support.


----------



## dapaterson

Mike,

One other site I frequent recently disabled support for Tapatalk.  As a Tapatalk user I was dismayed, but apparently the server-side software is not well optimized, and causes some performance issues.  Might that be part of the problem we experience here from time to time?


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Could be related, however we are currently still doing "OK" on the performance side. Something to consider if things go sideways though. For now, I've added some tracking scripts which help me identify when performance is starting to lag and take action to improve it. So far that's been working pretty well.


----------



## Ayrsayle

Subscribed - Site is definitely worth a few bucks to maintain.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Awesome, thanks Ayrsayle!


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

I get no hits whatsoever when searching even the most basic words this morning.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> I get no hits whatsoever when searching even the most basic words this morning.




 :ditto:  so it's not just a Mod problem, but: 1) I did use the normal search function yesterday, and 2) I can still search army.ca through _Google_.


----------



## The Bread Guy

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> I get no hits whatsoever when searching even the most basic words this morning.


Same - via FireFox, Chrome and IE.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Good catch, I did another server upgrade a few days ago and that broke the search. It's fixed now.


----------



## George Wallace

Just ran into a "Server busy" error message again.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah we have seen a few traffic spikes in the last few days. I'm trying to keep on top of them and level things out a bit.


----------



## midget-boyd91

I'm not sure if it has been mentioned on here yet, but anytime I access the site on any of my mobile devices the text only has enough room for two or three words before starting a new line.

The forum
and text 
in the posts
shows up
looking
like this.
Making it
pretty difficult
to read
any longer 
posts or 
articles.

I had thought it was just the phone I had currently been using, but after getting a new phone the other day, as well as accessing the site on another completely different device (PS Vita), the site was still displaying itself very narrowly on all of the devices.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Works fine for me on an _iPhone 6_.


----------



## MARS

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Works fine for me on an _iPhone 6_.



hmmmmm...I have been having the same problem as Oddball on my iPhone 4s for about 3 weeks now.


----------



## Flavus101

I am also having that issue on an Iphone 6. I have to rotate things to landscape in order for the website to appear normally.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Flavus101 said:
			
		

> I am also having that issue on an Iphone 6. I have to rotate things to landscape in order for the website to appear normally.




Ah, now I see ... I was using/always use it in landscape; so yes, I have the same problem in "vertical" mode: the person's name/avatar takes up half the screen, leaving too little space for the text.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

There was a recent change to the mobile site template to make it more "Google friendly" and this appears to be an unfortunate side-effect. There may not be a quick resolution, I'm afraid...


----------



## midget-boyd91

All together now:

*"Thanks, Google"*


----------



## kratz

Thank you for the answer Mike.
I've had the same problem as the others.

I never tried the landscape method.
That may be the long term work around for now.


----------



## Edward Campbell

I was unable to connect for about three hours this AM. Got "Connection problem ... server might be too busy" or "No data received" messages.

Edited to add:

And based on a quick look at whose on-line I'm guessing I wasn't the only one.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

There was an issue (several, actually). Most of the delay for coming back online was because I didn't know we were off. We were stuck in a sort of "half broken" phase where my monitoring tools were tricked into thinking things might be OK, but they were definitely not.

Should be all fixed up (for) now. 

Thanks Nfld Sapper for bringing this to my attention.


----------



## Edward Campbell

For the first time in many weeks I got this: "Server too busy, please try again in a few minutes..." for about 30 minutes, just until now.


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Mike rebooted it remotely...


----------



## Edward Campbell

OK, thanks, but I just got this: _"Google Chrome could not load the webpage because army.ca took too long to respond. The website may be down, or you may be experiencing issues with your Internet connection._" for about 15 minutes, until just now ... my internet connection was working well.


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

System load up to 31 Mike.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

OK, made some changes and it seems to be stabilizing. Sorry about the outages throughout the day today!


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> OK, made some changes and it seems to be stabilizing. Sorry about the outages throughout the day today!



No need to apologize Mike,.......you have a life,....we have army.ca. ;D


----------



## Edward Campbell

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> No need to apologize Mike,.......you have a life,....we have army.ca. ;D




 :nod:  What he said, Mike ... thanks for all you do for us.


----------



## kratz

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> :nod:  What he said, Mike ... thanks for all you do for us.



Ditto....Thank you Mike,

or from Wayne's World:



> We're not worthy


----------



## PMedMoe

I had the "green screen of death" for about an hour this morning...

System reboot??


----------



## Edward Campbell

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> I had the "green screen of death" for about an hour three hours this morning...
> ...




Thanks for restoring service, Mike.


----------



## PMedMoe

It may very well have been three hours, I wasn't on that early...


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, the server was being crushed by a few bad guys out there. Blocked at the firewall, then completed an OS upgrade to help ensure they can't do more than juggle the doorknob. There may be sporadic (brief) outages today as I tweak a few more things.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Whew! It's been a long "attack;" is it over?


----------



## Nfld Sapper

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Yeah, the server was being crushed by a few bad guys out there. Blocked at the firewall, then completed an OS upgrade to help ensure they can't do more than juggle the doorknob. There may be sporadic (brief) outages today as I tweak a few more things.



Good to know our defenses working.....


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

So I may have been wrong about both "brief" and "sporadic" however we are making some progress. Server load is down from 50-90 to 5 at the moment. Aiming for a load of 1-2 for normal operations.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> So I may have been wrong about both "brief" and "sporadic" however we are making some progress. Server load is down from 50-90 to 5 at the moment. Aiming for a load of 1-2 for normal operations.


----------



## dangerboy

I am able to get on now, however the layout seems a bit different (not sure if intentional or not), the top left corner links appear to be different.  I am using a PC running windows 8.1 and my browser is the 64 bit.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks for the info. Something like that is never intentional.  Should be OK now. Or should I say, "for now." 

Edit: System load of 0.25 achieved, stepping away before I find evidence that this was not a success.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Ah, now I see ... I was using/always use it in landscape; so yes, I have the same problem in "vertical" mode: the person's name/avatar takes up half the screen, leaving too little space for the text.



Fringe benefit of scouring the site for problems: I think I have improved the mobile experience slightly.


----------



## kratz

Sweet. I like the feel of the mobile layout. 

Thank you Mike.   ;D


----------



## jollyjacktar

It caught me off guard at first, but works much better.  Thank you,  Mike.


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Mike.....the 'staff bar' that shows us new registrations, banned users, and how much everyone has in their bank accounts is pushed over all onto the right side of the screen.


----------



## cupper

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> Mike.....the 'staff bar' that shows us new registrations, banned users, and how much everyone has in their bank accounts is pushed over all onto the right side of the screen.



If it shows anything but a negative balance in my account, it's wrong. ;D


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> Mike.....the 'staff bar' that shows us new registrations, banned users, and how much everyone has in their bank accounts is pushed over all onto the right side of the screen.



It's a limitation of the Canada Day theme, it'll go back to normal once we stop bleeding from the eyes seeing red.


----------



## Edward Campbell

I don't know is this is an upgrade issue, but I cannot award Milpoints. I was trying to award Milpoints and when I clicked on "Award" I got this message:



> Forbidden
> 
> _You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server_.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

It is related, I upgraded the attack dogs, but now they are slightly rabid. I'll take a look at toning them down a bit.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

OK, got that one, but there are likely others lurking. To all, please let me know if you get a 403 Forbidden page anywhere else on the site.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## Edward Campbell

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> _OK, got that one_, but there are likely others lurking. To all, please let me know if you get a 403 Forbidden page anywhere else on the site.
> 
> 
> Cheers
> Mike




Not for me, Mike: I still get the ominous _"Forbidden"_ message when I try to award Milpoints ... rabid attack dogs, indeed!


