All morning I've had errors with invisionfree. None of the invisionfree forums are loading for me, and I've been in contact with others that say the same thing has been happening to them. The invisionfree support forums appear to be down as well. Has anybody heard anything?
I'm guessing that the severs are down, and they'll be back up soon. The Nexus and the Official TES Forums both have their own servers, so that would be the logical explanation.
If anybody has anything to contribute, I'd be glad to hear it.
Full Version: Invisionfree servers down.
Zetaboards appear to be fully down as well! ugh we have business to take care of!!! 
Hopefully they'll be back up soon, maybe we missed an announcement and they put them down for maintaince or something. Soon i'll be moving my forums to a server, at least thats the plan.
Hopefully they'll be back up soon, maybe we missed an announcement and they put them down for maintaince or something. Soon i'll be moving my forums to a server, at least thats the plan.
Yup. My test board was recently converted to Zetaboards, and it isn't loading.
I haven't received any emails from IF. I'd expect, as a board creator/administrator, I'd receive an email from Invisionfree if there was a problem. They could still be figuring it out, though, so I'm not going to make an issue out of it.
I haven't received any emails from IF. I'd expect, as a board creator/administrator, I'd receive an email from Invisionfree if there was a problem. They could still be figuring it out, though, so I'm not going to make an issue out of it.
Ben (bben46), and I are having trouble accessing the ZetaBoard domain.
We have been trying to determine, if this is a user problem or a Zetaboard problem.
There are a number of Oblivion related websites utilizing this web host.
My ISP tells me that pings and tracers are getting through, but that they, cannot bring up the websites.
We have been working on this problem for nearly 12 hours
So far, our best guess is that it's a problem with the domain
We have been trying to determine, if this is a user problem or a Zetaboard problem.
There are a number of Oblivion related websites utilizing this web host.
My ISP tells me that pings and tracers are getting through, but that they, cannot bring up the websites.
We have been working on this problem for nearly 12 hours
So far, our best guess is that it's a problem with the domain
Elder Mage says he's been on TESFU and his own forums this morning, but that they've been acting up a lot lately.
EDIT: UPDATE: Several members on the official forums are reporting that they've had spotty connection, or none at all, int he past 24 hours.
EDIT: UPDATE: Several members on the official forums are reporting that they've had spotty connection, or none at all, int he past 24 hours.
As of now. the servers z2, z6, and z7 are working fine for me. Thats on invisionfree. None of the zetaboards are working for me though. Including the zeta homepage.
QUOTE(Stormraven @ Jun 1 2008, 11:57 AM) 
Ben (bben46), and I are having trouble accessing the ZetaBoard domain.
We have been trying to determine, if this is a user problem or a Zetaboard problem.
There are a number of Oblivion related websites utilizing this web host.
My ISP tells me that pings and tracers are getting through, but that they, cannot bring up the websites.
We have been working on this problem for nearly 12 hours
So far, our best guess is that it's a problem with the domain
We have been trying to determine, if this is a user problem or a Zetaboard problem.
There are a number of Oblivion related websites utilizing this web host.
My ISP tells me that pings and tracers are getting through, but that they, cannot bring up the websites.
We have been working on this problem for nearly 12 hours
So far, our best guess is that it's a problem with the domain
You know, this may be part of what caused my account to get hacked on a different IF Board a little while back...
Well, it's working now at least.
No i doubt that gman, this is most likely a problem with their server or domain.
QUOTE(chris 07 @ Jun 1 2008, 02:02 PM)
No i doubt that gman, this is most likely a problem with their server or domain.
Er, sorry. I worded that wrong.
I meant to say maybe because the site was down, it gave someone else a chance to get in.
My English isn't the best at times...
How would they get in if the server is down? 
QUOTE(chris 07 @ Jun 1 2008, 02:15 PM)
How would they get in if the server is down?
Well, pings and tracers could get through, the website just wouldn't show up.
The site has to be running SOMEWHERE. Even if the server is down, things can still slip in.
Oh, and what was the
for? 
QUOTE(gman021 @ Jun 1 2008, 02:57 PM)
You know, this may be part of what caused my account to get hacked on a different IF Board a little while back...
Well, it's working now at least.
Well, it's working now at least.
gman021,
I think Chris is right here.
If your account got hacked, the servers and the boards would have had to have been operational.
The pings and tracers, just check for blocks. All they can tell you is whether or not, there is an electronic blockage between you and the site.
The fact that even though the pangs and tracers were going through the ISPs still couldn't load the pages is the relevant information here.
