[Dean]

This thread will discuss how and when we plan to perform some of the major updates we will be facing in the near future.

As discussed in other threads, the H-Sphere 2.5 update includes several major changes. While it provides .NET 2.0 and MySQL4.1 support, it also requires a complete restructuring of permissions on the Windows servers. Our own tests show that the update will take around two hours to complete per Windows server and will likely involve some additional downtime while individual issues are addressed.

H-Sphere 2.5.0 adds support for .NET 2.0, but it does not provide a way for users to change to the new version. The H-Sphere 2.5.1 beta release does provide this functionality, and it also adds support for PHP5.

Because of the downtime requirements of the update, and the fact that 2.5.0 does not provide a method to actually utilize one of its major features, we have decided that the H-Sphere 2.5 update will wait until version 2.5.1 is stable. There is no point in performing two separate updates in order to achieve what one will given a little more time.

While we are waiting for the 2.5.1 update, we will be starting our second major project: upgrading all Windows 2000 servers to 2003. In order to kill two birds with one stone, we plan to upgrade all P3 Windows servers to our new Opteron platform at the same time.

We have developed an upgrade procedure that should result in minimal downtime (5 - 10 minutes) while preserving as many of the custom server settings as possible. It is our intention to make the transition as smooth as we possibly can. We will be installing the new server in parallel with the existing server and making the switch only once all migrations are complete.

The first server to be migrated will be NT11. We have chosen this server because it is a P3 with the least number of users and domains. We plan to have the new NT11 complete and ready to make the switch by Friday July 21.

After we allow some shakedown time for NT11, we will procede with the rest of the servers, again starting with the P3's. The upgrade schedule for the rest of the servers will be posted at a later date.