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Worked for me ERC.....just gave you 25.  It did take a while to process though....


----------



## Edward Campbell

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> Worked for me ERC.....just gave you 25.  It did take a while to process though....




Hmmm ... maybe it is the reverse of an earlier problem where Mods were shut out of something but mere mortals could play as they wished.

Anyway, I'm trying to give OldGateBoatDriver +300 Milpoints for a very good, very informative post but I still get this ...

         Forbidden

         _You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server._

         
Edit: typo


----------



## dangerboy

I just tried to give E.R. Campbell points and I got the 403 Forbidden page.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Guard dogs have been trained to make your post look a little less spam-y, please give it another try.


----------



## dangerboy

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Guard dogs have been trained to make your post look a little less spam-y, please give it another try.



Just tried with no luck.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

OK, I think you may be able to sneak past now. One more time?


----------



## Edward Campbell

It worked, _Mike_; thank you ... in fact, _Thank You  for all you do for us here on Army.ca!  _


----------



## Yrys

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> OK, I think you may be able to sneak past now. One more time?



I'M OFICIALLY IN LOVE  !


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Great! Glad it worked out, thanks for your patience all.

Edward, I'm the one who owes the debt of appreciation to all of the folks who use, contribute to and support the site in various ways. Without you folks there would be nothing of value here at all.



			
				Yrys said:
			
		

> I'M OFICIALLY IN LOVE  !



It was just a little firewall fix...

Oh, the dog...


----------



## Loachman

Heart-flutter all settled down, now?


----------



## dangerboy

I have found an issue using an IMac running OS X Yosemite version 10.10.4 with the Google Chrome browser.  When I clicked on the Information tab at the top and selected "Wiki" it went to ahttps://army.ca/404/ page with an error message .  I noticed it also happened with "Recruiting" and "Rank Information".


----------



## Edward Campbell

dangerboy said:
			
		

> I have found an issue using an IMac running OS X Yosemite version 10.10.4 with the Google Chrome browser.  When I clicked on the Information tab at the top and selected "Wiki" it went to ahttps://army.ca/404/ page with an error message .  I noticed it also happened with "Recruiting" and "Rank Information".




Yep, me too:

<CLICK>

Oh crap. It seems we have run out of whatever you were looking for.
At this point you really only have two options:
1. Go Back to your last page
2. Start again from the top​


----------



## justin9

https://army.ca/wiki/index.php/MOSID_and_MOC

Why is this site not working anymore? First time I seen it was like 3 or more years ago. At the bottom part of the site, it says when it was last updated. I remember it last updated 2011 when I checked 3 years ago, but I recently just visited the site a couple of months or so ago and it changed to 2013 so that should mean they updated it. Now it's not working anymore all of a sudden. I'm pretty sure I just visited it 1-2 months ago. I hope this is temporary because that site is very useful to me, being able to see the contracts lengths of each trades/positions.

Is this going to be fixed or is there a new site?

Please help me, 
Thanks


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

It is a temporary measure, there was/is some issue with the Wiki that is causing pretty severe performance problems on the site. I've made some changes and re-enabled the Wiki, I'll monitor and see if things go off the rails again.


----------



## Scott

justin9 said:
			
		

> https://army.ca/wiki/index.php/MOSID_and_MOC
> 
> Why is this site not working anymore? First time I seen it was like 3 or more years ago. At the bottom part of the site, it says when it was last updated. I remember it last updated 2011 when I checked 3 years ago, but I recently just visited the site a couple of months or so ago and it changed to 2013 so that should mean they updated it. Now it's not working anymore all of a sudden. I'm pretty sure I just visited it 1-2 months ago. I hope this is temporary because that site is very useful to me, being able to see the contracts lengths of each trades/positions.
> 
> Is this going to be fixed or is there a new site?
> 
> Please help me,
> Thanks



Supporting the site always helps.

http://army.ca/subscribe/

http://army.ca/donate/

Scott
Staff


----------



## justin9

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> It is a temporary measure, there was/is some issue with the Wiki that is causing pretty severe performance problems on the site. I've made some changes and re-enabled the Wiki, I'll monitor and see if things go off the rails again.



Hey,

So does this mean you fixed it? Because I tried the wiki site a couple of days later and it still shows the error message. Or will it be down temporarily for a while?

Thanks!


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Still working on it. Part of the problem is that as soon as I bring the Wiki online to test, the server performance tanks, making it hard to get an accurate reading of what's going on.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Took another run at it today. Made some progress, but as soon as the Wiki is brought online, the server starts acting up and performance drops until things grind to a halt.

So, still looking at a permanent fix unfortunately.


----------



## FortYorkRifleman

When attempting to access "Submissions" and "Feedback" under the Admin tab I am met with a 404 error.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Both link to the Wiki, which is unfortunately still offline. It's on the list, but as it effectively brings down the site to even test the Wiki, it's slow going.


----------



## dapaterson

It was extremely slow a few minutes ago; seems to be back now, though.


----------



## tango22a

Mike:

Still getting Red Hat and Fedora test page.

Using Windows 7 Pro and Firefox.


tango22a


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Good news all, the Wiki has *finally* been fixed and is back online.

Now to deal with last month's issues...  tango22a, when/where are you seeing the test page?


----------



## tango22a

Mike:

Only seem to get it periodically. But if I get it it's usually also found on my other computers also.
Thanks for replying.

tango22a


----------



## Edward Campbell

I'm not sure it's system upgrade related, but I have been receiving this message since about 05:30 (Eastern):

     Connection Problems

     Sorry, SMF was unable to connect to the database. This may be caused by the server being busy. Please try again later.


----------



## McG

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Good news all, the Wiki has *finally* been fixed and is back online.


Looks like it has been hit by vandals already, and my log-in is not working.


----------



## tango22a

Mike: 

It only seems to occur when I attempt to first access the site.

It occurred at approx 0515 this AM.

Sorry for being so vague.


tango22a


AFAIK Linux has never been installed on any of my computers, so I think it originates at your end of thinga.


----------



## tango22a

Mike: 

Happened agai today twice in a row at 1300hrs.


tango22a


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

This morning's issue was a problem with the database (upgrade gone slightly awry). All good now, though we did see a heavy load throughout the day that I will have to keep an eye on.

The Wiki: Sigh. I should have known the Children of the Internet would fall upon us. The accounts should be working again, and I have just finished reverting the Wiki database back to a clean backup image.

tango22a, your issue has me stumped. Does it only happen from one computer?


----------



## tango22a

Sorry Mike but it happens on all three.

tango22a


----------



## George Wallace

MCG said:
			
		

> Looks like it has been hit by vandals already, and my log-in is not working.





			
				Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> The Wiki: Sigh. I should have known the Children of the Internet would fall upon us. The accounts should be working again, and I have just finished reverting the Wiki database back to a clean backup image.



Spent an hour or so playing in Wiki.  90% or more of the Wiki is now taken up by spam posts, and some Malicious Spammers are editing the Main Page, either through their ignorance of how wiki works or just to be malicious and only have their spam show.  