Your account getting hacked, more likely a factor of less than optimal security on the InVision boards
Storm Raven
Yeah even if some things could technically go through, no one would really be able to "see" the site, therefore hacking it is nearly impossible unless the server itself is hacked, now who would go that far (in other words an illegal activity which could lead them to JAIL!!!) just to hack one account?
btw the thingy i was just fooling around forget it.
btw the
thingy i was just fooling around forget it.
QUOTE(Stormraven @ Jun 1 2008, 02:25 PM)
QUOTE(gman021 @ Jun 1 2008, 02:57 PM)
You know, this may be part of what caused my account to get hacked on a different IF Board a little while back...
Well, it's working now at least.
Well, it's working now at least.
gman021,
I think Chris is right here.
If your account got hacked, the servers and the boards would have had to have been operational.
*Sigh*
Fine. I'll give in. I never do win arguments anyways...
Although, shortly after my account was hacked, this happened.
Does anyone else see a possible connection, or is it just a coincidence?
Or perhaps I'm just being paranoid.
Chris's and My board, which is hosted on s1 of the invision network, went down early last night. After some digging around, I found this:
QUOTE
This evening at 4:55pm CDT in our H1 data center, electrical gear shorted, creating an explosion and fire that knocked down three walls surrounding our electrical equipment room. Thankfully, no one was injured. In addition, no customer servers were damaged or lost.
We have just been allowed into the building to physically inspect the damage. Early indications are that the short was in a high-volume wire conduit. We were not allowed to activate our backup generator plan based on instructions from the fire department.
This is a significant outage, impacting approximately 9,000 servers and 7,500 customers. All members of our support team are in, and all vendors who supply us with data center equipment are on site. Our initial assessment, although early, points to being able to have some service restored by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Rest assured we are working around the clock.
We are in the process of communicating with all affected customers. we are planning to post updates every hour via our forum and in our customer portal. Our interactive voice response system is updating customers as well.
There is no impact in any of our other five data centers.
I am sorry that this accident has occurred and I apologize for the impact.
We have just been allowed into the building to physically inspect the damage. Early indications are that the short was in a high-volume wire conduit. We were not allowed to activate our backup generator plan based on instructions from the fire department.
This is a significant outage, impacting approximately 9,000 servers and 7,500 customers. All members of our support team are in, and all vendors who supply us with data center equipment are on site. Our initial assessment, although early, points to being able to have some service restored by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Rest assured we are working around the clock.
We are in the process of communicating with all affected customers. we are planning to post updates every hour via our forum and in our customer portal. Our interactive voice response system is updating customers as well.
There is no impact in any of our other five data centers.
I am sorry that this accident has occurred and I apologize for the impact.
It appears that the situation is back under control, the forums are up. 
Not for everyone, Chris. I still can't get in to Saint.
QUOTE(chris 07 @ Jun 2 2008, 04:48 AM)
It appears that the situation is back under control, the forums are up.
Some boards are up, but unreliable at best. On my own I need to refresh a few times to get a page to load. I made the mistake of trying to make a fairly large post when the server decided to eat it. It's probably best to waiti till it's sorted out, or write your posts in a .txt incase it happens to fail when trying to accept it.
2 strange things...
@freddy: thats strange it appears to be working 100% for me right now...im having no issues whatsoever.
@Vagrant: Thats strange i was on your site this morning and it was working....
@freddy: thats strange it appears to be working 100% for me right now...im having no issues whatsoever.
@Vagrant: Thats strange i was on your site this morning and it was working....
I'm not having any problems so far today.
Freddy, what's your internet connection speed. It may be that only some of hte faster connections can get on now.
Freddy, what's your internet connection speed. It may be that only some of hte faster connections can get on now.
I managed to get to USF Studios today. I think the servers are fixed now.
@Septim: I have dial-up, but it's working fine now.
I can go to all the sites I couldn't last night.
I can go to all the sites I couldn't last night.
Seems like everything is back to normal then.
Septim,
Actually, we are still waiting to hear that Woogie can access these sites. However, his satellite connection to the web, could be responsible for his situation.
Thanks to everyone, who has contributed information to this topic.
Storm Raven
Actually, we are still waiting to hear that Woogie can access these sites. However, his satellite connection to the web, could be responsible for his situation.
Thanks to everyone, who has contributed information to this topic.
Storm Raven
I tried to access another page on USF Studios Forums, and I tried the Synod also. They're timed out yet again. What the hell is going on with InvisionFree servers?? Is it the annoying news that sucks all the bandwidth? Could it be InvisionFree has several problems? Does anybody have a clue?
