[R-wiki] Site down?
Martin Maechler
maechler at stat.math.ethz.ch
Tue Nov 7 12:18:16 CET 2006
Thanks a lot, Philippe,
>>>>> "PhGr" == Philippe Grosjean <Philippe.Grosjean at umh.ac.be>
>>>>> on Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:53:51 +0100 writes:
PhGr> Hello,
PhGr> Indeed, the R Wiki server is down. I am away from my
PhGr> office (meetings), but I just phone to the computer
PhGr> department in charge of the servers at the
PhGr> University. They are currently looking at the problem.
PhGr> To answer to legitimate Martin's questions:
>> - What happens if you are in vacation, sick,...
PhGr> As I said, it is the computer staff of the University
PhGr> that is in charge of the servers. But, they have to be
PhGr> warned of the problem before they can do something
PhGr> about it. Perhaps should we install a system that pols
PhGr> the Wiki server regularly and issues a warning
PhGr> automatically when something happens? I cannot do this
PhGr> without discussion and acceptation of the computer
PhGr> staff and authorities... which is a long and
PhGr> administrative process!
ouch! Yes, such polling systems are quite standard and a must
for reliable server maintenance. Of course they will not be
100% fool proof either.
>> - Who is your "substitute"?
PhGr> Johan Debergues, Philippe Lievens, or the people in charge of the
PhGr> servers at the University at the time the problem occurs (emails of
PhGr> people is simply Name.FamilyName at umh.ac.be).
>> - Is there a phone number for urgencies?
PhGr> +32.65.37.34.97, which is the phone in my office, currently.
>> - What are the emergency measures (and who is responsible) if
>> the machine crashes? Backup / Substitute machine / ... ?
PhGr> Regular (daily) backups of the Wiki content are made on another machine.
PhGr> I am in charge of that backup, and of restoring the machine in case it
PhGr> crashes. We currently have no other emergency measures. In particular,
PhGr> we have no substitute machine installed currently.
That sounds all reasonable. Thanks a lot!
A substitute machine *installed* may be asking too much.
However, having easy access to a spare machine which has the OS
pre-installed and on which you can restore the full the
wiki-backup, maybe something to look at.
PhGr> We certainly could secure the R Wiki much better. I am open to any
PhGr> suggestion on this point.
PhGr> Best,
PhGr> Philippe Grosjean
PhGr> P.S.: Please, do warn me in case of problems: I am not
PhGr> working 24h/day and 7d/week on the R Wiki. So, do not
PhGr> assume that I am aware of the problem at the time you
PhGr> notice it! In particular, yesterday and today, I am in
PhGr> meetings, which makes me less prone to notice the
PhGr> problem rapidly!
Indeed! I hope you weren't stressed unnecessarily by my e-mail,
and I hope this is now just clear to the audience:
In case of severe problems with the R-Wiki do contact Philippe
Grosjean by "personal" e-mail (i.e. not just assuming he reads
mailing lists).
With (a 2nd round of) thanks to Philippe,
Martin
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