Postal file server issue
One of the file servers on postal which serves files for a small number of customers is having issues this morning, causing some domain downtime for certain postal cluster servers. Admins are on the scene and are working on this issue now. Possible effected servers are:
annie apu bart bitters brandine burns carl chalmers cheeky cletus dawber dib flanders gaz gimli gir glass gloop gotcha harpo homer kearny knocker larry lenny lisa marge mcclure millhouse monkey nelson ninja otto pogo raiden ralphie salt seamus skinner smithers tak wiggum willie yerba zim
Our apologies for the downtime, we are working to have this fixed and back up as soon as possible. Check back for updates.
– UPDATE Tue Jun 12 08:48:21 PDT 2007 –
The file server is back up and we are fixing any remaining issues with file servers. Sorry again for the downtime.
.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:36 am
AGAIN!!!!!
This come start a big headache. Look the uptime of chalmers server only in JUNE:
2007-06
98.39%
Downtime in the last month: 3 hour 47 min/31
Four hours of downtime in fithteen days!!!! This is a very poor quality of service.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:52 am
The problem is not fixed: I am still unable to reach facebook.positivemotion.com - and our app has been steadily climbing there.
Anybody know of a way I can re-direct the server to point somewhere else?
http://facebook.positivemotion.com/test
June 12th, 2007 at 8:55 am
still cant access my site, too!
June 12th, 2007 at 8:55 am
well, it came back for a minute and now it’s fucked again.
good job guys.
i hate myself for being a cheap bastard.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:03 am
sites are still down.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:04 am
99% uptime may seem bad, but that’s what you have to expect from most web hosts. I’ve actually had rather better than 99.99% uptime in the 3½ years I’ve been hosted by DreamHost, so your experience is unusual.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:10 am
So I tried to change the re-direction of my http://facebook.positivemotion.com to point to http://positivemotion.com/facebook and it didn’t work for the actual facebook app (although the basic test page showed up properly re-directed).
Now, I’m trying to un-do the re-direct but the re-direct feature doesn’t have a “Do not re-direct” button. If I leave the field blank, it tells me I need to fill it with something. If I fill it with itself, I’m told it cannot re-direct to itself. But I don’t want it to go anywhere!??!!
Any ideas?
June 12th, 2007 at 9:12 am
My site on Glass is still down, won’t even respond to pings (and i have a unique IP address)
Would like this to be fixed soon, also don’t say it’s fixed when it aint ^_^
For uptime monitoring I use http://host-tracker.com/ but there may better monitoring services out there (but this one is free
Anyway overall I’m happy with uptime but at the moment I’m angry I can’t reach my site!
June 12th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Site is still down…
June 12th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I’ve had some pretty bad experiences with Dreamhost although they’ve been few and far between. But when they do happen, they seem so severe and the status page seems so incapable accurately conveying the actual status that those situations seem to reveal deeper, more uncomfortable issues about their inability to really handle or avoid outages.
Yes, you get what you pay for and there are more expensive services around. There are also cheaper (and free) ones too but the Dreamhost support team has been generally courteous if somewhat less than capable at times. I’ve seen services where the attitude is so bad, I left just for that reason.
I can’t complain too much - I should go elsewhere but when things are good, it’s just hard to justify a migration to another service that may be just as bad.
These guys seem to be techheads but their interests may be more the fun stuff than the nitty-gritty stuff. I can’t put it against anyone - again, I’m free to move. But it’s like we’re playing a high stakes game and the understanding of the innards of the system is rather shallow - which is okay until something goes wrong. And then everybody loses big time.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:33 am
This main post says the problem is resolved, however it does not say “resolved” in my web panel. Web panel is correct, because my site on gotcha is still a 404.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:16 am
My site on gotcha is still “Temporarily Unavailable”.
June 12th, 2007 at 10:58 am
You can’t name a server “postal,” then not expect it to go postal once in awhile.
I’m not sure why people complain about the status on the status page. Should they just take it down and keep things quiet like other hosts do? Keeping customers clued in on what’s going on is a courtesy, rather than a requirement… and certainly not the norm in the hosting business. Plus, no one is forced to read it, so the option to pretend you’re kept in the dark and not read it is always there.
If you don’t want it to redirect, then select what you want it to do. On that same page, you can choose fully hosted, mirrored, redirect, etc… Whichever one you choose is what it will do.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:32 am
All my sites are down, I’m on Aviation server…
Anyone from aviation here?
