Message-ID: <415B4BA9.4090703@pixar.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2004 16:56:25 -0700
From: Mark Harrison <mh@pixar.com>
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To: Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us>
Cc: PostgreSQL www <pgsql-www@postgresql.org>,
	PostgreSQL advocacy <pgsql-advocacy@postgresql.org>
Subject: Re: [pgsql-advocacy] Server unreliability
References: <200409291713.i8THDLn14086@candle.pha.pa.us>
In-Reply-To: <200409291713.i8THDLn14086@candle.pha.pa.us>
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Bruce Momjian wrote:
> It is my opinion that we have to make major changes in the way we
> provide hosting for our servers.  There are several problems:
> 
> o  Location of servers
> 
> The location of our servers in Panama is a problem.  They are too far
> for any PostgreSQL maintainers to access.  Changing hardware or
> diagnosing problems has been too hard.  I have had like 2 days of
> downtime on my home machine in the past 12 years.  We have had more than
> 2 days of downtime in the past 6 months.  My wife would not accept such
> a reliability level.
> 
> o  FreeBSD
> 
> The use of FreeBSD jails can cause servers to take +8 hours to fsck on a
> server crash or power failure.  Again, I would never accept such
> problems on my home server so it is hard to fathom how a project with
> thousands of users can accept that.  Either we need to find a fix, stop
> using jails, or get another operating system, but continuing to use a
> setup with a known problem is just asking for trouble.
> 
> o  Web site
> 
> We have been talking about a new web page layout for years at this
> point.  I almost don't care if they just put a dancing bear up on the
> web site.  Let's do something!
> 
> o  Archives
> 
> The archives situation is a continual problem.  Again, maybe a dancing
> bear can help.  :-)
> 
> Basically, with no money and no one offering servers, I don't see a good
> solution to any of these problems, but I think we need to recognize
> these are problems and that we will continue to suffer until they are
> addressed.  
> 


> Are there any proposals, no matter how radical, to correct these?

Here are a few radical ideas... The basic idea is to leverage as many
outside resources as possible.

1.  Move primary file downloads to sourceforge.  That should reduce the
     traffic load a lot.

2.  Move the mailing lists to a mailing list server (e.g. yahoo).

3.  Base the new website on a blog-style package that makes it
     easy to update for multiple people (disclaimer, I don't know
     what the current site is running, so maybe that's already
     been done).

4.  For the website, concentrate on simple static pages that can
     be served efficiently.

5.  I like the google ads idea, it will possibly generate a bit
     of money and connect people with organizations interested
     in postgresql.

All just IMHO, and with immense gratitude for all the work
that's already been done!

Mark

-- 
Mark Harrison
Pixar Animation Studios