[FX.php List] [OT] Planning for/handling Server Outage

[Jonathan Schwartz]

Great ideas, Alex.

But...what do you do when the database isn't available?  Does anyone 
address this with redundancy or fail over backup server?  OS X server 
does have a failover feature, but I haven't explored it yet.

Jonathan

>Hi Jonathan -
>I think measures can be taken on a situation to situation basis -
>for example, when I process a form that web users fill out to 
>request a packet to be mailed to them, I first do a quick fmview() 
>to test connectivity to the database.
>In the event that the database can't be reached, I take all their 
>information and generate an email to our customer service reps 
>saying the database was down and this info will have to be entered 
>manually. (I also shoot an email to me alerting me that the DB is 
>down - and also a text message to my phone)
>That works perfectly find in that situation - but something (say, a 
>sign-up for a website) is pretty instantaneous - in this case, I 
>also generate an email internally saying add this user manually - 
>and one to me (and a text message so I immediately know if there are 
>problems) -
>
>This is the same for anyone who tries to sign in - if the database 
>can't be reached, an email is sent and a session variable is set so 
>multiple attempts to log in won't mean multiple emails from the same 
>customer for each time they try to log in.
>
>
>
>Jonathan Schwartz wrote:
>>Hi Folks,
>>
>>Talk about Murphy's Law and the all-important corollary (Anythng 
>>that can go wrong, will go wrong...at the worst possible moment).
>>
>>Pardon this OT post, but I think that there are FMP and fx.php 
>>specific issues involved.
>>
>>I have a two machine set up (Web server with html and fx.php on 
>>one, FMSA and files on another). They are both at a remote colo. 
>>They are both mac minis.
>>
>>Yesterday, in the middle of a campaign launch (email+web response), 
>>the FMSA machine went dark.  Now, I'm not sure what kind of 
>>excitement gets others pumped up, but the reality of hundreds of 
>>users hitting your new launched solution and seeing error messages 
>>will get your heart rate going.
>>
>>The question is how to plan for this type of thing in the future.
>>
>>In this case, one of the PDUs (Power Distribution Unit) flipped a 
>>breaker and the FMSA machine shut off.  The web server stayed on, 
>>being on another PDU.  Problem is, it takes valuable time to figure 
>>out what is going on when you can't see or touch the machine. It's 
>>only after a process of elimination do you realize that the machine 
>>is off.  Talk about fun.
>>
>>Then magically, the machine came back!  A remote service person had 
>>reset the PDU and powered up the machines.
>>
>>First FileMaker FMSA-related question: should auto-start be turned 
>>on in the FMS8/FMSA8 preferences?  If the database is damaged 
>>during the rude shutdown, then automatically starting it could be a 
>>big mistake.
>>
>>fx.php question: How do you handle the prospect of the FMSA not 
>>being available, on the web server?  In this half hour episode, I 
>>had to post a "Come Back Later" sign.
>>
>>Finally, what do you do to deal with the prospect of web services 
>>not being available?  Redundancy appears to be a huge technical and 
>>financial leap....or at least I think that it is.
>>
>>Again, I'm sorry for the slight off-topic nature of this post, but 
>>I feel that this topic can help others.
>>
>>Regards,
>>
>>Jonathan
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-- 
Jonathan Schwartz
Exit 445 Group
jonathan at exit445.com
http://www.exit445.com
415-381-1852