How many people today : Tuesday, June 3/08 have the same problems as I do with the servers right now?
Ok, this is very strange. InvisionFree is somewhat up and down? Does anybody know what's causing the up and downs in InvisionFree?
@ Lord Slyther. No I do not
I am happy to report that Woogie now has access to the InVision and Zeta Sites.
I am happy to report that Woogie now has access to the InVision and Zeta Sites.
Lord Slyther,
My guess would be there, probably running some fairly heavy-duty diagnostics to check for data corruption and other little monsters that occur when you suddenly cut power to a data center. At the same time, you have a lot of users who are checking their sites to make sure everything is okay. So if you combine diagnostics with a lot of users. Your bandwidth is going to take a serious hit. Which might explain the ups and downs in your access.
Storm Raven
My guess would be there, probably running some fairly heavy-duty diagnostics to check for data corruption and other little monsters that occur when you suddenly cut power to a data center. At the same time, you have a lot of users who are checking their sites to make sure everything is okay. So if you combine diagnostics with a lot of users. Your bandwidth is going to take a serious hit. Which might explain the ups and downs in your access.
Storm Raven
Hmm, they're all still working for me. I'll ask on the support forums.
OMG, once again, isn't working. This time though, instead of saying "Server not found" it's saying the page doesn't exist. o.O
Septim,
I'm still pulling up The Hermetic Synod and TESFU both InVision boards. I'm also pulling up Saint Productions and two other Zeta sites. Now this is after I have flushed my cash and reloaded the pages. For whatever it's worth.
Storm Raven
I'm still pulling up The Hermetic Synod and TESFU both InVision boards. I'm also pulling up Saint Productions and two other Zeta sites. Now this is after I have flushed my cash and reloaded the pages. For whatever it's worth.
Storm Raven
Storm, it's working off and on for me. 11 out of 12 forums are currently working for me.
Everything seems to be fine for me... I can access the synod, and pinging invisionfree.com gives an average of about 139ms - so fairly normal. Obviously nothing wrong atm.
QUOTE(Stormraven @ Jun 1 2008, 03:25 PM)
The pings and tracers, just check for blocks. All they can tell you is whether or not, there is an electronic blockage between you and the site.
The fact that even though the pangs and tracers were going through the ISPs still couldn't load the pages is the relevant information here.
Storm Raven
The fact that even though the pangs and tracers were going through the ISPs still couldn't load the pages is the relevant information here.
Storm Raven
Electronic blockage can be many things, but an example would be an IP range ban.
When everything went down, it seemed as though there was a type of rolling blackout. It took place over a period of about 12 hours. For some reason, I was the first to lose access to the sites, but then, I was the first one to regain access to the sites. I cannot explain the phenomenon only the experience.
So to clarify, pings and tracers can get through, even though you cannot load the page.
Just for the purposes of information
No offense intended.
QUOTE(Stormraven @ Jun 3 2008, 09:51 PM)
The way invision forums have their ban settings, it's by forum, not by site. So if you were banned, you would be able to access other people's forums without any problem. In this day and age banning is pretty much an empty effort since there are so many ways to go around IP bans.
However it seems like there are still a few hiccups with the servers, so you may be best off waiting until things are fixed. Them being able to fix it as much as they have, as quickly as they did is actually something short of astounding when you compare it against many other people who experience sudden server issues.
This is my own speculation. the press release about the fire at the datacenter indicated that they had vendors on site, which tells me that they are replacing equipment. If the fire was caused by power lines, and those power lines were down, that would mean that they would need to temporarily take some servers down in order to make repairs to those lines. Also, if the actual lines carrying the data back and forth between the servers were damaged, then the reliability would be spotty at best until those lines were replaced.
Storm, are the data cables in a datacenter fiber optics? Cat-5(6)? Or are they using something else? If the entire network went down, then would that indicate a problem with the data cables?
Storm, are the data cables in a datacenter fiber optics? Cat-5(6)? Or are they using something else? If the entire network went down, then would that indicate a problem with the data cables?
QUOTE(Stormraven @ Jun 3 2008, 06:08 PM)
So if you combine diagnostics with a lot of users. Your bandwidth is going to take a serious hit. Which might explain the ups and downs in your access.
Storm Raven
Storm Raven
So how do I avoid that?
And down again.
Lmao, we seriously need to get Invisionfree's comments about this. But every time I think about going to the support board all the servers stop working. I think they're trying to lock me out. JK
JK
Well to give you an idea, of how serious the situation was, all four walls of the power plant supplying power to the data center disappeared as a result of the explosion.
