[FQuest Alert] SIX

[Terra]

The SIX server is currently offline for reasons unknown at this time...

Technicians have been dispatched to investigate the issue...

Our apologies for the inconvenience this unplanned outage has caused...

--
Terra
sysAdmin
FutureQuest

[Bradley]

*can't wait to see Kevin kicking the door in to the DC* <eg>

Terra,
Is this just a SIX problem or have there been any hiccups? I had some trouble reaching my server (any of the sites on it) and some of the FQ related sites about the time this message was posted (~5-10min before hand) and didn't know if it was just my isp (*drool* dsl here I come) or maybe some network downtime.

Thanks :)

Brad


*pssst, the camera times seem to be off somehow, its 2:18 and the cameras say 1:27 and 1:30some)*

[Terra]

This is specific to server SIX...

Last time we had a problem, it was with CPU #1, which we replaced both CPUs with a known working set...

There were no spikes in network traffic, nor was the server overloaded in any way... It also crashed before I could get any type of information as to what caused it, therefore deferring this into a forensics investigation...

If you are having a problem reaching your server, then I would highly recommend running traceroutes and such to see where the problem is...

--
Terra
sysAdmin
FutureQuest

[Bradley]

Thanks Terra, it may have just been my isp acting up again (as usual) so I put it off for a few minutes and watched the forums and saw your post.

Thanks again! :)

[Terra]

SIX is now back online (since 2:26am)...

Since SIX has crashed on us twice now, in a short period of time therefore we will be looking at completely swapping out the server with new equipment...

--
Terra
sysAdmin
FutureQuest

[FlorianLT]

Originally posted by Terra:

Since SIX has crashed on us twice now, in a short period of time therefore we will be looking at completely swapping out the server with new equipment...


Oh, sweet! :)

Do you have any idea regarding downtime if this is what you end up doing? Just a guesstimate?

-Florian

[Terra]

Not sure yet, and I'll know more when I get deeper into the project...

The main 2 points of contention is:
1) Shifting the data from Full Height SCSI drives, to Half Height ones since the new chassis only supports Half Height... I am working on a way to do this as transparently as possible with minimal downtime...

2) SIX snagged us at a really bad time as we are retooling for a new Community Server architecture, which is why there is a freeze on new Community Server deployments... In light of this, we will end up biting the bullet and replacing it with a new Intel XEON chassis, for which I swore that SCOOTER was going to be the last Intel XEON server deployed...

--
Terra
--now if only someone would release a 10K SATA 72GB drive--
FutureQuest

[tjlid]

Originally posted by Terra:
In light of this, we will end up biting the bullet and replacing it with a new Intel XEON chassis, Cool!Originally posted by Terra:
for which I swore that SCOOTER was going to be the last Intel XEON server deployed... Cool??

TL

[Bradley]

Originally posted by tjlid:
Cool??

TL

Could be ;) Depends on what Terra has up his sleeve, maybe AMD Opteron chips (64bit I do beleive) would be pretty nice to see how they perform.. though it isn't likely they will be able to reveal anything before hand though.



*psst, while you're at it terra take my server, give it a good swift kick, replace the board and cpu in it with something better :devil: than what I have installed now* :p

[Jeff]

for which I swore that SCOOTER was going to be the last Intel XEON server deployed...
Also very very curious what Terra is working on based on this statement...

[Terra]

I can provide two hints, but nothing more... ;)

It is larger than a Vic-20 and smaller than a Cray...

:EG:

--
Terra
--in this case, bigger is not better - more efficient is--
FutureQuest

[kmc500]

I can provide two hints, but nothing more...

It is larger than a Vic-20 and smaller than a Cray...

Well that narrows it down a bit - I am guessing Commodore 64? :)

kmc500

[Randall]

Originally posted by kmc500:
Well that narrows it down a bit - I am guessing Commodore 64? Nah, the 64 was the same size. It'd have to be a C-128, or even a 128D (the pizza box version). ;)

Randall

[Dunx]

Originally posted by Randall:
Nah, the 64 was the same size. It'd have to be a C-128, or even a 128D
I'm guessing an Amstrad CPC - same depth as a VIC-20 more or less, but quite a lot wider on account of the numeric keypad and its built in tape player or floppy disc.

[Deb]

Obviously none of you have paid attention to Terra's love for the XBox.... 8}

Deb
- Yes, he is building PCs out of them...

[hobbes]

I vote for the Commodore PET Series 2001 (http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/cp2001.html) ... chiclet keyboard, cassette player, and a trapezoid monitor.

-- Ahhhh, old friend, I remember ye well --

[Bradley]

Originally posted by Deb:
Obviously none of you have paid attention to Terra's love for the XBox.... 8}

Deb
- Yes, he is building PCs out of them...

LMAO! Oh no!