Another note on the wiki; Michael Dorash is the only admin for the wiki.  As he is no longer here, no one has the permissions to quickly DELETE 90% of the posts that are nothing but SPAM.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Spent an hour or so playing in Wiki.  90% or more of the Wiki is now taken up by spam posts, and some Malicious Spammers are editing the Main Page, either through their ignorance of how wiki works or just to be malicious and only have their spam show.
> 
> Another note on the wiki; Michael Dorash is the only admin for the wiki.  As he is no longer here, no one has the permissions to quickly DELETE 90% of the posts that are nothing but SPAM.



George, I think the spam posts have been cleaned up, unless you've found more since I restored from backup. I did a cursory search and everything looked clean.

Although it doesn't show it in group membership, site DS should have administrative rights in the Wiki too.


----------



## George Wallace

I tried to Delete Spam posts, but could only edit like any other user.  No Delete button.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

George Wallace said:
			
		

> I tried to Delete Spam posts, but could only edit like any other user.  No Delete button.



OK, I'll look into that... but are you still seeing spam posts in the Wiki?


----------



## George Wallace

Don't see any Spam anymore.

PM sent.


----------



## 211RadOp

I've had the same military quote all week.



> Old infantrymen don't die, they join the vanguard for the liberation of hell.



And "Today in Military History" is showing for 15 Sep.

Edit to add "Today..."


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Good catch, I believe I have fixed that too (may take a bit of time for the new info to start populating).


----------



## dapaterson

Header no longer shows "Unread messages" when I go to http://army.ca/forums.  However, my bookmark for unread messages still works.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Sometimes the header section is hidden, but can be expanded with the down arrow (see the screenshot, and click where my hastily drawn blue circle is).


----------



## dapaterson

Aha!  Good to know!

Could this be related to me accessing the site on multiple devices?  Are settings remembered across devices, or is it in a cookie on each machine?


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

That settings is remembered across all devices, so you might have done it on your phone and then wondered why things looked different on your desktop.


----------



## cupper

Hey Mike.

Tried to award some milpoints tonight and when I hit the award button I got this error message:

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Just ran a quick test and it seems to be OK. I believe the watch dogs occasionally trigger on some of the data submitted, do you know which thread it was? Could be the topic title or something similar getting in the way.


----------



## cupper

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Just ran a quick test and it seems to be OK. I believe the watch dogs occasionally trigger on some of the data submitted, do you know which thread it was? Could be the topic title or something similar getting in the way.



Here is the post I was going to reward.

http://army.ca/forums/threads/33365/post-1394965.html#msg1394965

Just tried again and it still blocked me out. But just gave you points in this thread and it worked.


----------



## Edward Campbell

cupper said:
			
		

> Here is the post I was going to reward.
> 
> http://army.ca/forums/threads/33365/post-1394965.html#msg1394965
> 
> Just tried again and it still blocked me out. But just gave you points in this thread and it worked.



Same for me, I could not give points to D&B on that thread, but I did to you on this one.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

That's it... in this case it is because the thread title has quote marks in it, and the thread title is passed in as data when you submit the MilPoints assess form. Took a quick stab at fixing it, but that approach didn't help. I'll try to take a more detailed look later.


----------



## cupper

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> That's it... in this case it is because the thread title has quote marks in it, and the thread title is passed in as data when you submit the MilPoints assess form. Took a quick stab at fixing it, but that approach didn't help. I'll try to take a more detailed look later.



Gotta love the wonders of technology. Someday this internet thing is really going to take off.


----------



## McG

I think you have an infestation problem.  There are bats crawling all over the site!
umpkin:


----------



## Nfld Sapper

umpkin: :BCat: :witch: :franksmonster: :vamp: :ghost: :raven:


Just get this guy in to get rid of them....


----------



## Edward Campbell

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Same for me, I could not give points to D&B on that thread, but I did to you on this one.



it, the MilPoints problem, is still there.

I tried to award points for this post.

But I got this:

          Forbidden

          You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server.

But I could award MilPoints for this one.

 :dunno:


----------



## Edward Campbell

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> it, the MilPoints problem, is still there.
> 
> I tried to award points for this post.
> 
> But I got this:
> 
> Forbidden
> 
> You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server.
> 
> But I could award MilPoints for this one.
> 
> :dunno:




And it's happened again, just this morning:

     Forbidden

     You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server.

I was trying to _award_ -300 MilPoints.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

OK, a minor change made which *may* (or may not) help this issue...


----------



## Edward Campbell

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> OK, a minor change made which *may* (or may not) help this issue...




That fixed it for me, anyway, Mike. Thanks.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Fantastic, and the change made things a tiny bit more secure to boot.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Good news, I did a system upgrade last week and nobody noticed.


----------



## The Bread Guy

I'm getting this message when I try to upload files (PDF or JPG, well within the size limits) ...






Anyone else having this problem?


----------



## mariomike

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> I'm getting this message when I try to upload files (PDF or JPG, well within the size limits) ...
> 
> Anyone else having this problem?



I get the same message,


An Error Has Occurred! 

Cannot access attachments upload path!


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks. I've been doing some prep work for the next upgrade of the forum software in the background and this was caught in the mix. Should be fixed now, I believe.


----------



## The Bread Guy

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Thanks. I've been doing some prep work for the next upgrade of the forum software in the background and this was caught in the mix. Should be fixed now, I believe.


Sorry, MB - just got the same message a minute or two ago trying to upload a jpg file


----------



## kratz

I'm getting a HTTP 403 error when attempting to award points in the Home Equity Thread.


----------



## George Wallace

How many of you are using Windows 10?

Windows 10 just did an update in the last couple of days and has screwed up some of my Google Chrome access.  Perhaps the problem is a MicroSoft initiated one?


----------



## Nfld Sapper

George Wallace said:
			
		

> How many of you are using Windows 10?
> 
> Windows 10 just did an update in the last couple of days and has screwed up some of my Google Chrome access.  Perhaps the problem is a MicroSoft initiated one?



Haven't noticed any issues yet with that George.....


----------



## George Wallace

LOL!   No sooner had I posted that, I logged off to see another Windows Update being installed.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

As much as I wish I could blame Windows 10, it's definitely a server-side issue. Testing now... Seems to work.


----------



## FJAG

I use Windows 10 and Chrome with no issues on your site. 

 :subbies:


----------



## The Bread Guy

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Sorry, MB - just got the same message a minute or two ago trying to upload a jpg file


The latest - seems to be working now for uploading files.  Thx!


----------



## Edward Campbell

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> it, the MilPoints problem, is still there.
> 
> I tried to award points for this post.
> 
> But I got this:
> 
> Forbidden
> 
> You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server.
> 
> But I could award MilPoints for this one.
> 
> :dunno:




And it's back ... I tried to deduct 300 Milpoints from Kilo_302 (because I'm sure he's trolling in the politics thread, just trying to provoke reactions) but I got this message:

Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server.

Edited to add:

I went back and dedected 300 points and added the 5% warning, but with no comments, and it worked ...  :dunno:


----------



## kratz

ref:http://navy.ca/milpoints/assess.php?msg=1410248

I attempted to offer Count 300mp, but the system would not allow it.


----------



## garb811

> Forbidden
> 
> You don't have permission to access /milpoints/assess.php on this server.



Still broken...

URL was http://army.ca/milpoints/assess.php?msg=1413065


----------



## George Wallace

Microsoft Edge has problems:

One problem that I have found is the emoticons.  To use them if you are using Edge, you need to copy the link to the emoticon and then type [ img ] before the link, the link [ https://army.ca/forums/Smileys/Armyca/helmetashamed.gif ] and then  [ /img ] after the link to get 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 .  

