2014-11-17 1am (Monday morning) Server upgrade

[Jim]

There's a software upgrade coming down the pipe and the host has given a maintenance window.

If you use the forum Monday morning, it might not be usable.

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We will upgrade MySQL to version 5.5 on your server this Monday am.

This will require a 60 minute maintenance window to to recompile.

We apologize for the inconvenience and will make every effort to expedite this upgrade.
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[Max]

Boooooooooooooo! IMPEACH JIM!

[Jim]

That's right. He's a shaggy, no good, rabble-rouser!

[dscowell]

Thanks for the heads up considering I may be on at that time...

[Chris]

Watch those error logs Jim!

J/K (I hope) but some old plug-ins may be at risk though I hope not!

Judging from the site speed today I suspect they're already at work on the upgrade - maybe just backing up early.

[Jim]

This upgrade is an MySQL change from 5.3?? to 5.5??

As y`all might know, I can be glacially slow on some items (excuse is that work [self-employed] is a priority). It's been "on my list" (tm) to tend the issue with scheduled tasks not working (board subscriptions not sending out notice e-mails/PM's). The fix for the issue is to change the footer template as it seems some customized code is killing the scheduler. My plan was to change a few lines on a Tuesday and see if the board dies (I don't wish it to die just before a weekend, on a weekend, or just after as that's when run finalization, RSVP's, trip reports are more active). Early week is safe for change, should the board be killed off by a site change. The host would restore from a backup they keep current.

With the scheduler not working, I have to manually log in and clear the "session table". If this session table fills to the max the site ceases to function. This has happened two or three times under my watch and I try to log in every three weeks to clear it (it fills with site visitor activity, so in the summer it fills quickly). Last evening I went to clear the table and I received an error message that I could not access the function due to an error. Opening a support ticket with the host prompted them to give us the maint window for the change/upgrade. When it's complete, I'll be able to clear the table and I might as well make some footer code change at the same time.

Regarding plug-in's having issues due to forum upgrades:
Yes, this is a concern. A few months back there was a vBulletin security patch issued. I worked with the site's host to process the needed change. We discussed upgrades with respect to plug-in breakage vs. security patching. From their recommendation, we're staying put with what version we're running.

From this upgrade, should something break, action will be taken. If you see anything not working as it should be - please kick me a PM

[javaman34]

Jim previously posted:

[Chris]

Jim previously posted: