Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Hrm, given the state of all llamaserver-based MP games, I think a good rule of thumb would be to apply some sort of turn delay on every game + quickhost to make sure people don't stale all over the place. As the Admin of SummerMadness I don't seem to be able to submit or request any turn delays so I'm mildly concerned for what to do.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Hi all,

To add to the hilarity I've come down with some minor disease, hence me not posting or anything yesterday (instead I inexplicably decided to make a butternut squash stew and completely wore myself out chopping the squash, so I had to go to bed).

BUT, as a bonus since I'm off work I've had time to finally sort the server out. You should all get an e-mail in the next minute or two explaining the situation. Basically, the server's all fixed, but it may have done some stuff without e-mailing you. You should check your game's page on llamaserver.net and request a turn resend if the game has hosted without sending you your new turn file.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Hi all,

To add to the hilarity I've come down with some minor disease, hence me not posting or anything yesterday (instead I inexplicably decided to make a butternut squash stew and completely wore myself out chopping the squash, so I had to go to bed).

BUT, as a bonus since I'm off work I've had time to finally sort the server out. You should all get an e-mail in the next minute or two explaining the situation. Basically, the server's all fixed, but it may have done some stuff without e-mailing you. You should check your game's page on llamaserver.net and request a turn resend if the game has hosted without sending you your new turn file.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Oh, aaminoff: Thanks for the offer, but I think I have quite a good system set up now. The trouble is moving house, which I've done quite a bit over the last few years.

One issue I haven't sorted in this house yet is that the box is going to live in the lounge, and my monitor etc are in a different room (the conservatory actually). So over the last few days I just keep on carrying the server box into the conservatory to do stuff to it. It would obviously be better if I could just ssh into it. Anyone have any idea how to set up ssh between computers at home? Maybe it has something to do with router settings or something?

LingChih: You should be find with Overlords. There doesn't seem to be a game called Early Days though. Hmm. I wonder if some have gone missing. Let me know if so, and I'll look into it.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Ah, it's TheEarlyDays. I've postponed that for you Lingchih (sorry for interferenc Burnsaber, but I figured I should try to save Lingchih being as he specifically posted about his worries during the week). No games seem to have gone missing - phew!

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Thank you llamabeast for working so diligently to fix the issues the poor llamaserver developed in transit. Your tireless efforts on behalf of the community most certainly do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Actually I think a few people may have started shrines to you in their basements.

I hope you are feeling better soon. Did you ever get to eat that stew?


Edit: Also, I have requested turn resends for all my games that have hosted since the server issues began. Everything seems to be in good working order now.

Heh, Overlords has a week to submit turns. I think that should be enough time for anyone.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

As far as I know, ssh should be easy to setup.
I'm more familiar with Linux, so I don't know it there's something weird you have to do with Windows machines. I think you'd just need a ssh server running on the llamaserver. And not be blocking port 22 with a firewall.

You might have to open the port on the router, but I'd expect that to only be needed for connections from outside the home network.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

I am running Linux. What do you take me for? :) And I know how to set the machine up to receive ssh connections ('ssh localhost' works). The thing I'm not sure about is how to actually refer to the machine, i.e. I type "ssh what"?

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Ahhh. It's a DNS question.

The simple answer is either the machine name or its IP address. If you've given it a static IP, it's probably easiest just to add the name and IP to /etc/hosts on the machine you're trying to get to it from. If you're getting a dynamic ip from the router, there should be a way to make it give a static ip.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

And I awake to a turn sitting in my inbox (I had already requested the resend).

Hooray! Thanks llama.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

The trick to cutting squash is having a big heavy and very sharp knife. We eat a lot of butternut squash. What we do is cut it up into about 1 inch cubes then put it in a big chili pot with about 1/3 the volume of water (so the water is about 1/2 of the way up the squash in the pot) then sprinkle it with a LOT of sugar. Then you slow boil it on mimimal heat until the sugar gets all melted into the butternut squash and the water turns into a squash/juice syrup. The trick is NOT to stir it except very very slowly so that the squash doesn't loose its shape. After you have a delicious dessert perfect for the fall season.
This is a turkish recipe apparently but i have no idea what its called- we call it 'the pumpkin dessert'.