It will not accept you simply clicking on the emoticon that you wish to use.

It also has problems with quotes:

It has problems with a post that has a quote within a quote which has an affect that seems to be that "two negatives cancel each other out".  This will leave an affect where when you quote that reply, it will include part of the quoted posts within the reply.


----------



## dangerboy

It may be because I am outside of Canada right now and mostly using a VPN but I am getting a lot of "Connection Problems, SMF unable to connect to database" errors. This has been happening the last couple of days.


----------



## EpicBeardedMan

dangerboy said:
			
		

> It may be because I am outside of Canada right now and mostly using a VPN but I am getting a lot of "Connection Problems, SMF unable to connect to database" errors. This has been happening the last couple of days.



Same here.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

It's a server side issue, nothing to do with VPN usage. We are getting a lot of traffic from unexpected locations, so I am adding a bit more security.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Sorry about the outage... took some drastic steps to lock things down and upgraded a variety of security tools. Please let me know if there are issues.


----------



## SeaKingTacco

Took me well over an hour to get in today. Outside Canada, too.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Changes this morning increased security, but apparently not performance. I will continue to investigate.


----------



## Scott

Great time to remind everyone that subscribing or donating helps with all of this.


----------



## Colin Parkinson

Lot's of SMP connection errors this morning


----------



## SeaKingTacco

Took nearly 4 hours to get in today from overseas. SMP errors or just hanging up at the home page.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Some database tweaks and updates this morning, let's see if it helps. Or hurts.


----------



## SeaKingTacco

Still hanging up at the home page from overseas. No SMF errors, yet.


----------



## jollyjacktar

You're back...


----------



## PMedMoe

I'm getting a fair amount of lag recently.


----------



## George Wallace

Colin P said:
			
		

> Lot's of SMP connection errors this morning



This is the first time I have been able to connect in two days.


----------



## Fishbone Jones

George Wallace said:
			
		

> This is the first time I have been able to connect in two days.



Thank god for small miracles, eh George.  :rofl:


----------



## George Wallace

recceguy said:
			
		

> Thank god for small miracles, eh George.  :rofl:



Thanks RG.....then I got this right after your post:

Connection Problems
Sorry, SMF was unable to connect to the database. This may be caused by the server being busy. Please try again later.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Some database tweaks and updates this morning, let's see if it helps. Or hurts.



I've had quick reactions and no problems for the past 24 hours+, Mike ... that was after a few days of slow actions and only intermittent access, as other have reported. (Using _Chrome_ on a _Mac_ (OSX) all up to date.)


----------



## Gunner98

George Wallace said:
			
		

> This is the first time I have been able to connect in two days.



First successful log-in in 3 days for me, I am glad to be able to catch up on the threads.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Folks,

A significant server upgrade was completed this morning, as always please let me know if there are any residual issues.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## jollyjacktar

Thanks, Mike.  Glad to see you're back.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Looks good so far, Mike ...

... and I can edit my posts, now ... IF I use the "Modify" button near the top, but if I use the yellow Edit button, near the bottom I cannot ~ when I press save nothing happens.

___
P.S. Using _*Opera*_ on a Mac, both up to date.


----------



## Rheostatic

It seems the wap2 login page (https://army.ca/forums/index.php?action=login;wap2) doesn't work. After attempting to login I get the following error message: 


> An Error Has Occurred!
> 
> Your session timed out while posting. Please go back and try again.


I have to return to full version to login.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> ... and I can edit my posts, now ... IF I use the "Modify" button near the top, but if I use the yellow Edit button, near the bottom I cannot ~ when I press save nothing happens.



The lower Edit button triggers inline editing... some browsers may not like it. Personally I don't like or use that method, it's always seemed a bit flaky.



			
				Rheostatic said:
			
		

> It seems the wap2 login page (https://army.ca/forums/index.php?action=login;wap2) doesn't work. After attempting to login I get the following error message: I have to return to full version to login.



Works OK for me, you may have to clear your Army.ca related cookies and try again.


----------



## kratz

Advertisement bars have been added to the top and bottom of the screen again ?


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

They never left, but it's possible your ad blocker isn't working.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

I have made some changes to the ad code, it may result in some new stuff, we will give it a shot and see if the lemon is worth the squeeze.


----------



## George Wallace

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> I have made some changes to the ad code, it may result in some new stuff, we will give it a shot and see if the lemon is worth the squeeze.




AH!

So site members are not posting ads in their posts?.....It is your new update.


----------



## jollyjacktar

I'm getting ads all of a sudden.  This shouldn't be happening, what gives?


----------



## Nfld Sapper

Getting ads when viewing on the DWAN


----------



## Journeyman

I'm perfectly happy with the ads if it helps Mike pay the bills.   :cheers:


----------



## Nfld Sapper

Journeyman said:
			
		

> I'm perfectly happy with the ads if it helps Mike pay the bills.   :cheers:



But as subscribers we are not supposed to see them.....


----------



## jollyjacktar

I am still being bombarded with ads both at work and home.  This has only cropped up a couple of days ago.


----------



## PMedMoe

jollyjacktar said:
			
		

> I am still being bombarded with ads both at work and home.  This has only cropped up a couple of days ago.



Okay, so it's not just me then...


----------



## BeyondTheNow

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Okay, so it's not just me then...



Yes, there’s ads everywhere all of a sudden, even on mobile—Signed-in as a subscriber or not.


----------



## Fishbone Jones

Getting ads on PuffinPro, Android Samsung Galaxy. 10.1 Latest upgrades on all.


----------



## GAP

I am not seeing any ads....


----------



## Fishbone Jones

I'm seeing them randomly here and there on my desktop

Windows 10
Puffin browser for Windows.


----------



## Edward Campbell

No ads here, either: *MacOS High Sierra* (10.13.3) and _Opera_ browser.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

I'll double check the code. Subscribers should not be seeing ads, but it seems like some/all still are.  ???


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> I'll double check the code. Subscribers should not be seeing ads, but it seems like some/all still are.  ???



Here are a few examples if it helps...just a couple of different threads/pages while logged in, as well as very large ads underneath the main body which I didn’t snapshot.


----------



## dangerboy

When I access the site at home (Windows 10 + Google Chrome) I don't see any ads, however if I access the site on the DWAN I get the ads.


----------



## kratz

For the past 9 days, I've had ads:
- top of all pages, on my laptop
- top and bottom of my smartphone and tablet


----------



## PMedMoe

Getting them on my cellphone both in Google Chrome and Samsung internet.


----------



## dangerboy

I think the system knows I am single and wants to change that as I am getting this ad a lot


----------



## kratz

Ok,

I'm a paying member. 
There's not even an election. Do we need political advertisements?  :rofl:


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Fixed, subscribers no longer see ads. Sorry for the confusion!


----------



## jollyjacktar




----------



## PMedMoe

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Fixed, subscribers no longer see ads. Sorry for the confusion!



Thanks!!


----------



## PMedMoe

A glitch I get every once in a while: if I click on "show unread posts" nothing come up but if I click on "show new replies to your posts" I get the list of new replies to topics I've posted in.  Kind of weird...  ???


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Show unread posts has an implied "since your last visit" tacked on the end, whereas show unread replies will show topics you have posted in with new replies no matter how old. You can show all unread posts if you really want to be overwhelmed.  (I have 95 pages of unread topics!)