It's a good thing no one was in the power plant at the time, because there is no question that they would not have survived. I will be checking my sources again, but the last I heard they were working on backup generators to supply the data center, because the fire department asked them not to try to reconnect to the main power.
They are replacing equipment, in particular, DNS servers. Some of which were badly damaged as a result of the explosion. There is an explanation for why connections to the InVision and ZetaBoard websites are spotty.
In my next post, I will be quoting that explanation, and giving you the latest update on the situation at the data center.
Storm Raven
It's a good thing no one was in the power plant at the time, because there is no question that they would not have survived. I will be checking my sources again, but the last I heard they were working on backup generators to supply the data center, because the fire department asked them not to try to reconnect to the main power.
They are replacing equipment, in particular, DNS servers. Some of which were badly damaged as a result of the explosion. There is an explanation for why connections to the InVision and ZetaBoard websites are spotty.
In my next post, I will be quoting that explanation, and giving you the latest update on the situation at the data center.
Storm Raven
The following is a direct quote as to the situation at the data center that hosts all of the InVision and ZetaBoards websites.
This is an enormous operation housing servers for companies like AT&T, Global Crossings, and Level 3 communications. Earlier, communications indicate high levels of damage throughout the data center.
They are still operating on backup power generators. No one has even mentioned a projected time for the completion of the repairs.
I am currently able (or was) to access the ZetaBoards support site, where information relating directly to their situation was being posted last night,
I will now check to see if any new information has been posted.
Based on the information I have, I would have to say it could be several days before normal operations can resume.
Storm Raven
This is an enormous operation housing servers for companies like AT&T, Global Crossings, and Level 3 communications. Earlier, communications indicate high levels of damage throughout the data center.
They are still operating on backup power generators. No one has even mentioned a projected time for the completion of the repairs.
I am currently able (or was) to access the ZetaBoards support site, where information relating directly to their situation was being posted last night,
I will now check to see if any new information has been posted.
QUOTE
June 4 – 3:45pm CDT
Data Center Operations response update: We're processing work required to bring servers online right now, any extraneous scheduled work, upgrades, reloads unrelated to outage, etc. are being postponed until we're caught up with outages.
We presently have hundreds of tickets, dating back to the afternoon of June 2 (only in H1), and we're working on them from oldest to newest. In our other data centers, we have been able to respond to all tickets normally.
Given the level of complexity in some of the tickets we are working, we can't guarantee that H1 ops will be completely caught up on responding to H1's tickets by tonight. We have more technicians inbound from Dallas to help, and we're rotating volunteers in and out to keep people from being exhausted to the point that they can't come in for their normal shifts. We anticipate that the overnight shift will continue to speed the rate at which we are catching up, as the normal work load is lighter ... Currently, we're receiving the normal work load on top of resolving the back log.
We just received over 200 power supplies and various necessary hardware components so we can continue replacing those that have failed.
Data Center Operations response update: We're processing work required to bring servers online right now, any extraneous scheduled work, upgrades, reloads unrelated to outage, etc. are being postponed until we're caught up with outages.
We presently have hundreds of tickets, dating back to the afternoon of June 2 (only in H1), and we're working on them from oldest to newest. In our other data centers, we have been able to respond to all tickets normally.
Given the level of complexity in some of the tickets we are working, we can't guarantee that H1 ops will be completely caught up on responding to H1's tickets by tonight. We have more technicians inbound from Dallas to help, and we're rotating volunteers in and out to keep people from being exhausted to the point that they can't come in for their normal shifts. We anticipate that the overnight shift will continue to speed the rate at which we are catching up, as the normal work load is lighter ... Currently, we're receiving the normal work load on top of resolving the back log.
We just received over 200 power supplies and various necessary hardware components so we can continue replacing those that have failed.
Based on the information I have, I would have to say it could be several days before normal operations can resume.
Storm Raven
These are the last posts of any significance relating to the situation with the Zeta boards and the InVision boards. You will note that even the latest post, the second one is two days old.
There is nothing more of any relevance to report from the ZetaBoard support site. There may be other information floating around regarding the InVision boards, on the InVision boards forums.
I think it is important to note that both the InVision and ZetaBoard services are hosted by the much larger web host described in my earlier posts. It's just my opinion, but I think I will take my cues from the data center that hosts them.
In any event this information may help to explain why the sites have been going up and down, or on and off, depending on how you want to look at it.
There are many Oblivion sites that depend on the InVision and Zeta boards services.
