First and foremost, I apologize for not posting this earlier! I completely forgot about this site when posting about this, so I really, really apologize for that! If you need more time to fill out the forms, just let me know!
If you are a former or current withgusto user (either with the shell services or ZNC), please read! We are moving and downsizing due to various circumstances.
If you happen to use ZNC, expect downtime starting at 9 PM EDT tonight! (RDNS downtime starting at 5 PM EDT as well - avoid reconnecting to IRC during that time.)
The details are really important - please read below for more info!
[spoiler=Main withgusto server downsizing + migration]
EDIT: Important Survey!
We are moving very soon - please fill out this IMPORTANT USAGE SURVEY by this Friday, 11:59 PM EDT!
Introduction
It has been a year since the last withgusto update.
About a year or so ago, a massive DDoS attack took withgusto down. This caused a "strike" to occur with the VPS hosting provider, and I temporarily closed withgusto's doors - specifically, hid it behind Cloudflare. This allowed Cloudflare to temporarily take the hit and reduce the load on the VPS. However, this had the effect of also blocking SSH, which was a lifeline into withgusto. Without a doubt, this is probably what drained significant use of withgusto.
Unfortunately, due to many commitments, I never got a chance to move withgusto. A year has passed, and withgusto is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, both in terms of time and money. As such, regretfully, I must make the decision to wind down withgusto.
Note that this is NOT a shutdown - but we are planning on significantly reducing resources.
withgusto Downsizing
The proposed plan:
Service plan (some already mentioned above):
Without a doubt, these are very tough cuts in service. The decision to cut these services was not taken lightly - however, in order for withgusto to continue (and not completely drop dead), we need to reduce these services and move to a lighter server.
Currently, I pay $15/mo for the main withgusto server, $15 for the backup service, $25/year for the backup.withg server, and around $16/year for the domain. Total yearly = ~$400/year!
With the new plan, I'm hoping to reduce this cost to something like this: $32/year for the main withgusto server, $15/year for the backup.withg/IRC/ZNC server, and around $16/year for the domain. Total yearly = ~$63/year... much more affordable!
Conclusion
All of this said, we still want your feedback! We don't want to move forward without hearing from you guys - if you don't like the things above, let us know and we'll try to accommodate! Since it has been a long time since we've had service, we want to hear from you in terms of how you will be using it.
Migration is NOT happening yet! Once we have some feedback, we'll announce dates for migration.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=ZNC Migration]withgusto ZNC Migration (3/18/16, 9 PM - 12 AM EDT)
EDIT: Important ZNC Form!
As you may have heard, withgusto is undergoing a major downsizing to ensure viability in the future. As part of this plan, we are moving ZNC to a different, separate server to allow ZNC to operate independently of withgusto's main server, hopefully increasing the stability of both for times to come.
What does this mean for you?
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to ask away in this thread!
Updates:
If you are a former or current withgusto user (either with the shell services or ZNC), please read! We are moving and downsizing due to various circumstances.
If you happen to use ZNC, expect downtime starting at 9 PM EDT tonight! (RDNS downtime starting at 5 PM EDT as well - avoid reconnecting to IRC during that time.)
The details are really important - please read below for more info!
[spoiler=Main withgusto server downsizing + migration]
EDIT: Important Survey!
We are moving very soon - please fill out this IMPORTANT USAGE SURVEY by this Friday, 11:59 PM EDT!
Introduction
It has been a year since the last withgusto update.
About a year or so ago, a massive DDoS attack took withgusto down. This caused a "strike" to occur with the VPS hosting provider, and I temporarily closed withgusto's doors - specifically, hid it behind Cloudflare. This allowed Cloudflare to temporarily take the hit and reduce the load on the VPS. However, this had the effect of also blocking SSH, which was a lifeline into withgusto. Without a doubt, this is probably what drained significant use of withgusto.
Unfortunately, due to many commitments, I never got a chance to move withgusto. A year has passed, and withgusto is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, both in terms of time and money. As such, regretfully, I must make the decision to wind down withgusto.
Note that this is NOT a shutdown - but we are planning on significantly reducing resources.
withgusto Downsizing
The proposed plan:
- Reduce memory availability from 1 GB RAM to 128 MB - 256 MB
- Significant memory usage is from clamd/amavisd/maild/spamd - around ~34.6%, or 354.3 MBs. mail@withg has been inactive for quite a while, mainly due to significant configuration issues. We are planning on removing this from withgusto, since mail services are difficult to maintain, and there is very little use of this service.
- Deluge (web torrent client) takes around ~2.5%, or 25.6 MBs. We are planning on removing this from withgusto, since it's tough to maintain a client and not get into trouble for bandwidth/DMCA.
- Current memory usage is 523 MBs. Subtracting all of these, 523 MBs - ~380 MBs = 143 MBs.
- Depending on services people still want, and depending on how we shuffle things around, we may bring this down even further to <100 MBs. User programs and websites will fill the rest.