OH yeah, and thanks for all your work.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Well, you could try to figure out what IP address your router is giving it, but presumably you have some sort of dynamic DNS setup so that www.llamaserver.net will work. Why not just ssh llamaserver.net? You would have to tell your router to forward the ssh port (22) just as you do the http port (80). That has the advantage that you could do it from work too if necessary (and if they allow it), or from a cybercafe.

If you are worried about opening up your machine to ssh from the whole internet then you could set firewall rules on the router or on the box itself to only allow in certain IP ranges, like the range from your ISP and the range from your workplace.

I'm making educated guesses here about your setup, but you did ask for advice.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

I just ssh dom3minions.com
or I ssh 63.199.8.158
which bypasses going off onto the net to convert the name to an IP I already know anyway.

But since Windows is my desktop I usually use free PuTTY anyway which gives me nice things like a scroll back window. Not that I use it much. (in general ssh has given me more problems on the server than telnet has)

Also, I have dom3minions on a KVM switch with my win desktop. They are fairly cheap. The keyboard/video/mouse switch lets me toggle which machine is "attached" to my keyboard/monitor.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Thanks all.

To clarify, the LlamaServer itself is a different machine to the web server (which is provided by hostgator.com). That is why there is a delay in communication between the website and things actually happening (e.g. when you postpone hosting nothing actually happens until the next time the LlamaServer contacts the web server).

However, "ssh llamaserver" worked! Hooray! I would never have tried that, I just assumed the solution had to be more complicated.

I guess in principle the next step would be to set up the router to allow access from outside, but in fact we are not allowed to use ssh at work(!!), so there's little point.

Immaculate: That squash recipe sounds interesting! One question - how do you peel the bugger? That took me ages.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Hey llama,

For me, the easiest way is to cut the squash in slices (like an apple slice) and then cut the skin away.

Don't sweat getting really close to skin.

In spanish dish - and others - a lot of times they don't bother removing the skin.

Before I discovered A.... I cleaned it all real good and threw it in the food processor. Problem solved.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Two things:

1, Thank you for all your work llama on the server. Fantastic.

2, You do not need to peel it, it's good either way in most dishes!

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

We cook a lot of pumpkin this season. Really big ones too, like 24 inch diameter. We just slice in half, scoop out seeds, put on baking sheet with a little butter and bake for 30 minutes or so. Skin just peels off and then mash into favourite recipes. Pumpkin soup with lentils, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cakes, pumpkin fritters with green onions and chick pea flour and cumin, etc.

Pumpkin are dirt cheap and great nutrition. Leftovers we freeze in big chunks. Use as thickener in stews.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

I usually don´t peel squash. I like it fried in slices with a thin layer of melted goat cheese. Or in a pie with tomatoes and whatever is left in the fridge.

Thanks for the recipies! I´ll try them, see if my daughter likes that desert. Heh, way to sneak in some nutrition with the saturday sweets...

Wonderful to have the llamaserver back! I´m actually quite impressed it´s been so stable for so long without maintenance.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

This I can recommend. Except the fridge part ;)


Also, thanks for keeping the server up, I really appreciate it :) Good work.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Remind me not to open your fridge then:p

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

I peel butternut squash with a potato peeler. It doesn't take too long, even. I am a bit lazy with the cooking though - I just roast it with olive oil, garlic and perhaps a little rosemary. It's great with any roast meats.

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Is it down again?

Last updated at 14:05 GMT on Sunday October 25th
Current time: 16:28 GMT

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Oh noes! Let me check...

Edit: No, looks fine to me. Maybe you caught it after a busy spell (I have a suspicion that some games may now take a very long time to host, so maybe it just did several - it would still check its e-mail in the meantime, but the "last updated" timer doesn't get updated till its completely settled).

Re: LlamaServer down for next few hours
 

Yeah, it seems to be fine now.