June 12th, 2007 at 11:34 am
The postal moniker seems off - it implies it’s just e-mail stuff, which is not the case.
I think having a forum for folks to complain, vent, help is a good thing and definitely points for Dreamhost. If they took it down..well, their service and technology doesn’t quite measure up so they’re just hoping folks don’t leave because it’s such a hassle. Offering transparency is not just courtesy, it makes good business sense: make up for your lacking by being up front and folks who can vent may not feel a need to jump ship so quickly.
Just noticed I got an error - out of the blue - about my POP3 password being mis-configured. I haven’t touched my POP3 password and, in fact, use IMAP. Maybe there is that e-mail stuff but it’s still confusing: saying it’s postal implies that it doesn’t affect other things, which again, it certainly does.
I’m actively seeking out another service myself at this point.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:59 am
I don’t think the servers are named in a way that corresponds to their function.
It’s just that the “Postal” server is needed for a bunch of other machines, for example I’m on Glass, and that was not working. It seems functional now though…
June 12th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Frank Sinatra - downtime Lyrics
(T. Hatch)
[Recorded May 16, 1966, Hollywood]
When you’re alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go - downtime
When you’ve got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know - downtime
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtime, things’ll be great when you’re
downtime - no finer place, for sure
downtime - everything’s waiting for you
Don’t hang around and let your problems surround you
There are movie shows - downtime
Maybe you know some little places to go to
Where they never close - downtime
Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova
You’ll be dancing with him too before the night is over
Happy again
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtime, where all the lights are bright
downtime - waiting for you tonight
downtime - you’re gonna be all right now
[instrumental]
And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Guide them along
So maybe I’ll see you there
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares
So go downtime, things’ll be great when you’re
downtime - don’t wait a minute for
downtime - everything’s waiting for you
downtime, downtime, downtime, downtime …
June 12th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
My site on Larry was down all day with the “bad_httpd_conf” problem until I finally emailed support and they had it back online in about 2 minutes.
If your site is still down, submit a ticket because everything seems to be fine now.
“Hey there,
I went ahead and took a look at your site, and it looks like there was a
change made that didn’t finish. I went ahead and manually completed the
change, and it looks like your site’s back up. If you still get this
error, try clearing your cache, or accessing the site from another
computer. If you have any other questions, please let me know, I’d be
more than happy to help.
Thanks!
Joshua”
June 12th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Which cluster is this? Spunky?
June 12th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
I pay $12 a month for one thing and one thing only. I need to have my email at all times. Anywhere, anytime, always up and fast. That’s it. I think more bandwidth and mysql and other features are wonderful but seriously I could care less. I need email period.
Yet more and more the only thing I can’t get from dreamhost is email. It’s constantly down, broken or terribly slow. Either fix email or consider me another long time customer who is moving to google apps for your domain.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
And i’m off to another meeting and the last minute comments I have been waiting for are in my inbox (I can see the header) but what does dreamhost have to say? “IMAP Server has dropped connection”. Now I have no idea if this meeting will be a cake walk or I’m walking into the lion’s den because (yet again) I can’t get the mail I need. Thanks dreamhost.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
All my sites are down. Every…single…oh wait, there they go! Seriously, that happened.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
So, you chose a web host?
I guess if that “one thing and one thing only” you need ever changes to web hosting, you’ll sign up at one of the many email hosts out there that just focus on email.
You know, you could do something super hard & complicated like forward a copy of your mail to a GMail account for situations like this.
It takes less time than complaining here took, plus you wouldn’t be in a bind. Then again, having a free & simple plan B isn’t nearly as fun/responsible as showing up to meeting unprepared and blaming it on a web host.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
My 34345 Hosted client websites are down, I pay enough to eat at McDonalds twice a month for this hosting, I demand %99.9999 uptime. Grrarrrrarararrrrrrarrrrrrarrrarar. I’m going to threaten-to-move-to-another-host like I do every month but not actually do it. Take that Dreamhost! Hyaaah!
*Post may contain sarcasm.
June 12th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
hehehehe,,,
June 12th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
@Tony -
- My site on Larry was down all day with the “bad_httpd_conf” problem until I finally emailed support and they had it back online in about 2 minutes.
Next time look it up in the wiki - you would have had a solution there in 15 seconds.
June 12th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
.. But I do have to say I appreciate the story about the quick response time from support. It can take a very long time to get a response.
June 12th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
CPanel is down. Down I say.
June 12th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
@Bob - What’s CPanel? Are you sure you’re posting in the right forum? The DH control panel is up - I’m on it in another tab at this very second, adding an email address . . .