- Reduce CPU cores from 2 to 1
- We have rarely seen anyone use more than one CPU. Two CPUs is useful for compiling, but compiling doesn't happen too often - and VPS providers don't like constant CPU usage! Actual CPU speed will remain the same, just the number of cores will be reduced.
- Use OpenVZ instead of KVM (less kernel control)
- We have rarely used any features that would require a different kernel. All IPTables and advanced networking features are enabled in OpenVZ. Resources are allocated somewhat differently, but they should not have an impact on us.
- OpenVZ is drastically cheaper than KVM (less VM). As such, this makes OpenVZ an appealing option going forward.
- Disable backups for user data
- At the moment, we pay for a backup service that we've (fortunately) never had to use. However, it incurs significant monthly cost, and as such, we will be phasing out automatic backups.
- In the future, we may opt to use a free cloud storage service for backups to save money and achieve the same effect. However, we can NOT guarantee that this feature will arrive anytime soon - as such, you will now be responsible for your own data!
- That said, before we move, user data folders (including /var/www/USER) will be backed up and offered to those who no longer wish to use withgusto.
- Migration of user data ONLY - system will be cleanly installed
- The current OS is very, very old - we're still using Debian 6, and the latest is Debian 8!
- As such, we will be using Debian 8 in the future.
- User data is easy to copy, but system data... not so much. If you have any system data that you want us to keep, let us know!
Service plan (some already mentioned above):
- Mail service will be terminated. We don't see many (if any at all) using this, and this has been difficult to maintain. Moving forward, we will no longer host mail here.
- Deluge (web torrents) will be terminated. Tough to maintain, and there are some other free/cheap options out there for your torrenting needs.
- ZNC will be moved to a separate server/service from withgusto. We plan on running ZNC on a much lighter server - we've done some experiments, and it looks like it will work perfectly. It also allows us to improve stability, since withgusto is separate.
- Omnimaga IRCd will be preserved - may either move to ZNC's location or withgusto - still deciding.
- Depending on movability, user-installed services will be moved to the new server as well.
- Other services will either be terminated or moved - we need to comb through them in the next few days!
Without a doubt, these are very tough cuts in service. The decision to cut these services was not taken lightly - however, in order for withgusto to continue (and not completely drop dead), we need to reduce these services and move to a lighter server.
Currently, I pay $15/mo for the main withgusto server, $15 for the backup service, $25/year for the backup.withg server, and around $16/year for the domain. Total yearly = ~$400/year!
With the new plan, I'm hoping to reduce this cost to something like this: $32/year for the main withgusto server, $15/year for the backup.withg/IRC/ZNC server, and around $16/year for the domain. Total yearly = ~$63/year... much more affordable!
Conclusion
All of this said, we still want your feedback! We don't want to move forward without hearing from you guys - if you don't like the things above, let us know and we'll try to accommodate! Since it has been a long time since we've had service, we want to hear from you in terms of how you will be using it.
Migration is NOT happening yet! Once we have some feedback, we'll announce dates for migration.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=ZNC Migration]withgusto ZNC Migration (3/18/16, 9 PM - 12 AM EDT)
EDIT: Important ZNC Form!
As you may have heard, withgusto is undergoing a major downsizing to ensure viability in the future. As part of this plan, we are moving ZNC to a different, separate server to allow ZNC to operate independently of withgusto's main server, hopefully increasing the stability of both for times to come.
What does this mean for you?
- There will be downtime for around three hours from 9:00 PM - 11:59 PM EDT this Friday, March 18th, 2016. ZNC will be completely disconnecting during this time. The downtime may be shorter depending on how things go, but don't count on it! If you maintain ops yourself, you should make sure to log in manually to keep ops during this time.
- RDNS will be changed around 5 PM EDT this Friday, March 18th, 2016. Avoid reconnecting to IRC from ZNC during this time if you depend on hostname recognition!
- After the move, your account and quality of service will NOT be affected. (In fact, we hope that it is MUCH better!)
- We will be changing the login server once more. The hostname should stay the same - znc.withg.org. The only thing that will change is how you access ZNC. If you signed up on the form below, you will get an email soon on the change in login server. Please keep it private!
- Since the ZNC service is essentially segregating from withgusto, we want to get user data with this survey! Please fill it out ASAP: http://goo.gl/forms/FehgMfKMp5
- We will update everyone if there are any changes to this plan, as well as during and after the migration.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to ask away in this thread!
Updates:
- [3/18/2016 10:14 AM] We will be changing the login server once more. If you signed up on the form above, you will get an email soon on the change in login server. Please keep it private!
- [3/18/2016 10:14 AM] All preparations have been made for the move. Please get ready for the switch as soon as possible.
- [3/18/2016 8:36 PM] Migration will occur in less than 30 minutes! Please backup ops for your channel, and get ready for the switch! Remember, the service will be down for around 3 hours, or until things are completely set up!