----------



## OldTanker

Mike, just a quick comment. Notwithstanding the above discussion about ads, I've been very impressed with how well the site has been working since you did your magic a while ago. Just some positive feedback.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks OldTanker! I can certainly remember a time - not that long ago - when we were seeing near daily issues with server stability and access. Not so any more, I am happy to say!

And yes, Fate has been officially Tempted. 


Cheers
Mike


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Database upgrade complete, please report any problems.

Cheers
Mike


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Another day, another server upgrade. Please report any issues. Working on the weird text at the top of every page right now...


----------



## dapaterson

Win 10 / Chrome: Not seeing anything odd.


----------



## Edward Campbell

Mac, OSX _Mojave_ (10.14) / _Chrome_ ... everything seems just fine.


----------



## garb811

Mike:

This post is showing a broken image on my computer (Win10, IE11) yet shows just fine on my phone.

https://army.ca/forums/threads/123289/post-1552329.html#msg1552329


----------



## blacktriangle

I posted a request to have the Adam Picard thread unlocked and it seems to have vanished. Server issues, Mike?

Cyber is a strange domain. 

SD


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

garb11, the image is hosted here so it may have been an issue with their server. Seems to load OK for me. Might be that the site is blocked by whatever network your PC is connected to (e.g. DWAN), but loads over the unrestricted cell network.

standingdown, I believe this is the thread: https://army.ca/forums/threads/108622.0.html


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Another major upgrade this morning, please let me know if there are issues once again. 

Thanks!
Mike


----------



## Kat Stevens

One "server too busy" lockout at approx 0600 MST.


----------



## Retired AF Guy

Win 10 , latest version of Firefox and several security add-ons and so far no problems.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, we are seeing some performance issues, I'm chasing them down.


----------



## dangerboy

I am getting a few ERR_TIMED_OUT messages asying site can't be reached  army.ca took too long to respond. It might be due to my VPN slowing things down.


----------



## Nfld Sapper

dangerboy said:
			
		

> I am getting a few ERR_TIMED_OUT messages asying site can't be reached  army.ca took too long to respond. It might be due to my VPN slowing things down.



Been getting the same... Chrome Version 70.0.3538.77 Windows 10 Ver 1809 OS build 17763.55


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Website unable to connect notification or timing out. iPhone, safari, wi-fi & LTE. 
(This login went smoothly, the last unsuccessful login attempt was approximately 1530 EST)


----------



## FJAG

dangerboy said:
			
		

> I am getting a few ERR_TIMED_OUT messages asying site can't be reached  army.ca took too long to respond. It might be due to my VPN slowing things down.



Same here Saturday afternoon on Win10/Chrome. Fine today.

 :cheers:


----------



## larry Strong

It won’t keep me logged in on a IPhone. I have to re-log in each time I visit.


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Hey Mike, still having problems at least once a day getting onto the site. Both from work PC & iPhone


----------



## FJAG

BeyondTheNow said:
			
		

> Hey Mike, still having problems at least once a day getting onto the site. Both from work PC & iPhone



Same kinda - I always get on but sometimes during the middle I get a "site unavailable".

 :cheers:


----------



## larry Strong

I-phone drops me after changing the page...I can go back 30 secs later and have to log in again.....



Cheers
Larry


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Larry Strong said:
			
		

> I-phone drops me after changing the page...I can go back 30 secs later and have to log in again.....
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers
> Larry



Hmm....a pinball site I frequent just had those same problems.   It was a DNS attack from China


----------



## larry Strong

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> Hmm....a pinball site I frequent just had those same problems.   It was a DNS attack from China



Ok, the computer neophyte in me asks......is this coming from my end, or yours.........


Cheers
Larry


----------



## donaldk

Been hard to get on this site... seems that the site gets less reliable as the upgrades go on (although other posts indicate a coincidental DNS attack).  Hiding it being a cloud DNS service (like CloudFlare) might assist with this.  If it is slow I am going to try and kick my DNS over to 1.1.1.1 and see what happens.


----------



## dapaterson

I use 8.8.8.8 for DNS (Google) and have no problems.

When at work, I can't select my own DNS, and occasionally have access issues to multiple sites, not just army.ca.


----------



## Kat Stevens

Lots of "site can't be reached" errors today on Chrome and win 10.


----------



## Retired AF Guy

I had problems trying to access army.ca this afternoon. At first I got a box saying about not being able to access system and that it was a "Database Error."

Closed my browser (Firefox) and tried again. Got a white field saying "Connection timed out" and a message at the bottom saying "Performing a TLS handshake with army.ca" then "Timed out."

Waited a minute or so and tried again and everything loaded no problems.


----------



## kkwd

I was getting "database error" for quite the while. I used another browser and accessed the site without logging in and I could view the posts. I came back to the logged in browser and it gave me "database error" again.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

There are still some issues with the site, related to the upgrade. The web service crashes and hangs on a pretty regular basis. It's set to automatically restart but still causes a couple minutes of downtime at each crash.

I may have to rebuild the server from scratch at some point.   :-\


----------



## donaldk

Had a very nasty glitch (using Opera 56.0.3051.104) where edits to a post caused a new post versus the edit to take hold on the original. I have used Opera often in the past however it could be part to blame.  The offending duplicates were already nuked by the mods (thank you).

https://army.ca/forums/index.php?reportsent;topic=129227/post-1554488#msg1554488


----------



## dangerboy

It might be just the DWAN being difficult but I keep on getting this message when trying to access the site:

The SSL handshake could not be performed.

Le 'handshake' SSL n'a pas pu être effectué.
Host:/Hôte www.army.ca
Reason:/Raison: error:1409442E:SSL routines:ssl3_read_bytes:tlsv1 alert protocol version:SSL error at server handshake:state 25:Application response 500 handshakefailed


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

OK folks, did a quick server rebuild, it may help with the issues we are seeing. If not, I will have to actually scrap the current server and build a new  one from scratch. That'll take some time, and there isn't much of that in my schedule these days, so please bear with me!

Thanks
Mike


----------



## brihard

I’ve had a lot of on-and-off difficulty getting the site to load earlier today, FWIW. Though that might have been the server work you were doing?


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Yes and no. The server has been crashing almost hourly in recent days, so it was more likely that. No crashes since the rebuild, which is promising.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Stats for November... worst we have had in a long time:

CHECK NAME	UPTIME	DOWNTIME	OUTAGES	RESPONSE TIME
Army.ca Alive	92.91%	51h 05m 22s	554	680 ms

So far the "light" rebuild of yesterday seems to have addressed the stability issues though, so December is shaping up to be much better.

Thanks for your patience as always.


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Stats for November... worst we have had in a long time:
> 
> CHECK NAME	UPTIME	DOWNTIME	OUTAGES	RESPONSE TIME
> Army.ca Alive	92.91%	51h 05m 22s	554	680 ms
> 
> So far the "light" rebuild of yesterday seems to have addressed the stability issues though, so December is shaping up to be much better.
> 
> Thanks for your patience as always.



There's definitely been an improvement, thanks Mike.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Agreed, I was getting crash notifications every hour (or sometimes many per hour) before, now there are none. I have seen a small spike in server load (~20) once since the rebuild, but nothing compared to the 100+ load we were often seeing before. Fingers crossed I haven't broken something else in the process. 


Cheers
Mike


----------



## Kat Stevens

Two "server under high stress" warnings in five attempts this afternoon.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Chased down a high CPU issue and either fixed it... or didn't.