*What?!? The cto was playing halo on my server!*

[Randall]

An X-Box? How ordinary. ;) I'm guessing an Amstrad CPC - same depth as a VIC-20 more or less, but quite a lot wider on account of the numeric keypad and its built in tape player or floppy disc. Well, how about the SX-64 "portable" I lugged off to school? This was the pre-laptop era: built-in 5" color CRT, 5.25" floppy, detachable keyboard.

One guy is working on "upgrading" it to a 1.2 GHz P-III (sx64.opsys.net), so this is a definite possibility.

And still smaller than a Cray. chiclet keyboard Eeww. Really? In a machine like that I'd have expected a real, honest-to-God keyboard that goes clack.

Randall

# Probably looks funny in a rack mount

[Dunx]

Randall - that is, weirdly enough, exactly the link I needed! Thanks!

The original chiclet keyboards on the PETs were ghastly - later models did have real keyboards, fortunately.

... but you haven't lived until you've tried typing on an original Sinclair ZX Spectrum "dead flesh" keyboard.

[kmc500]

... but you haven't lived until you've tried typing on an original Sinclair ZX Spectrum "dead flesh" keyboard.

Or possibly even worse, the original Atari 400 membrane keyboard. I bought and installed an upgraded keyboard for that PC in 1980 - for (I think) OVER $250 (not including the necessary soldering!).

Kevin C

[TVB]

Hallo?

Radio Shack?

Are you absolutely sure that no Terrapins have been in to buy a Commodore 64?

Betsy

[kmc500]

... but you haven't lived until you've tried typing on an original Sinclair ZX Spectrum "dead flesh" keyboard.

Or possibly even worse, the original Atari 400 membrane keyboard. I bought and installed an upgraded keyboard for that PC in 1980 - for (I think) OVER $250 (not including the necessary soldering!).

Kevin C

[LightGuide]

Wow.

All your first computers actually had some kind of *keyboards* -- ?

etLux

[Randall]

Originally posted by Dunx:
Randall - that is, weirdly enough, exactly the link I needed! Thanks! You're welcome, although I'm not sure I want to know why. ;)

"Dead flesh"? I briefly owned a Sinclair ZX81 (http://oldcomputers.net/zx81.html), with the membrane keyboard.

Randall

[hobbes]

I briefly owned a Sinclair ZX81, with the membrane keyboard. I flung these as frisbees. Does that count? ;)

[Randall]

Not the most aerodynamic of frisbees, I would think.

Randall

[Dunx]

My family had a Sinclair ZX80, the ZX81's less intelligent older brother, and its membrane keyboard was actually not too bad - at least it was more sensitive than the ZX81 one! My friends' ZX81s practically needed a hammer and chisel to type with, they required so much force for the keystrokes to be recognised (hmm... hammer and chisel, silicon... time for a joke about stone carving?)

One of the reasons my own first computer was an Acorn Atom was because it had an actual keyboard.

[Randall]

One of the reasons my own first computer was an Acorn Atom was because it had an actual keyboard. That's part of the reason we returned the Sinclair and bought a VIC-20. Less memory (I'd bought the 16K expansion along with the ZX81) and an ostensibly slower processor -- not that I had much of a clue about CPUs at the time -- but it had a real keyboard and did color.

Didn't feel like a frisbee, either.

Randall

[Tog]

Originally posted by Deb:
Obviously none of you have paid attention to Terra's love for the XBox.... 8}

Deb
- Yes, he is building PCs out of them...

LOL. Actually it's possible as there is a webserver for the xbox:

http://xdashos.xbox-wired.com/

[Deb]

heh...you thought I was joking????

I'm completely serious :P

Deb
- Fer real man!

[Dunx]

Originally posted by Deb:
Fer real man!

I believe you...

I was looking at the same thing the other day, since I figured that (1) the XBox is designed to run quietly in an abusive environment for a long time; (2) it's cheap (<$200 + a few bits and bobs to hack the thing); (3) it's a neat hack; and (4) it's splendidly subversive - since I have no interest in playing XBox games (that's what my PS2 is for) I'd be taking money from Microsoft, which always appeals.

But then I realised it would be a lot cheaper and more realistic to just buy a quiet power supply for my existing machine. Maybe once we've got the new house sorted.

[Randall]

But then I realised it would be a lot cheaper and more realistic to just buy a quiet power supply for my existing machine. Maybe once we've got the new house sorted. Where's the fun in that?

It's sad, the things that married life will do to a person... :P

Randall

[ryount]

I bought and installed an upgraded keyboard for that PC in 1980 - for (I think) OVER $250 (not including the necessary soldering!).

Wow. I ran a BBS on an Atari 400. (When I wasn't playing Shamus)

[kmc500]

Wow. I ran a BBS on an Atari 400. (When I wasn't playing Shamus)

I ran a BBS on an Atari 800 with the CP/M Module. I don't remember the name of the module, but it ran CP/M, (including WordStar, SuperCalc, et al).
My storage media were dual 720K (enormous at the time) floppies. I upgraded the system to a PC clone long before I ran out of space on those floppies.

