Recent FC Server Move

Since yesterday or so, Fantastic Contraption has been in the process of moving servers. However, it has not been a smooth transition and a number of problems have cropped up. Hopefully, this post will fill you in on the challenges that have been faced during this (botched) transfer.

The turn of events starts with, as we can assume, the backup of the data on the old server. We don't know when this was made, but it's reasonable that it was made at one point in time before the move began. It would have been a snapshot of the data on the server, so everything saved before the moment that the backup started would have gone into the backup. So, to pick a random number as an example, the last design that would have made it into the backup would have been design number 300,214. Now, any designs or levels that were saved following the backup (starting with design number 300,215) would have not made it into the backup.

Once that the snapshot of the data was saved to a backup, it would have been moved to the new server. Now, design 300,214 would have been the same on both the old and new servers. Design number 300,215 however, which was saved after the snapshot was created, would have not been carried over. This is where the problems start, because people would have still been using the old server. Designs 300,215 and so forth (as well as levels and user registrations) would have fallen into a gap.

At this point, we can assume that the DNS entries for "fantasticcontraption.com" would have been changed to point to the new server. DNS is the system that converts domain names like "fantasticcontraption.com" into Internet addresses. Your computer has to talk to the DNS system in order to find out what computer to talk to when you try to visit "fantasticcontraption.com." To make this process quicker, DNS servers will remember the answers to its questions. Now, even though the Internet address for fantasticcontraption.com would have been changed to point to the new server, your particular DNS server (run by your Internet provider, workplace, or school) remembers the old answer, so you would have continued to use the old server. Usually, it takes up to a day for a DNS server to ask again.

Since people were still using the old server, new designs, levels, and user registrations would have stayed on the old server. Any changes made past the backup would have been lost on the new server. It would have obviously been better if the old server was shut down before the backup was created, but it did not happen. There may have been plans to automatically transfer designs and levels made after the backup as people saved them, but this did not happen either.

This begs the question: what will happen to those post-backup designs, levels, and user registrations that were saved on the old server? We don't know what the plan is at the moment. Even though the vast majority of people were using the old server at first, some people found themselves on the new server (not that they were aware of the move). This presents another problem. Person A, creating a design for Awash, saved a design on the old server. The ID for person A's design would have been 300,215. On the other hand, Person B, who was creating a design for Handling, saved his design on the new server. The ID for person B's design would have been 300,215 as well! We have a conflict. At this time, we are not sure of the fate of the designs and levels that were saved onto the old server.

The problems don't end there. To make things faster, the game stores the data of designs (and possibly levels) as regular files instead of using a database program (it's a cache). The web host company personnel assigned the job of moving over the server's data botched the job. Remember that conflict with design 300,215? So while design 300,215 on the new server is for Handling, this personnel member was moving over the cache files from the old server. Unlike the backup, it's not a snapshot. So while 300,215 on the new server is for Handling, the personnel member had just moved over the cache file for 300,215 from the old server. When you look up design 300,215 on the new server, it shows the right title for the design and all (for Handling), but the actual contraption (and level) is completely different (it's for Awash instead).

Those are the major problems, but there's one more to note. Forum logins are not working. Cookies saved by the forum are marked with the domain name of "zoominate.com," and your browser will refuse cookies that are for different domain names. When you clear your cookies, the forum will think that your browser doesn't support cookies, so it won't try. If you are having trouble logging in, clear your cookies.