----------



## Nfld Sapper

At approx 2100hrs NDT had this error might have been related to your tinkering:

Service Unavailable
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Well folks, yesterday I activated a new security feature, which caused some problems. For those who care, I enabled TLSv3, which is the latest encryption protocol. It's the "s" in https. Currently, just about everywhere uses TLSv2, but I enabled v3 in addition. The problems stemmed from a few issues, but basically 2 big causes. If you use an old browser it won't support TLSv3. I strongly advise you update!  Also, TLSv3 cannot be decrypted by proxies like TLSv2 can be, so most work sites (including DND) block it because they can't see what you're doing.

I've turned it off for now, but I will work to find a way, as it provides increased security capabilities.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Well folks, yesterday I activated a new security feature, which caused some problems. For those who care, I enabled TLSv3, which is the latest encryption protocol. It's the "s" in https. Currently, just about everywhere uses TLSv2, but I enabled v3 in addition. The problems stemmed from a few issues, but basically 2 big causes. If you use an old browser it won't support TLSv3. I strongly advise you update!  Also, TLSv3 cannot be decrypted by proxies like TLSv2 can be, so most work sites (including DND) block it because they can't see what you're doing.
> 
> I've turned it off for now, but I will work to find a way, as it provides increased security capabilities.
> 
> 
> Cheers
> Mike



Thanks for the info Mike. I first noted I couldn’t access any of our sites yesterday at around 09-0930 EST from my mobile device. I continued to check approx once or twice an hour from both my phone and work computer throughout the day with no luck. I noticed I could access it again at around 18-1830.

Your information explains work access difficulties (the DWAN gets angry at internet activity very easily  ), but I’m surprised my mobile device was affected. I haven’t done the most recent iOS update, but otherwise I wouldn’t consider anything out of date. Hopefully you’re able to work around things, as I don’t think more security is a bad thing. (Although it would be lousy not being able to access the site from work. It’s a great lunch-hour and/or slow-day filler for me.)


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

A big part of the issue was that yesterday, I enabled _only_ TLSv3. This morning I enabled both v2 and v3, so folks should have better luck.


----------



## Journeyman

BeyondTheNow said:
			
		

> I first noted I couldn’t access any of our sites yesterday at around 09-0930 EST from my mobile device.


I had the opposite situation;  no access with laptop, but I could get in via the cell phone.

So I guess I have to act on those irritating spams that pop-up saying "Do you want to switch to Chrome?" to update the browser.


----------



## Edward Campbell

BeyondTheNow said:
			
		

> ... I first noted I couldn’t access any of our sites yesterday at around 09-0930 EST from my mobile device. I continued to check approx once or twice an hour from both my phone and work computer throughout the day with no luck. I noticed I could access it again at around 18-1830.
> ...




That parallels my experience: I don't know what time I noticed I couldn't access it, mid-afternoon I think ... but I did try with both my Mac (using both Chrome and Safari) and with my iPhone, again using both Chrome and Safari. I did make sure both browsers were up to date on both devices. Then, at about 1830 Hrs, Bingo!


----------



## Nfld Sapper

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Well folks, yesterday I activated a new security feature, which caused some problems. For those who care, I enabled TLSv3, which is the latest encryption protocol. It's the "s" in https. Currently, just about everywhere uses TLSv2, but I enabled v3 in addition. The problems stemmed from a few issues, but basically 2 big causes. If you use an old browser it won't support TLSv3. I strongly advise you update!  Also, TLSv3 cannot be decrypted by proxies like TLSv2 can be, so most work sites (including DND) block it because they can't see what you're doing.
> 
> I've turned it off for now, but I will work to find a way, as it provides increased security capabilities.
> 
> 
> Cheers
> Mike



Site works today via DWAN...yesterday not so much...


----------



## PMedMoe

I couldn't load the site from my bookmark but could if I Googled it.


----------



## Rifleman62

No problems here in AZ.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Hopefully green across the board as of today. If you still have issues please let me know! (Somehow...)


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Hi Mike, 

As far as I’m aware you haven’t been doing any work/upgrading on the server lately, but figured I’d still report here in case anyone is experiencing the same.

The past approx 5 weeks has seen me getting the attached error with increased frequency when logging in or out, or both. There doesn’t seem to be a consistent pattern of time of day, work or home, or wifi or not. But sometimes it’s been taking quite a few tries to log in. (It doesn’t bother me, really, when logging out.)


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

That message usually appears when you have multiple tabs open doing multiple things at once.

For example if I'm drafting a post, and then open up a new tab to browse the forums, I'm likely to get that message.


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> That message usually appears when you have multiple tabs open doing multiple things at once.
> 
> For example if I'm drafting a post, and then open up a new tab to browse the forums, I'm likely to get that message.



Ah ok, thanks. Is there a possibility private browsing could be the culprit where mobile is concerned? Multiple windows, apps, tabs, or otherwise trying to do multiple things at once isn’t taking place when I’m on my phone. (I’m one of those people who does everything possible to save battery life, so closes things completely when done.)

I get it more frequently on my cell than at work on the PC, but I can see that being more of a problem at work when I have multiple programs and a few tabs open.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Yeah, incognito/private browsing may also cause that issue in some cases.


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Thanks Mike


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Good news folks, I moved us to a new, improved database server, and pre-paid the next 3 years. Performance should be a bit better now, and as always if you have any issues just let me know.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## BeyondTheNow

Hi Mike,

There seems to be a lot of "...cannot connect to the server..." and "...server busy..." messages the past couple of days, both from work and home, as well as the search error.


----------



## FJAG

BeyondTheNow said:
			
		

> Hi Mike,
> 
> There seems to be a lot of "...cannot connect to the server..." and "...server busy..." messages the past couple of days, both from work and home, as well as the search error.



Ditto for yesterday.

WR


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks, I'll do some digging and see what I can find.


----------



## dapaterson

Mike, I'm getting very delayed TapaTalk notifications.  For example, I got an email alert of a PM at 1800, but the TapaTalk notification just came in now.  (I'm assuming it's an issue with the backend and not my phone.)


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

dapaterson said:
			
		

> Mike, I'm getting very delayed TapaTalk notifications.  For example, I got an email alert of a PM at 1800, but the TapaTalk notification just came in now.  (I'm assuming it's an issue with the backend and not my phone.)



Just upgraded the Tapatalk API here - it was a minor upgrade from 4.5.1 to 4.5.2, so it may not have any effect, but let me know if it makes things better/worse/no change.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Folks,

Replaced the SSL/TLS certificates with a new breed, should be no issues but let me know if you have any troubles.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## Kat Stevens

Unable to access the site from my iphone using either google or safari, it tells me I am banned. When I try to log in it tells me my user name does not exist. On laptop and ipad all appears to be business as usual.


----------



## Journeyman

I couldn't log on 0500-0600 ET.  I just got the generic "Site not available."


----------



## garb811

I was just able to login on my phone after getting the site unavailable earlier. Looks like it self resolved.


----------



## Good2Golf

In Desktop View, don't see the two "Show updated posts since your last visit" and "View latest replies to your posts" search options in the upper menu.  Do see them in the Mobile View upper-right menu drop down list.  Not sure if a glitch on my my own machine.

Cheers
G2G


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Folks, we have been having some intermittent issues with the site crashing a few times throughout the day. I have performed a major OS upgrade on the server, please let me know if you see any issues. Hopefully this will resolve the crashing issue. (And not introduce some other issue!)


