Outages

[Neo_Pt]

Hi There,

Well i understand that this is a free streaming server and we dont have the same support that with a paid server (that you is also) but i think also that we have some rights !

So i ask if this is possible to put somewhere visible to all a "warning message" to say when a server is down for a Outage or something else.

I dont know if that is possible but well .... is only one idea to make MixStream a better Server for all

Bye

[Gavin]

Hi,

Well i understand that this is a free streaming server and we dont have the same support that with a paid server (that you is also) but i think also that we have some rights !

As the service is free, any users of the service have no consumer rights under UK law - only paying customers do.

There is absolutely no guarantee of service on the free network, if it's important to have a reliable stream then you will need to purchase our value or premium service (which comes with a 100% service level agreement).

I am aware that there has been some downtime on a few of the servers lately, and I am going to set up a new server this week and possibly another one or two in the coming weeks to add new users to. This will help to spread new users over the new servers and allow the service to expand without the problems that we are currently experiencing.

We currently have 7 servers dedicated to the free network. I'm sure you're aware that streaming is quite expensive and we only run this service to break even in order to get people into streaming. Servers cost around £150 upfront to get set up, plus monthly fees after that so we maybe don't have as many servers as we'd like.

The paid service is a different thing all together, we use better networks and more powerful servers, as well as having very strict limits on the number of streams that go onto each server.

I hope this explains things!

[Neo_Pt]

Hi Gavin,

First off all nice to "meet" you.

Off course that im agree with you and i understand all. And im also glad to see that you understand our point of vue. Its really frustrating invite people to listening our stream and when all begin to move the server going down.

Before yesterday for example, ive thinking that im dreaming. All the seven servers offline ! Its a dream ! Its not possible !!!!
Then im read one of youre "blogs section" and i read that you have some problems with a rooter at Chicago. Ive thinking ... well ... maybe all the seven servers depend of one rooter ... If the rooter going down ... well ... all servers going down.

What i demand i think that is not bad and most important i think that is not too much.

If possible inform us when and why the server going down, like that we also can inform our team and Listeners what it happens.
If we dont have any information what we gonna say to our team and listeners? Its only that.

Im also very glad to know that we gonna have one maybe 2 or 3 new servers. Its really very cool to know.

For now is only that that i want to say, and off course ... Many Many Thanks for your Very Very Cool Service !

Bye

[Gavin]

Hi Neo,

Thank you for your suggestions and feedback. Just to keep you up to date with things:

First of all, the Chicago router issue wouldn't have affected the free service, so if all 7 servers were down then it could have either been coincidence (although I haven't noticed them all go down at once), or there could have been a routing issue somewhere outside the datacentre's network which would affect some people but not others. I think there may have been an issue lately.

But the good news is..

Yesterday, I set up a new server for the free network and all new users are being put onto that one. This will allow the other servers to calm down a bit as people stop using them (a lot of free users use the service for temporary streams). I'll also be adding more over the coming week or two (I might even order a new server tonight to get it set up for the weekend) - the only reason that more haven't already been added is that we have to pay the server hire for a year in advance or pay a high setup fee. I'm hoping that the improved stability will help to increase advertising revenue so that the service can keep paying for itself.

Also, when a server goes down, a notification is sent to the status site and it is automatically posted (as of yesterday). You can actually sign up for email alerts as well from http://status.bellonline.co.uk/?page_id=4 - I'd strongly advise just selecting the server(s) that you are on to avoid emails that don't affect your service. The limitation is that it doesn't give a reason being an automated message.

The service has really been a victim of its own success, when I first started it, I could never have imagined that so many people would sign up!

[Neo_Pt]

Hi Gavin,

Nothing to Thanks its a plaisure to help who help us.

Just for say that it's my project to continue here with you and when my stream gonna have 400 500 Listeners put somme ads "On Air" to have somme monney for upgrade to yours Premium Service.

So, continue helping me that i continue to helping you.

Bye and for know its all

[meelismalgand]

I am just facing the very same problem as Neo, and was wondering if it is possible to have different kind of restrictions for free users, such as listeners limit. Instead of 1000 we could have 100,200 maybe 300 max. Right now I have advertised heavily my event and the exact moment the server (Free 6) boom! - down...
I think it is very obvious that if we have up to 300 listeners, we are doing alright and is very likely that we would invest in paid service, but right now I am losing a bit of trust here against this service. Ok, I know as well, that this service is free for us, but there is a reason why it is given us free - it pays off. If not directly in cash, it will certainly create a lot of interest and spread the buzz, which will eventually lead to financial success. These are my thoughts, but in no way I want to hurt Gavin, cos in the end of the day he has made it all possible. I am sure a lot of streamers are thinking same, and I believe it is better for everybody to have "listener limit" instead of "server down" error.
Thoughts anybody?

