This weekend - specifically, Saturday the 12th of November - we will be moving to our new servers. I expect this to take four to six hours, assuming that nothing goes horribly wrong. And if something does go horribly wrong, I will probably just postpone it until the following weekend. During that time, you won't be able to post, readers won't be able to comment, and we won't get any spam.
Every cloud, silver lining. :)
Our current server, Mew, is getting old and tired. It's a dual Xeon 2.4, something that hasn't been made for years. It was bright and shiny in its day, but lately the wheels have started falling off.
Our new servers - yes, servers, plural - are called Kei and Yuri. Each is a dual-core Pentium D 2.8, with 2GB of memory. Individually they're 50% to 100% faster than Mew, and they're connected via a private network, allowing them to co-operate on dishing out your bloggy goodness.
Yuri will be running Movable Type 2.6, which accounts for the bulk of the munu blogs, and a majority of the workload overall. Kei will be handling the various forums, the Movable Type 3 blogs, and the various WordPress blogs and other sites. Kei will also be handling the databases for all the applications, taking some of the work that Yuri would otherwise be doing for MT 2.6.
Each server is backed up to the other one twice a day, so even if we have a complete system failure, we can be up and running again quickly.
In addition to the shiny new hardware, we have shiny new software. Newer versions of Linux, MySQL and CPanel for starters. Fantastico, which died recently after an upgrade, is back. XController has arrived to make CPanel pretty.
Once that's done, I'll be addressing our blogging software. We have to move off Movable Type; we have no choice in the matter. However, no-one will be forced off MT before they're ready. The new servers will be able to cope with the existing users just fine; the problem is that further growth will bring serious problems. We're already the largest MT installation in the world, and worse, we are stuck on version 2.6 due to licensing issues.
I have a plan - but more on that later.
Posted by Pixy Misa at November 10, 2005 01:06 AM | TrackBackSounds cool! Is the switch-over the reason my comments have been down so often lately? It seems the Forbidden message comes up half of the time.
Posted by annika at November 10, 2005 04:46 AMNo, that's mainly due to ever-escalating levels of spam. Fluffy the Spamhound turns comments off whenever we get flooded with spam... Which is dozens of times a day.
I have forcibly (very forcibly) closed comments and trackbacks on all entries over 60 days old. That should help.
Posted by Pixy Misa at November 10, 2005 05:14 AMThe new (faster, better) servers will give me more leeway to mess around with comments, though. I know it's been a nuisance, which is why I wanted to get these new servers up and running ASAP.
Posted by Pixy Misa at November 10, 2005 05:15 AM(timidly raises hand)
O Mighty Emperor!
Wilst thou then decideth that I am but worthy to access some form of file management system, yea verily, that will allow me to export my peurile and humble posts from yonder TypePad site, which thou thyself hath promised me in days passed?
The mice, they doth hunger....The TypePad subscription grows shorter, and the black hole, it grows deeper.
I should just quit there and go to bed. Besides, my blog is mushy, and full of cucumbers.
Posted by Vinnie at November 10, 2005 08:02 AMPixy,
I will admit to being scared half to death of moving off of MT. While I'm really pretty adept at html, and somewhat at php and java, I am still usually kinda slow catching up on it. Can you promise the learning curve is sorta not curvy?
Posted by Nick Queen at November 10, 2005 03:25 PMPixy,
I look forward to the new servers! Coming from Blog*Spot and just getting comfortable with MT, what interface will we be using?
Posted by Sacramento Republicrat at November 10, 2005 05:54 PMNothing will change during this move - except that things will be faster, and CPanel (if you use it) will be prettier.
Following that, we will be moving - gradually, and voluntarily - to other blogging software. You won't be forced to make the jump before you're ready, but new Munuvians probably won't be set up under MT for very much longer.
As to what we'll be using - I can't say. Yet. 
Pixy,
I don't say it often enough -- THANK YOU for all you do and provide for this community.
What's involved in moving to new blogging software? I'm game to try something new.
Do you recommend WordPress? Is there anything I can do independently or would you be doing work on the server side of things?
The blogging software story is complicated. I'll be posting lots more information next week, so hold tight 'til then. 
The blogging software story may just have been radically simplified, but I've had my hopes dashed before (Expression Engine, Nucleus, b2Evolution). More when I've had some time to play.
Posted by Pixy Misa at November 11, 2005 12:36 PMHeh. LifeType. Formerly pLog. They've just changed the name and set up a new website because Amazon had a trademark on "Plog", so some of the links are broken.
Posted by Pixy Misa at November 11, 2005 09:16 PM