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Board » General Discussion » Global Challenge downtime - how to cope with server outages

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Posted by
NZL_Scotsman


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2008-10-04 07:59:40
2012-11-26 18:38:58 - Re: Global Challenge downtime - how to cope with server outages
Redress is applied after the finish. The finish time is corrected after a race committee decides what time was lost. This happens IRL, for example when a racer deviates to help a boat in distress.

I do not like the options where the boats are held or moved. As Piero says, the wx moves on. Tactics are based on predicted wx, so changing the boat positions will not work.

The admin folk do a great job already and have a lot to do. We should be able to set up race committees that do not require much time from the current admin, most positions could surely be filled with volunteers. It would also help to have people on the race committee who know how this works IRL.

Kevin
Posted by
hmm


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2011-11-03 13:35:22
2012-11-26 18:44:56 - Re: Global Challenge downtime - how to cope with server outages
Lou, no need to be sorry. I think it's really good to have discussions on what to do on server problems.

Naturally we do always our best to prevent any problems but when you face running a game which basically requires 24/7 uptime for weeks, you have to be realistic that downtime happens.

When there are any issues with the game the admins naturally try to do the "best effort" so that the issue is resolved and the effect to the players is a minimal as possible. Discussions like this help us to think what are the best possible actions in the problem situations and also how players view them (instead of us just guessing).

However, there is always the limiting technical side of the things. With the current sol sailing server we can do:

- Stop the whole server, so that all boats freeze
- Remove future dc's for a given time or a race (or all of them)
- Restart a race

However, without developing new features the server in my knowledge the following can't be done:

- Freeze just one race
- Freeze the weather model, so even if the whole server is freezed weather will go on
- Give time allowance to any boat (redress)
- Move the boats from where they are (except to race start)

I believe freezing just one race and the time allowance would not be very hard to implement but tampering with the weather model I can't see happening as it is very deep in the server (and client). Moving boats is somewhere there between.
Posted by
Jeroen


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2007-08-15 09:17:47
2012-11-26 20:43:39 - Re: Global Challenge downtime - how to cope with server outages
Thank you all for your input so far, there is realy some good thoughts in this and like Markku noted, we like to know not guess what you all feel works best.

As far as technical options its like Markku noted, we can stop all races but not individual ones at this time. Nor redress a single boat during a race. Tampering with weather in short or long term messes up the long term planning for a race. Esp in long races where you wan't to be is everything.

That said if we come up with a good idea that can really help us out the technical problems should be able to be solved.
I am a ex-admin of SOL who joins in from time to time.
Posted by
Lou


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2011-03-03 20:54:54
2012-11-26 21:56:21 - Re: Global Challenge downtime - how to cope with server outages
Hi,
Just on the fact thats is impossible to freeze one race, from my point of view thats no point, if there is a server problem, this problem would be the same for all races, so it's almost logic that all races are freezed as soon as possible.
Ciao,
Lou
Posted by
hmm


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2012-11-30 12:54:31 - Re: Global Challenge downtime - how to cope with server outages
Unfortunately it was found out that freezing all games proved to be very difficult as well. The sailing engine tries always to make up for the time it has been down (but there is an upper limit on the time it tries).

The reasoning in freezing different races is that the races can be in very different situations so the same action is not necessarily the best for all of them.
Posted by
Lou


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2012-11-30 14:39:14 - Re: Global Challenge downtime - how to cope with server outages
Just an idea, is it possible that a router, at the moment of a shutdown, calculates an ETA , with the weather forecast of that moment, for all boats in competition, and that you make a ranking with that result, and then restart from a central postion, with the average of the results make a final ranking. Probably a lot of work, but a honest solution, a machine takes the decision.
Ciao,
Lou
Posted by
Jeroen


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2012-11-30 15:26:36 - Re: Global Challenge downtime - how to cope with server outages
Certainly a interesting scenario when you choose to abandon a race and would like to calculate the more true result.
Restarting from a single point in a race like the Golbal Race does take away a lot of tactics and has a big impact as a solution itself. It would be nice to keep the spread out fleet in this case alive.
I am a ex-admin of SOL who joins in from time to time.

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