What was the name of your BBS and when was it up?

Kevin C

[Dunx]

Originally posted by kmc500:
I ran a BBS on an Atari 800 with the CP/M Module.
Hang on - wasn't the Atari a 6502 system? How did it run CP/M? Did the CP/M module have a Z80/8080 in the cartridge?

--
Dunx
Who isn't actually trying to earn geek points here, he's actually interested in the answer

[kmc500]

Yes. The box (called the ATR 8000) was about half again the size of the Atari 800, and plugged into the memory/bus slot. It included a complete Z80 computer, with S100 bus, parallel and serial ports. It used the keyboard and monitor of the Atari for I/O. At about $500, plus $250 or so for an 80 column display card, it was an inexpensive (at the time) CP/M computer.

Kevin C

[Dunx]

Well, there you go. Thanks.

[Randall]

It included a complete Z80 computer, with S100 bus, parallel and serial ports. The Commodore 128 ran CP/M out of the box -- I wasn't aware that it used a totally different processor for it.

Always thought my father's C128 was a weird beast. Now I learn that it was sort of like a cousin to the ZX81 we so briefly owned. %)

Randall

# Never owned an Atari PC, but we did have a 2600. Still do

[kmc500]

Always thought my father's C128 was a weird beast. Now I learn that it was sort of like a cousin to the ZX81 we so briefly owned.

An interesting machine - it had two CPU's, the 1MHZ Mostek 8502, and a Zilog Z80, which allowed it to run in 3 modes, standard C64, C128, and CP/M.

Being an 8-bit computer, it was introduced way too late (1985 I think) to have much impact on the market. A slew of 16 bit machines, such as the PC/AT and clones of it, and the Mac were already out, and the Atari ST and Amiga were close.

Kevin C

[Randall]

A slew of 16 bit machines, such as the PC/AT and clones of it, and the Mac were already out, and the Atari ST and Amiga were close. I think I already had my first Amiga (a used A1000) by the time my father bought the 128D. Even at the time I thought he was headed in the wrong direction. When we finally moved him over to Windows 95, Commodore was looooong gone, and I was getting ready to jump ship myself.

The 128D version actually had three CPUs, if you count the one for the floppy drive. Talk about geek trivia. ;)

Randall

[PaulKroll]

HEY! That was a >2< Mhz mostek 8502 (which was a 6502 w/even more memory banking craziness than the 6510 that was in the C-64). It could only run at 2Mhz if you turned off the regular graphics chip and ran the beast in 80 column mode, which used a whole different chip.

Few things as frustrating as the C-64 and C-128: the I/O chip had (and still does...) a high-speed serial connection (that they eventually used on the 1571, but not to the extent that it should have been used: that chip could do 250K bps, 31K bytes/second, and the 1571 did 5K/second at best) And both had a port at the right-back side that could do DMA at 1 megabyte/second... which sounds really lame now, but that's ALL THE MEMORY IN THE MACHINE, 16 TIMES A SECOND... There's no modern equivalent. :) (Eventually there was a RAM disk for that port, and I think even a hard drive interface...)

But the best thing about the C-128 was the port for a EPROM just inside. I burned a copy of a macro assembler I used, into EPROM, and could hold a key, turn on the computer, and be in the text editor waiting to code in just about 2 and a half seconds. Sweet!
- I'm so old.

[Randall]

I'm so old. Or just really really obsessive. :P

I never got that far into the hardware even then, before Apple and Microsoft started covering it up with feather pillows and bubble wrap...

A C-64 with a hard drive: Now that would be strange sight to see. My first HD-equipped machine was an Amiga 3000. 25 megabytes -- woo hoo! This Dell is only my second (unless you count the PowerBook 165 that I snagged for free), and already I've added three more drives to it.

Jeez, my Canon PowerShot came with more storage than the ol' A3000.

Randall

[Dunx]

Originally posted by PaulKroll:
But the best thing about the C-128 was the port for a EPROM just inside.
That was one of the neat things about the Acorn Atom, too - an extra ROM port (two, if you counted the slot set aside for the floating point ROM Acorn sold as an addon). There was quite a busy market for addon EPROMs, and I bought a Watcom BASIC extensions ROM which had a couple of cute features in it.

An assembler was embedded in the BASIC that came with the machine, so I started coding assembler a lot sooner than I might have done if I'd bought a different machine which just had BASIC - 6502 assembler too, running at a blistering 1MHz. I remember writing some pretty neat things, but all the code is lost now, mouldering away on decaying cassette in a landfill somewhere. Even if I still had the tapes, I don't suppose twnety years would have been very kind to the data.