----------



## dapaterson

Glad to see the site back up - I was undergoing withdrawal symptoms.

Couldn't even TRACERT earlier this evening...


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Folks,

Sorry about the site issues, we encountered severe performance issues of an unknown source. It did not appear to be related to a spike in site traffic, but most likely a server software or configuration issue. I have upgraded the server and refreshed all software packages to see if this will resolve the issue. As I'm typing this, the server's performance is creeping up once again, so I am not convinced the issue is resolved. I may have to rebuild the server from scratch, but don't likely have the time to do so today. Will keep you updated as I learn more.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Update: Progress is being made but issues remain.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

I believe we have finally reached a level of stability. Server is rebuilt and many changes made, so please let me know when you find things not working.

Thanks for your patience all, I know it has been a frustrating few days!


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Thanks Mike!!


----------



## The Bread Guy

Thanks Mike


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Thanks my friend


----------



## Cloud Cover

Thank you Mike!


----------



## larry Strong

Thank you Mike 


Cheers
Larry


----------



## Old Sweat

To paraphrase: Mike does the difficult right away; the impossible takes a little longer.


----------



## tomahawk6

Thanks,Mike !!


----------



## Edward Campbell

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> To paraphrase: Mike does the difficult right away; the impossible takes a little longer.



 :ditto:


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Thanks all. Still making some tweaks and fixes as time allows, but I am feeling comfortable we are "stable" for the time being. Appreciate all of your patience and support.


Cheers
Mike


----------



## GAP

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> To paraphrase: Mike does the difficult right away; the impossible takes a little longer.



 :ditto:


----------



## Nfld Sapper

I am still seeing the christmas lights up in here ....


----------



## dapaterson

NFLD Sapper said:
			
		

> I am still seeing the christmas lights up in here ....



SHIFT F5 should turn them out.

Unless you're on a Mac.


----------



## Nfld Sapper

dapaterson said:
			
		

> SHIFT F5 should turn them out.
> 
> Unless you're on a Mac.



That work...lol...


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Folks, another system upgrade complete, which will bring us a bit more server power for the next 3 years. Please report any issues, thanks!


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

Mike,...very minor but if it reset then maybe other things??   Milpoints for the last 30 days and last 365 days are identical.


----------



## dapaterson

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> Mike,...very minor but if it reset then maybe other things??   Milpoints for the last 30 days and last 365 days are identical.



Believe that change was made months (years?) ago, as the MilPoints backwards glance now only goes back 30 days to reduce server load.  (Or maybe I made that up; my memory is not what once it was)


----------



## Edward Campbell

Haven't looked a MilPoints, but today I used the quote, Font Face, Font Size and Change Colour functions and they all worked well.


----------



## Journeyman

I seem to get an automatic -300 Milpoints whenever I post about Trump.   


(Actually, everything's fine  ;D )


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

dapaterson said:
			
		

> Believe that change was made months (years?) ago, as the MilPoints backwards glance now only goes back 30 days to reduce server load.  (Or maybe I made that up; my memory is not what once it was)



You got it. There's a script that archives the old MilPoints logs. All data is retained, but the MP table is kept small to allow fast transfers.


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Folks, you may have noticed that the site was down from early this morning until about noon. I was attempting a major database upgrade, and was unsuccessful. I have made some changes and plan to re-attempt tomorrow morning. I would expect the site will be down from about 0500-1000 AT tomorrow.


----------



## PMedMoe

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Folks, you may have noticed that the site was down from early this morning until about noon. I was attempting a major database upgrade, and was unsuccessful. I have made some changes and plan to re-attempt tomorrow morning. I would expect the site will be down from about 0500-1000 AT tomorrow.



I did like the "go have a coffee" screen.  And if you already have a coffee, sip slower.   ;D


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> I did like the "go have a coffee" screen.  And if you already have a coffee, sip slower.   ;D



I thought it was horrible....had to drink 2 cups and I hate coffee.


----------



## materialpigeonfibre

How much ad revenue is coming from the Russian advertisements?
 :rofl:         rly:


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

materialpigeonfibre said:
			
		

> How much ad revenue is coming from the Russian advertisements?
> :rofl:         rly:



Heheh, it's not a conspiracy, I promise.  Ads are targeted based on the individual user, and honestly, how much Google knows about you. I've yet to see a single Russian ad, but I do see ads for tech and local (to me) businesses. Could be related to your other internet activities/location/etc.


----------



## Nfld Sapper

<Shamless plug>

If you become a subscriber to the site you won't see those ads  .... just saying....


----------



## FJAG

The last few days I've been getting repeated pop up warning messages from my Avast anti-virus of having secured a URL:Mal infection delivered by the adserver from Amazonaws.com while browsing Army.ca forums. I presume it's not your site itself but some of the ads hosted on it causing the issue.

Wolf


----------



## Good2Golf

The log-in seems to kick me out once or twice a day even though I selected the trust device for 30-days option. The two-step verification makes it a bit of a pain to keep logging in.  Is this because I’m logging in in different devices (laptop, tablet, phone)?

cheers
G2G


----------



## materialpigeonfibre

It seems that some of the smileys didn't migrate. 

That said! Way to go on the smoothest forum migration I have ever seen!


----------



## Malcolm

materialpigeonfibre said:


> View attachment 64249
> It seems that some of the smileys didn't migrate.
> 
> That said! Way to go on the smoothest forum migration I have ever seen!


Smileys most likely migrated but not their code. Simple fix nothing major.


----------



## Malcolm

Good2Golf said:


> The log-in seems to kick me out once or twice a day even though I selected the trust device for 30-days option. The two-step verification makes it a bit of a pain to keep logging in.  Is this because I’m logging in in different devices (laptop, tablet, phone)?
> 
> cheers
> G2G


are you using a VPN?


----------



## Good2Golf

Malcolm said:


> are you using a VPN?


No, stable IP (not fixed, but hasn’t changed for a while).


----------



## Malcolm

Good2Golf said:


> No, stable IP (not fixed, but hasn’t changed for a while).


Have you tried another device?


----------



## Good2Golf

Malcolm said:


> Have you tried another device?


On a lap top and two phones...wondering if it’s something to do with my ISP (Bell)?


----------



## Malcolm

Good2Golf said:


> On a lap top and two phones...wondering if it’s something to do with my ISP (Bell)?


It could be (bell ), have you tried doing a reboot of your router?


----------



## Good2Golf

Malcolm said:


> It could be (bell ), have you tried doing a reboot of your router?



its Bell...I reboot several times a week... lol


----------



## FJAG

Two very small points:

I very much rely on the system's spell checker to keep me from looking totally uneducated. The current systems red underlining is harder to see than the previous one's and I've missed a few suggested corrections. Is there any way to brighten that up?
Thanks for all the good work.  After a few days of using the new system I've gotten to understand how it thinks and to like most of the differences.

🍻


----------



## Malcolm

Good2Golf said:


> its Bell...I reboot several times a week... lol


Could you try https://support.pearson.com/getsupport/s/article/Reset-an-Internet-Connection-Flush-DNS


----------



## Malcolm

FJAG said:


> Two very small points:
> 
> I very much rely on the system's spell checker to keep me from looking totally uneducated. The current systems red underlining is harder to see than the previous one's and I've missed a few suggested corrections. Is there any way to brighten that up?
> Thanks for all the good work.  After a few days of using the new system I've gotten to understand how it thinks and to like most of the differences.
> 
> 🍻


XenForo doesn’t directly control spell checking feature. I’ve noticed weird glitches but the provider of the editor is a 3rd party and has something to do with them.

