LlamaServer fixed

[Jazzepi]

When the servers go back online, make sure you give all the games extensions if they're close to hosting. Many people were unable to submit turns.

Jazzepi

[llamabeast]

Right, back online. In the end I had to throw away the backlog of e-mails. It was 35000 strong due to a morass of error e-mails and despite my best efforts for some reason I couldn't get rid of the things.

All games are set to host at (now + hosting interval), i.e. in 24 hours for a 24-hour-hosting game. You should all hopefully have got an e-mail explaining things anyway.

Thanks again all for your patience and kindness!

[llamabeast]

This post is no more than technical ramblings about what happened to the LlamaServer this week.

Okay, so on Monday the mail server, which is run by hostgator.com, apparently went down due to Ike. On coming back online the mailbox had 35000 error messages in it.

The LlamaServer code was written, I guess, slightly foolishly, in that every minute another instance of it would start up, and try to download the mail (I've now fixed this so it couldn't happen again). Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but being as the massive mailbox took essentially forever to download, I guess none of these processes could finish. So I imagine perhaps CPU load climbed to 100%, and then the computer overheated and died.

But the weird thing is how I fixed it. The computer wouldn't boot at all - not a single thing appeared on the screen. So I systematically disconnected all the components and tested if it would boot after each one (I'd given up hope to be honest, and already started researching costs for a new machine on the internet, but I thought I might as well check). I got down to just having the RAM left. There are two 512MB sticks.

I took the front one out. It still wouldn't boot. I took the back one out too. Wouldn't boot (unsurprisingly). I put the one from the back in the front slot. It booted! Miracle! (I can't tell you how happy I was!) Then I put the other one (which at this point I had concluded must be faulty) in the back slot. Still worked! Then I put everything else back in, and it remains fine. So the only net change is that I swapped the RAM sticks over.

Anyone have any thoughts on this oddness? Perhaps it will just remain a mystery. I'd assume a loose connection, but I wouldn't have thought you could get a loose connection just from overheating, and also RAM sticks are very much not loose.

[llamabeast]

Anyone playing on the LlamaServer should have received the contents of this post as an e-mail. But I thought I would post it here as well, just to make sure people see it.

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Hello all,

So, on Monday, something funny happened to the LlamaServer. Let's say, for the sake of melodrama, that it exploded (it didn't explode). In any case it stopped working. I suspect the fault was connected with Hurricane Ike, which apparently took out the mail server for a bit. Maybe the LlamaServer's frantic efforts to contact the mail server made it overheat (I think I will post more about this on the forum, for any who are interested).

Anyway, I managed to mysteriously fix it by taking it apart and putting it back together again, exactly as I found it. So everything is now running smoothly again.

Please note that all e-mails sent to the server during the downtime have been lost. So you should send your turns in again if you didn't get a receipt e-mail. However, I've reset the timers for all the games, so you have a bit of time (e.g. for a game on 24-hour quickhost, it'll host about 24 hours from now). Game admins take note: this will have overridden any other delays you may have put in place.

Thanks for your patience over the last few days. Everyone's been very patient and very helpful, which I really appreciate.

Now, back to the games!

llamabeast.
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[WraithLord]

Awesome!

A chorus of for llama

Many thanks for your efforts. I wish there was some secure online service by which one could express more than just words of thanks but also contribute $$$ to the cause.

BTW, MP game Victoria hosted shortly, I wonder if all players did manage to get their turns on time.

[llamabeast]

Victoria hosted due to all turns coming in. You can see if anyone staled by going Admin options->Show staling data. I realise this is a bit unintuitive, I'm thinking of rearranging the admin options for which you don't need an admin password onto a different and more obvious page.

In response to a number of startlingly generous requests, I think I'm going to look into adding a Donate button to the page. I feel a little uncertain though... there is certainly no need for any donations, although I guess I certainly wouldn't object to people offering a bit towards the initial cost of the server, or even just buying me a beer, so long as they emphatically don't feel obliged.

[Herode]

OK, the hotfix works perfectly.
Thanks for it, llama

[JimMorrison]

It's remotely possible that the extreme heat caused a small amount of stretching of the material - very slight. However, because RAM slots are so snug, when it cooled down, the connectors were still just slightly off, and shorting out, preventing boot. When you released them from their captivity, they were finally able to flex back to their original shape.

[DrPraetorious]

In response to a number of startlingly generous requests, I think I'm going to look into adding a Donate button to the page. I feel a little uncertain though... there is certainly no need for any donations, although I guess I certainly wouldn't object to people offering a bit towards the initial cost of the server, or even just buying me a beer, so long as they emphatically don't feel obliged.

Obliged? No, it'd be a privelege - of course, this means we have to converge in Limeyland for the official dominions 3 drinking contest. As per the relevant international treaties, round 1 is an alternation between shots of Soju, Irish Car Bombs, shots of Jaeger, shots of Tequila, and local entry #1 (which would be something with gin in it, I suppose.)

Be sure that your life can continue for 7 days without you - and keep in mind that the jet lag from a weeklong bender ending when you wake up in Johanesburg wearing portions of a women's IDF uniform (her phone # is written on the small of your back in permanent marker) to cover your new Triad tattoos can be fierce.

[Psycho]

Thanks llama! You should definitely add a donate button. Even if you don't have any costs running the server, you certainly put a lot of work into it and continue to do so. It would be a good way for people to show their appreciation.

I see that most games resumed normally, but I think there may some problem with FallenKingdoms. Before the incident turn 12 was due and four people have already sent their turns in. Now it is still turn 12 but no turns are in. This would be no problem if it weren't for the fact that the admin options show that everybody staled turn 11 (which hosted normally before the hurricane). I tried resending my turn to see whether turn 11 is valid, but I received no mail. Could you look into this please. (Turn resend is not broken, it worked for another game).