SERVER DOWNTIME & MNL

[James]

Hi All,
Apologies for the downtime on sunday and the interruption in service to MNL that happened as a consequence. The server has just been upgraded and the memory on it doubled. We are also working on further optimization of the MNL code to help keep its impact down. The service has been even more popular this year already and we hope to be able to have the infrastructure to allow it to continue to go from strength to strength.
One thing we will be looking at doing in the near future is adding a voluntary donation paypal button to the site. Chris is currently carrying the cost of the server on his own and with the increasing hosting costs and the fact studenthood is beckoning him, we will need to look to alternative funding.

 

[TheStub]

I'll happilly throw a few quid into the pot to keep the server up

Perhaps we need a bigger hose - I read somewhere the internet is like a load of tubes, perhaps ours were blocked

 

[Iceraider]

That's a credit to the quality of MNL that it keeps growing from strength to strength. I'm sure there are a few of us who wouldn't mind throwing a few quid over to keep such a good service going.

 

[samidevils]

I've already said to Chris i'll be happy to throw a few quid your way

 

[Ger-Devils]

I've spoke to Chris about maybe getting a few buckets down the tent at a game or two to raise some funds to cover it seeing as most who go to the home games will more than likely use it for away games!

 

[mazza03]

I pay twelve quid a year to THF and would willingly do the same on here, just let us know.

 

[Koop11]

Forgive my ignorance but how much does it cost to run a server? I’m guessing the size, influenced by number of viewers, determines the cost?

Not much of a computer wiz. I can work on one fine but that’s about the extend of my powers.

 

[TheStub]

Forgive my ignorance but how much does it cost to run a server? I’m guessing the size, influenced by number of viewers, determines the cost?

Not much of a computer wiz. I can work on one fine but that’s about the extend of my powers.

There are lots of different things that determine the cost of a hosting package - which is often more than just the server.

Number of people looking at the site is one factor, but also the number of people per second is a bigger factor for us. Cost will depend on what needs to be done to improve the overall performance at peak loads.

The other factor is the fact that Chris (now the student) is more or less funding the whole thing himself, so it would be nice to start offsetting some of the costs from him too.

 

[Chris]

Without going into specifics...

The current server costs are running into hundreds of pounds a year, we've taken a 50% increase in costs this week just upgrading the server to cope with next weekend.

Server costs are largely dependant on server specification and the usage, we're generating massive traffic over the weekends with Match Night Live!, but unfortunately we can't just pay for a couple of days server use.

 

[E.D.S.]

I rely on this service so I'd be happy to contribute if you go down that route. You guys (and those that do the texting from the games) do a fantastic job.
Thank you and please keep it going.

 

[Angelic_Devil]

I'll chip in too....