Also, I recommend using Grammarly!


----------



## FJAG

Malcolm said:


> XenForo doesn’t directly control spell checking feature. I’ve noticed weird glitches but the provider of the editor is a 3rd party and has something to do with them.
> 
> Also, I recommend using Grammarly!


I actually use ProWritingAid because it integrates well with my writing software Schrivener. When it comes to these forums I'm just as happy to use the native spell checker. No problems. I'll just tune up my eyeballs a bit.

🙂


----------



## Malcolm

FJAG said:


> I actually use ProWritingAid because it integrates well with my writing software Schrivener. When it comes to these forums I'm just as happy to use the native spell checker. No problems. I'll just tune up my eyeballs a bit.
> 
> 🙂


Never heard of it before! I'll check it out!


----------



## FJAG

Malcolm said:


> Never heard of it before! I'll check it out!


It's quite good (although it's brutal in telling you how poor your grammar is - apparently I tend to favour the passive tense rather than the active  🙂) and for a few extra dollars you can buy a license that gives you lifetime upgrades) - It also integrates into MS Word.

Most of the the folks I communicate with in the writing world use either Grammarly or ProWritingAid. Each has their supporters - it's like the old Word v WordPerfect or PC v Mac debates.

🍻


----------



## Mike Bobbitt

Good2Golf said:


> The log-in seems to kick me out once or twice a day even though I selected the trust device for 30-days option. The two-step verification makes it a bit of a pain to keep logging in.  Is this because I’m logging in in different devices (laptop, tablet, phone)?
> 
> cheers
> G2G


Is it asking for the 2FA/MFA code every time too? I’ve managed to stay logged in across multiple devices so far. Are you online when it “forgets” you or does it occur when coming back to the site after being away for a bit?




FJAG said:


> Two very small points:
> 
> I very much rely on the system's spell checker to keep me from looking totally uneducated. The current systems red underlining is harder to see than the previous one's and I've missed a few suggested corrections. Is there any way to brighten that up?


I may be able to make the text box for new posts lighter, but have to be careful; that can change the colours elsewhere as well.


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## Good2Golf

Mike Bobbitt said:


> Is it asking for the 2FA/MFA code every time too? I’ve managed to stay logged in across multiple devices so far. Are you online when it “forgets” you or does it occur when coming back to the site after being away for a bit?


The 2FA seems to work for about 2-3 days on each device (vice the 30-day stay logged, which I ensure is checked) then I'll have to log-on again and use the emailed 2nd code.  I tried clearing the DNS cache recently, so I'll see if that works on my other devices.  In the end, a first world problem if I can't get it to work - yet to have to use a back up code, so I still have those if for whatever reason my email is down.

Thanks Mike!


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## FJAG

Mike Bobbitt said:


> Is it asking for the 2FA/MFA code every time too? I’ve managed to stay logged in across multiple devices so far. Are you online when it “forgets” you or does it occur when coming back to the site after being away for a bit?
> 
> 
> 
> I may be able to make the text box for new posts lighter, but have to be careful; that can change the colours elsewhere as well.


Don't bother fiddling with this. It's a very minor point and not worth the effort or possible cascading complications. It's often much easier to simply get used to the default that the system gives you. I'm good with it. 

🍻


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## FJAG

Okay. I'm getting a little annoyed now.

I'm quite used to the ads that run throughout the text and know they are a very necessary part of this forum. In the past, and for the first little while of this new system they nestled in amongst the posts and you could scroll past them or read them as you wished. Today they seem to nestle in the top left corner of the header and won't move for love or money. The result is that roughly the upper one half of my page is permanently blocked. Can these things be made smaller or put back into the scrollable portion of the page?

🍻


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## FJAG

Whoops. It just got worse. I've had a couple of pages where the ads also covered the bottom half of the screen leaving the text portion in about a 1/10th of a page ribbon in the middle and another where an ad settled in above the ad in the header leaving about a tenth of a page of text at the very bottom.

🍻


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## dapaterson

One way to make them disappear is to subscribe


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## FJAG

dapaterson said:


> One way to make them disappear is to subscribe


What! And miss all the eBay ads for a Marklin model railroad painted up by some user in a WW2 paint scheme? Bought one item off eBay two months ago (no not a Nazi train) and this ad has followed me everywhere. Big Brother is here to stay.


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## Blackadder1916

dapaterson said:


> One way to make them disappear is to subscribe



While wary of drawing attention to myself as a non-subscriber, I've noticed that the previously available link to subscription information doesn't seem to have survived migration to this new software.


. . .   I probably shouldn't have posted.  Now it appears that the ad-gremlins seek to extract revenge and block the complete page with multiple versions of sometimes the same ad leaving only space to view a portion of one line in the topic.  Clicking through all the steps to close the ads eventually opens up enough of the page to actually read the thread.


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## materialpigeonfibre




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## Brad Sallows

Ditto on the ad space problem.  A square box ad in the space that looks like it should be 628 h x 1200 w is overflowing vertically (much more than 628h I suppose) and squeezing the page content out.  Add: given that it's upper left justified and the menu bar appears to right of it, bottom aligned, it has the look of a float issue.


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## Mike Bobbitt

Ok, I may have slowed down the rampaging ads. Odd, I have not changed a thing wrt advertising since we went live on Christmas Eve with the new site. I suspect Google is just getting more aggressive with the inserts. I'll see if I can scale it back to something reasonable... if not I may have to ditch ads, at least for now.



Blackadder1916 said:


> While wary of drawing attention to myself as a non-subscriber, I've noticed that the previously available link to subscription information doesn't seem to have survived migration to this new software.


Things have moved around, and in an effort to keep things simple, I have removed a lot from the menu system. Under the new system, Subscriptions can be found under “Account Upgrades” on your profile:



			https://army.ca/forums/account/upgrades


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## Mike Bobbitt

I have, for now, completely disabled ads. I like it, but in recent years, the site has largely sustained itself on ad revenue.

I *do not* want to pressure users to “pay to play.” The whole point in my view is the site should be free for all, with the option to support via subscriptions (upgrades) for those that can and want to.

Advertising is a good way to cover costs without too much user inconvenience, but not when it goes overboard. 

I’ll find a way, please be patient!


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## FJAG

I don't mind ads on the site at all and completely understand why they're there so long as you can scroll past them to get to the content. Up until a few days ago (old system and new) everything was working properly. A few days ago an aggressive one would populate the bottom half of the page and asking me to select some type of "push notification" system and wouldn't move until yesterday when it eventually allowed me to "not show again". 

Today was a whole different thing.

🍻


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## Bruce Monkhouse

What does "enable push notifications" mean anyways?


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## FJAG

Bruce Monkhouse said:


> What does "enable push notifications" mean anyways?


I presume it ties in to the News Feed.

I usual like to hunt and gather rather than to have some algorithm tell me what I need to read and see.

🍻


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## Mike Bobbitt

Bruce Monkhouse said:


> What does "enable push notifications" mean anyways?


It allows Chrome and other browsers to use the "toast" popups in the lower right of your screen to notify you of new DMs, replies to threads you are following, etc.


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## FJAG

Mike Bobbitt said:


> It allows Chrome and other browsers to use the "toast" popups in the lower right of your screen to notify you of new DMs, replies to threads you are following, etc.


Ah ha!

🍻


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