OOF webserver

[TheBoy]

Anyone seeing issues with the OOF webserver temporarily disappearing?

I *think* its my wifi, but just want to be sure its not anything more serious.

[BazaJT]

Not had any problems here for a good long while now.

[STEMO]

It's fine here. Might I recommend BT Wi-fi, it's dry reliable. 

[Lizzie Zoom]

It's fine here. Might I recommend BT Wi-fi, it's dry reliable. 

+1.  Also with BT

[TheBoy]

Looks like its the switch and the way it was picking paths.  Forced down a single path for now to maintain reliable connectivity.

[STEMO]

Looks like its the switch and the way it was picking paths.  Forced down a single path for now to maintain reliable connectivity.

I'd have done it that way too. 

[zirk]

And theres me thinking it was faster than normal today

[JamesV6CDX]

I ask genuinely out of interest, because I've only recently started playing with Linux etc - but when VPS, or even cloud servers, are so cheap and available, what is the benefit in self hosting in today's climate?

I have a Debian 9 VPS, 8gb RAM, 80gb HDD, decent CPU and connection for under £10 a month. That to me (personally) makes self hosting seem pointless

Again it's not a dig - I'm genuinely curious

[aaronjb]

Hosting costs tend to scale exponentially with bandwidth requirements - at least if you want somewhere with an SLA worth a jot.. but yes, I wouldn't self-host anymore, even though maintaining secure networks is quite literally my job, I wouldn't want to entertain the risk of a DMZ with a webserver in it within my own walls

[TheBoy]

I ask genuinely out of interest, because I've only recently started playing with Linux etc - but when VPS, or even cloud servers, are so cheap and available, what is the benefit in self hosting in today's climate?

I have a Debian 9 VPS, 8gb RAM, 80gb HDD, decent CPU and connection for under £10 a month. That to me (personally) makes self hosting seem pointless

Again it's not a dig - I'm genuinely curious

We do both

And times that by the 3 servers that are used to run the www.omegaowners.com site, we're into the realms of way beyond what OOF could afford .  And what we really, really, really don't want here is embedded ads and the like.  Performance for the cost is the prime driver for how we do things.

There are other security issues around the cheapie shared (inc VPS) type hosting, such as exposing databases to the Internet, and rogue processes running on the same physical iron - although the data we hold isn't that valuable beyond encrypted passwords (as many use same passwords for everything).


Our model is based on delivering "computationally cheap", but bandwidth hungry, static content from a low cost shared host, and "expensive" dynamic content from our own servers.


I can also tell that your host does not have support contracts in place, so when it all goes completely Pete Tong, you will get little assistance.  Which isn't usually an issue for a small home site, which is where shared (inc VPS) is aimed.  OOF would be harmed if we lost our huge library of guides and advice.


And those that were here at the start of OOF will well remember we started out on shared hosting, and got banned from their servers in less than a fortnight due to resource usage  .  That's why we "temporarily" ended up with our current model.  As it turns out, our self hosted components have proven to be generally more reliable that the externally hosted stuff.  And that in itself has made changing be constantly low down the priority list...  ...and as OOF slowly runs out of money, we have been looking at the cheapest possible options for some time.

[TheBoy]

Hosting costs tend to scale exponentially with bandwidth requirements - at least if you want somewhere with an SLA worth a jot.. but yes, I wouldn't self-host anymore, even though maintaining secure networks is quite literally my job, I wouldn't want to entertain the risk of a DMZ with a webserver in it within my own walls

Segregated properly, anyone would have to exploit multiple devices to get into the internal network.  I'd argue that a traditional home setup is weaker, but just exploiting the shitty ISP routers

[Gaffers]

Hosting costs tend to scale exponentially with bandwidth requirements - at least if you want somewhere with an SLA worth a jot.. but yes, I wouldn't self-host anymore, even though maintaining secure networks is quite literally my job, I wouldn't want to entertain the risk of a DMZ with a webserver in it within my own walls

Segregated properly, anyone would have to exploit multiple devices to get into the internal network.  I'd argue that a traditional home setup is weaker, but just exploiting the shitty ISP routers

Some recent work I have done backs up your argument.  Home routers are very easy to exploit with minimal equipment and using tools freely available on the net, scarily so.  Makes me glad I have my own setup.

[Entwood]

HUGE snip

...and as OOF slowly runs out of money, we have been looking at the cheapest possible options for some time.

I know the Admins don't like this subject being raised ....   but what can the "members" do to assist in funding OOF ?? We get an amazing service totally for free, and I, for one, would like to contribute in some way.

[TheBoy]

HUGE snip

...and as OOF slowly runs out of money, we have been looking at the cheapest possible options for some time.

I know the Admins don't like this subject being raised ....   but what can the "members" do to assist in funding OOF ?? We get an amazing service totally for free, and I, for one, would like to contribute in some way.

At the current rate, when OOF runs out of money, there will be no more Omegas...

...our prediction is about May time

[Kevin Wood]

At the current rate, when OOF runs out of money, there will be no more Omegas...

...our prediction is about May time

Mine will still have 8 months MOT on it.