[matrix-announce] New server - matrix->neo (volunteers wanted!)

[Ciaran Hamilton]

Hello,

I've been meaning to send this email for a while, but have only just
got round to it.

matrix has been my main server for a while now, but it's not a proper
standalone box - it's a VDS (virtual dedicated server) from Linode,
and as such is on the same physical box as other people, even though
it appears on the outside to be a real standalone server. This
normally wouldn't be a problem, but in some cases, this can cause the
box to run more slowly than normal, and in addition, I can't really
run any CPU-intensive apps as I need to be considerate to the other
people using the host server.

Thus, for a couple of months now I've been trying out a proper
dedicated server straight from ThePlanet, which is where the Linode
itself is hosted. It seems to be doing extremely well, and I'd like to
move everything that's currently on matrix to the new server, which
I've named neo - partly to fit in with the Matrix theme (although that
wasn't the intention when I first named matrix) and partly because
this server is The One - previously I had a few different servers
doing different tasks, but neo will be acting as the one that hosts
them all now. It's more than capable.

My Linode is paid for yearly, and the next time I would need to renew
would be at the beginning of January. Thus, I'd like to have the move
finished by then, although I'm not opposed to switching to monthly and
continuing for a month or two if there were any major problems.

One of the things I can do before getting anybody involved is moving
mail services over to neo. This shouldn't affect anybody, so I'll go
ahead with that.

In the meantime, while I'm doing that, I'd like to know of some
volunteers who wouldn't mind moving to neo first. Bear in mind that
everybody will have to move eventually, but if certain dates are more
convenient to you than others, I might be able to fit them in, and it
would allow me to stagger the moves according to how people want.

There are a few ways in which this will affect you:

* Firstly, the IP address will change. Currently, matrix is
70.85.16.85 - neo is 74.52.15.98. If you manage your own DNS, then
when the move takes place you will need to update your DNS to use this
IP. If I'm hosting your DNS for you, I'll handle it. If you don't know
whether you do or not, ask me and I'll be able to tell you.

* For now, the name "matrix.theblob.org" will *not* point to the new
server, only "neo.theblob.org". However, later on, after the old
server has been decommissioned, the name will point to the new server,
so that old URLs will still work.

* neo has a lot more disk space - 58GB in /home as opposed to the 14GB
currently on matrix. However, it has less RAM - 384MB instead of the
450MB on matrix. I don't forsee this causing too many problems,
however.

If you would like among the first to move to neo, let me know,
preferably by emailing me. It helps me to know who can go first. :)

Thank you,

 - Ciaran.