Bigger, Better, Faster, More
This weekend we’re planning on moving sidepodcast.com to a new collection of web and database servers. It’s been on our to do list for a while, but the recent popularity of live commenting during race weekends has forced us to get on with it.
Falling Down
Following on from the Malaysian GP this site struggled to cope with the 400+ comments posted in the space of a few hours, and rather indignantly fell over. After much analysis it seems the weight of comments wasn’t so much of a problem, rather the large amount of spam that seems to arrive in waves, coupled with some search engine spiders doing their thing.
Given that the last two things are pretty much out of our control, we thought we ought to do something about it (although I suspect a total of 400 comments will take some beating), so we’re moving Sidepodcast onto the same Media Temple servers that currently host F1 Minute. MT have had a slightly ropey time of it lately, but their support and response times have been second to none throughout. Their databases are also scalable, so in theory as soon as the site gets busier we can add more and more, and we get guranteed uptime.
Keeping Up
All of this means that things might go a bit wonky around these parts during the next 24 hours. Hopefully the transition will be a smooth one, but I can imagine a few images will probably go missing (and then some).
If you’re still using the original F1 Minute embed codes (e.g the really old information from last year), you may find the player on your site doesn’t work during the rest of the weekend, but it’ll come back soon enough. If you wish to ensure zero downtime, we recommend updating to code detailed on the F1 Minute web site.
Losing Touch
For a brief period we’re going to switch off commenting here. This is too ensure nothing gets out of sync, as some people will point to the new servers before others (depending on your ISP). Incoming email will also be temporarily queued, but not lost.
The best way to keep in touch during the next two days is probably via the Facebook group, but we’ll also be updating Twitter regularly.
Appreciating your patience.
March 29th, 2008 at 1:52 pmshaun said:
Hi, just thought i would be the first to comment on this post…cool.
Will you be watching the boat race and the moto GP this weekend?.
March 29th, 2008 at 1:58 pmChristine said:
Hmm, whilst I like the sporting aspect of the boat race, I watched it last year and it was hours and hours of build up for a 15 minute race in which there are only two contestants.
By the time they started rowing, I felt it was a bit of a letdown.
March 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pmlou said:
Thanks for letting us know
i hope it all goes well! does this mean no commenting on the new podcast till monday 
news on the drink problems too (cause i just know your interested) - i heard somewhere (i can’t for the life of me find the link ) that DC was also having problems with his drink during the last race. So with BMW, Renault and now Red Bull do we think that this could be a problem for all if not most of the teams this year - particulary in the hot races.
I have also just discoverd that you can read The Red Bulletin online, which i never knew you could do. sorry if u already new this. Im rather excited about it. Also the Red Bull website is pretty cool! just incase u don’t have the links
Red Bull - http://www.redbullf1.com/
Red Bulletin - http://www.redbulletinf1.com/
March 29th, 2008 at 3:26 pmOllie said:
I thought Sidepodcast was already on (mt), didn’t you make the move last year? The scalable databases is certainly a worthwhile feature and thus far this season I’ve had no serious downtime. Sometimes my site lags a little but I think that’s more to do with my shoddy code! Hope it goes smoothly for you.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:01 pmme said:
just F1 Minute, we did it as a trial and it seems to be pretty good.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:02 pmme said:
good.freakin.lord! they’ve made a good job of that intro haven’t they?? woah.
the rest of the site annoys me, but that’s an amazing welcome. i love that they forgot the mclaren motorhome too
March 29th, 2008 at 4:19 pmme said:
you know wordpress 2.5 was just released today. coincidence? what do we think, take the plunge, don’t the plunge?
March 29th, 2008 at 5:44 pmbrendanstallard said:
Does anyone know what’s happening to F1Rejects?
They’re never swift at updating: but after the season preview, they’ve had written reviews, but no audio.
Be a shame to lose them from me ears.
Regarding wordpress: go for it, I have!
brendan
March 29th, 2008 at 5:48 pmme said:
not a clue, i’ve completely lost track of f1 podcasts since xmas.
planning to get back into them asap, but i tried listening to maurice hamilton’s new show yesterday and it sounded like he recorded it at a metallica concert.
March 29th, 2008 at 11:37 pmme said:
all seems to be back online here. just testing the comments.
yell if anything looks weird.
cheers.
March 30th, 2008 at 12:36 amAll Systems Go | Sidepodcast : Your Weekly F1 Podcast said:
[...] follow up on yesterday’s post regarding an impending server relocation… if you’re reading this then all went [...]
March 30th, 2008 at 9:57 amshaun said:
Hi Christine,
The boat race is something that takes you away from the horrors of the real world on a Saturday afternoon i suppose - and the guys rowing are highly trained competitive athletes who - after training all year - who, if they lose - lose.
And that’s it.They are not in a world championship, that’s it.They’ve failed.The winners are on top of the world.It would be like one F1 race deciding the world championship…oh well, it is something you have to get into i suppose.
Got to go now, the Moto GP is about to start.Maybe you will like this, it could bridge the live racing ‘fix’ gap until next week.I hope BMW win in Bahrain.
Bye for now.
March 30th, 2008 at 10:57 amChristine said:
Hi Shaun,
I did comment on your blog entry re. the boat race, but it doesn’t appear to be showing up.
Anyway, I did watch after all, and I found the beginning a bit dull but I did get into it, and felt really sorry for the team that lost - won’t spoil it for anyone, but it was either Oxford or Cambridge
Also, the dispute over last year’s win - who knew that the boat race could have such controversy!