June 12th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Let’s look at the bright side: If you leave, my server may run faster!
June 13th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I cant log in to my admin pannel
June 13th, 2007 at 1:01 am
me 2!!!
June 13th, 2007 at 3:39 am
CPanel is down and no bloody way of informing dreamhost!
Please guys, get some kind of emergency email form or something, coz without the cpanel I cant tell you that the cpanel is down!
June 13th, 2007 at 5:55 am
Cpanel, that would be a nice add-on…
I’m missing Fantastico too!
Honestly, the DH CP is one of the reasons why I like DH. Except for the “We’re submiting your request/meesage/whatever”… which lately I have to use alot…
To the guy with the sarcasm disease:
[sprite]$ uptime
05:44:54 up 21:28, 3 users, load average: 9.50, 5.55, 4.80
Post here your servers *sarcasm* uptime *sarcasm* if you please…
June 13th, 2007 at 6:00 am
I am not getting email via my business website…..need to get this fixed!!! Missing out on orders!
June 13th, 2007 at 7:35 am
My site is not loading.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:46 am
My site is not loading either.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:54 am
[sprite]$ uptime
08:52:55 up 1 day, 36 min, 2 users, load average: 238.53, 108.50, 46.96
[sprite]$
What’s load average?
June 13th, 2007 at 8:59 am
I reckon: what’s load average?
[sprite]$ uptime
08:57:18 up 1 day, 41 min, 2 users, load average: 608.88, 353.35, 160.15
[sprite]$
June 13th, 2007 at 10:48 am
1: They don’t use CPanel. I’d leave if they did.
2: Yes you can. And there’s how.
June 13th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
The postal file server went postal.. did anyone say that already?
June 13th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
uptime:
15:32:56 up 8 days, 6:06, 7 users, load average: 11.44, 9.53, 9.95
June 13th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Hey guys,
I have not been able to send pop mail or a couple of hours (I can receive). What’s up ????
June 13th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Still have two websites not working… at least the rest still work, but it’s frustrating as the only one I want to work on is one of the two down. What’s the chance of that? What has got me is the lack of response to the support ticket. At least - we’re working to resolve it blah blah blah would be nice, but nothing thus far. Not good.
June 14th, 2007 at 1:28 am
We’re working to resolve it blah blah blah. Now stop wining.
June 14th, 2007 at 4:19 am
We’re not “wining” anything. We’re losing.
June 14th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
my site and my email are not working. please let me know when this will be resolved
June 14th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
You’d have to ask support for that kind of info Laura. We’re just users like you. But most of us probably don’t have the problems that you are having.
June 15th, 2007 at 2:39 am
site down aaaaaaaaaaaa
June 15th, 2007 at 2:54 am
it’s not resolved yet…
June 15th, 2007 at 5:50 am
Guys, I like the no-nonsene vibe and the royal quota so I’m pro Dreamhost but I would be definitely willing to pay more for an account with noticeably higher reliability.
June 15th, 2007 at 6:42 am
My site is still down as of this morning… anyone else still having trouble?
June 15th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Outgoing mail not working …..
June 15th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Ditto here, outgoing mail stopped working since ~9am this morning. V. frustrating. Starting to rethink this whole site switchover. We’ve hosted on Dreamhost for a whopping 2 weeks now, and already our company’s email isn’t going out.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:28 am
Outgoing mail down …
June 15th, 2007 at 7:29 am
I am switching all my prople back over to local ISP outgoing mail because DH outgoing is always down. Once that is done, there are not too many problems. Sad really.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:33 am
Outgoing mail back up, problem seems intermittent.
June 15th, 2007 at 9:18 am
I’m on Larry and my site is still down.
June 21st, 2007 at 4:28 am
@Mike > if the mail SERVER is down, forwarding to Gmail won’t help, will it - because th server is supposed to execute the “forwarding” ….. you have to change your MX and get your mail hosted on Gmail - I think you get 25 accounts of 2GB each free….
@ Peter > If you are serious about your email then here is my advice …. get a Google hosted account and host your mail there. They make migration super easy - there is info available at google on how to migrate your email from Dreamhost (and a whole lot of others). I’ve already been using it for most of my business domains hosted elsewhere; this is not the only host where mail servers drive you nuts :-P.
I haven’t bothered with my dreamhost sites yet mainly because they are not that all-fired important for me. But the moment I find my email is critical - I’ll move it to Gmail.