Applefritter's current server setup is:
- Linode VPS
- applefritter.com (main drupal website)
- download.info.applefritter.com (mirror of download.info.apple.com)_
- old.applefritter.com (downloads reachable by older computers)
- Dacentec Dedicated Server
- git.applefritter.com (git mirrors)
- matrix.applefritter.com (Talk bridge)
- misfire.applefritter.com (hotline)
- RackNerd VPS
- info-mac.applefritter.com (gopher)
- RackNerd VPS
- darkgopher.applefritter.com (gopher)
- Home
- eWorld
My original plan was to move everything to Dacentec, but some issues with the server made me lose confidence in it. While I don't mind running on older hardware generally, I'm hesitant about old servers I don't own and can't touch, and I don't like old hard drives. Therefore I'm leaning away from dedicated servers in my price range.
eWorld is at home because it needs babysitting. The gopher servers are on separate VPSes at Racknerd because they need unique IP addresses, and it was cheaper to buy a whole VPS at Racknerd than to add IPs at Dacentec.
One option I'm considering is colocating locally. I have one data center in mind, but am waiting to hear back from them with more details. I have an HP Proliant DL360 left over from a WebODM project, that I think would be suitable with new hard drives.
Another option I'm considering is moving to all VPSes. That would be more expensive because of the space required (about 2 TB) to replace the Dacentec server and Linode (now Akamai) is raising their prices 20% (part of the impetus for moving away from Akamai).
A third possibility would be colocating somewhere farther away, if there's anybody here who works in a data center and wants to help out.
I'm also looking for people who'd like to help with server administration. If you're experienced, that would be great. If you're not, and want to learn, that would be great too!
I worked in a data center/hosting facility for about a dozen years but moved on to a different sector about 18 months ago. If you can colocate locally for a decent price it's really not a bad way to go. The data center I worked in had everything from colocated, to unmanaged and managed servers, etc. The people who didn't need help from support were often wise to go unmanaged or colocate their own equipment. If I still worked there I would work some magic for you, but alas...
It's crazy how much some places charge for IPv4 addresses, to be able to get a whole VPS for less is absolutely wild! With the VPS option, you may be able to utilize VPS and object storage, but it's not a perfectly straightforward solution. It can be cheap for a ton of storage though.
What is local? There are a ton of data centers in my area (Austin,TX) but I have been mostly working with cloud based stuff lately so I am not up to date on what is available these days.
I appreciate the sentiment, skate323k137.
softwarejanitor: Local for me, would be the Lancaster, PA - Harrisburg, PA - Hagerstown, MD - Frederick, MD area. The place I'm hopeful about is in Mechanicsburg, PA.
Thought I'd share this glimpse at the direction forum spam will be headed soon:
Screenshot 2023-03-25 at 8.45.50 PM.png
Pretty sad, I'd say. If that's artificial intellegence, then we need a completely new technology.
They'll still be easy to spot because of the inevitable spam link. I suppose it could become an issue for spam intending to build brand recognition, but most of that would probalby be easy to spot too, on a site like Applefritter.
And it clearly doesn't understand "subtle".
I agree. I could go on a huge rant but I'll just say 2 things about AI;
Xrumor (a forum spamming software that is/was sold commercially) is more impressive than most "AI' I've seen in the news. Seriously, it's relentless.
AI images are the equivalent of a thousand monkeys at typewriters, except in image form, trained off the work of actual artists and photographers (likely with no permission). I honestly can't say I appreciate it much, especially with the other ethical implications (generating explicit non-consenual photos).
Pharmacy spam was interesting, I sat through an amazing talk once at an anti-spam conference where someone tracked online spam "pharmacies" by way of obtaining webserver logs from image servers and other things. They [a university department] calculated how many orders the "pharmacy" must have been processing, by sporadically ordering and doing stats from that. They were definitely making money; This was aided by most of their server resources being stolen (free), but that same fact helped the researchers, as the legit webserver owners were just volunteering the logs from hacked sites. Anyway, the same university had their labs test the drugs; only for active ingredients, but they all checked out. Absolutely wild.