I hope you will all understand that I'm not acting as a representative. I am simply trying to report the events as accurately as possible.
I deeply apologize for posting three times in a row, but that's just how it worked out, I hope you will understand that I am only trying to help and do not mean to offend anyone.
I sincerely hope that this information will help those that it concerns. I would appreciate any feedback you may have to offer.
Storm Raven
There is nothing more of any relevance to report from the ZetaBoard support site. There may be other information floating around regarding the InVision boards, on the InVision boards forums.
I think it is important to note that both the InVision and ZetaBoard services are hosted by the much larger web host described in my earlier posts. It's just my opinion, but I think I will take my cues from the data center that hosts them.
In any event this information may help to explain why the sites have been going up and down, or on and off, depending on how you want to look at it.
QUOTE
May 31 2008, 08:06 PM Post #1
An issue at one of the datacenter buildings has knocked the domain name system for InvisionFree and ZetaBoards offline.
Since your ISP remembers domain name information for a few hours at least, this outage will not immediately affect all users.
Please note that even if you can not reach your board, no data has been lost and the server itself is fine.
We are working to bring up a backup domain name system for InvisionFree and ZetaBoards as soon as possible.
An issue at one of the datacenter buildings has knocked the domain name system for InvisionFree and ZetaBoards offline.
Since your ISP remembers domain name information for a few hours at least, this outage will not immediately affect all users.
Please note that even if you can not reach your board, no data has been lost and the server itself is fine.
We are working to bring up a backup domain name system for InvisionFree and ZetaBoards as soon as possible.
QUOTE
Jun 2 2008, 01:58 PM Post #5
(Re-posted from the IF board.)
We're still working to restore normal service to all InvisionFree and ZetaBoards communities. Many users will have no issue accessing their boards as of this time, however were aware that that isn't the case for everyone.
Just to provide a bit more information on what's occurring. The datacenters where the InvisionFree servers are located at had an issue that knocked out electricity to an entire building of servers. While InvisionFree and ZetaBoards had no servers in that particular building, the DNS servers that service them were located there.
DNS servers are computers that route internet traffic. They're what allows you to type in and url like http://invisionfree.com and end up at our site. Without them you would need to remember long IP addresses to visit websites.
This means if those servers aren't operational, then it can become an issue to try to reach a site by typing in its URL. In some cases the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that you use will cache, or store information that will still allow you to reach a site even if the DNS servers aren't operational.
Currently the datacenter is trying to restore normal operation to all of its DNS servers, however it hasn't completely reached that point yet. We're working on our end to do what we can to restore normal access for everyone as soon as possible.
The DNS servers that were affected by the electrical outage have been restored. At this time all boards should be functioning normally. If you or your members are still experiencing an issue it's a result of the DNS information being cached by your ISP. Unfortunately the only solution is to wait for them to update the information.
Thanks for your patience during this time.
(Re-posted from the IF board.)
We're still working to restore normal service to all InvisionFree and ZetaBoards communities. Many users will have no issue accessing their boards as of this time, however were aware that that isn't the case for everyone.
Just to provide a bit more information on what's occurring. The datacenters where the InvisionFree servers are located at had an issue that knocked out electricity to an entire building of servers. While InvisionFree and ZetaBoards had no servers in that particular building, the DNS servers that service them were located there.
DNS servers are computers that route internet traffic. They're what allows you to type in and url like http://invisionfree.com and end up at our site. Without them you would need to remember long IP addresses to visit websites.
This means if those servers aren't operational, then it can become an issue to try to reach a site by typing in its URL. In some cases the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that you use will cache, or store information that will still allow you to reach a site even if the DNS servers aren't operational.
Currently the datacenter is trying to restore normal operation to all of its DNS servers, however it hasn't completely reached that point yet. We're working on our end to do what we can to restore normal access for everyone as soon as possible.
The DNS servers that were affected by the electrical outage have been restored. At this time all boards should be functioning normally. If you or your members are still experiencing an issue it's a result of the DNS information being cached by your ISP. Unfortunately the only solution is to wait for them to update the information.
Thanks for your patience during this time.
There are many Oblivion sites that depend on the InVision and Zeta boards services.
I hope you will all understand that I'm not acting as a representative. I am simply trying to report the events as accurately as possible.
I deeply apologize for posting three times in a row, but that's just how it worked out, I hope you will understand that I am only trying to help and do not mean to offend anyone.
I sincerely hope that this information will help those that it concerns. I would appreciate any feedback you may have to offer.
Storm Raven
Thanks for all the info and work, Storm! I certainly hope everthing gets resolved soon.
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