[nige101uk]

I'd be more than happy to take a listener cut in return for better reliability if that's the issue. A 50% cut would probably be fine for most people. However, I'm still really only in the testing phase and I've not experienced any difficulties or outages at all an my listeners are happy with the quality. Perhaps it would be better to get some thoughts of more regular users.

Thank you for this awesome service. For the occasional streamer, you are a godsend and an ad on my page is a very small price to pay for what you do.

[Gavin]

Hi,

The listener limit being reduced wouldn't make any difference because no one actually uses anywhere near that. Only a few people on the free service even get over 100, so it would need to be restricted to less than that to make any difference.

In a few days, another server will be added to the network.

Recently, a new automatic monitoring system has been introduced which checks the servers every 30 minutes or so if there is a problem at any time then it will be fixed automatically.

[Neo_Pt]

Recently, a new automatic monitoring system has been introduced which checks the servers every 30 minutes or so if there is a problem at any time then it will be fixed automatically.

If that works ... Well ... All the problems are resolved !!!

With time maybe need's some adjusts but every 30 minutes for the beggining it seems good

[Gavin]

You're right, 30 minutes is a bit long but I've set it like that to make sure that 1) it works and b) it doesn't cause the web server to overload

I'll probably change it to something like 15 minutes eventually.

The monitoring system just reboots the server if it can't connect to the page or if the MySQL error is displayed.

[Neo_Pt]

Hi all,

hi Gavin ... only for say that it seems that it works. For 3 or 4 times ive "gotcha" the server down (the page dont displayed) and some minutes after its ok it come back.

For the moment i dont have see the mysql error so i cant say nothing for that.

If i "peek" the mysql error i let you know.

Bye and good work .

Oh ! nice "wallpapper" here

PS: The only problem that i see for 30 minutes its in case of the peak audience. on my Stream it happens betwen 22.00 and 00.00 hours on portugal were i live and 22.00/02.00 local time at brasil were the "most" of my listeners are.
For know dont have problems, at max we only need to wait 30 minutes. But when we gonna have 400/500 listeners its true that it can be a problem.

[Gavin]

Hi,

If there is a server crash, then as you have noticed, it should last no longer than 30 minutes as that's how often it's checked. I am probably going to increase the frequency of checks to about 15 minutes or eve 10 as the 30 minutes was just a trial period.

I'm also glad you've noticed the lack of mysql errors lately! This is because the mysql database is now hosted on a dedicated mysql server rather than the stream servers themselves. This makes it much more stable.

[Neo_Pt]

Hi all,

Only "Updating" .... Ive "Gotcha" the MySql Error and it was solved some minutes after ... so i think that the "Outages Problem" is solved.

Bye all and very nice work Gavin

[meelismalgand]

Since my first mild complaint, the service has been really good, as good as one free service could get. I do expect outages and I am used to it as long as I stay with free service. One issue I have though. When my stream stops, the server stops. Thats ok. What could be different though, is that when server (e.g. s6) goes down and starts up again, it could by default start our servers under control panel too, to check whether there is an incoming stream. If the server can stop when there is no incoming stream, it could as well start when there is one?
Right now, I have the whole day programmed and if the server goes down in the morning and I don't listen to my own stream, the radio can be quiet for the rest of the day...Reconnection wouldn't be problem here locally, since I am using Nicecast which attempts to reconnect until it finds active server. So the broken link is the "red restart" under control panel. If you find a moment Gavin could you give some insight? Thanks.

[meelismalgand]

Anybody? The same issue has hit me again. I am broadcasting into a different timezone which is two hours ahead of british time and when I get up here only to find out that my radio has been silent until midday... I spend 3 hours deep in the night every night to do the next days playlist and it really doesn't look it is going to work out this way, I have worked very hard to have regularly 10+ simultanous listeners within 1 month of broadcasting. I am doing everything to grow this number, but it will never happen unless the main server (e.g. s6) restart gives me green light on the control panel by default. Then it could listen whether there is an incoming stream and if not it could then shut down. Could you please let me know Gavin, it is a major turning point for me. I explained the problem also in my previous post.