Greetings and Salutations -

I've been trying to weather these server issues with our host, MyHosting.com, as part of "settling in pains." However, they seem to be getting worse. We were down for a fair chunk of yesterday and then again today. I don't have a sense that the hosting company knows what is wrong or how to fix it.

So I've arranged with another hosting company to set up brand new servers for us. It's time for a move :).

We do have several advantages over the emergency move we made last fall. Last fall we had to move super-quickly because the old servers we had completely failed on us. The hard drive crashed and the systems melted down. So we were trying to repair data, dredge out information, and also at the same time move from very old systems to brand new systems. A lot of the issues we faced were because our ASP code was not compatible with the new versions of the operating system and I had to dig through the code manually fixing things.

In comparison, this move should be far smoother. We're at this point up and running fairly smoothly on the latest-and-greatest software. So when we move the data over, we simply move the exact same code and it runs on the new server. We don't have all those upgrade issues. Also, while the current server keeps having hiccups, all the data is there. So I can simply back up on one side, restore on the other, and it's fairly seamless.

Once the new hosts get the two servers ready for us, I'll start by moving my smaller personal sites, like my SuttonMass.org and so on. That will let me test that all the main features - the website, mail, forums, and so on, work smoothly. It's always good to test :). Then when I'm sure we're ready, I'll move the BellaOnline forums, and then the main site. I'll keep you apprised each step of the way so you know the status. I'm anticipating it'll be the end of next week before I'm ready to begin that process, but I'll let you know.

I apologize for the problems we've been having. MyHosting had very good reviews and I thought they'd be a good fit for us. Sometimes it's hard to tell who will work out well. We have them a good shot, it just didn't work, and now we'll move on. Hopefully this new host will be more stable and we'll be fine!

Let me know if you have any questions. If you ever need to reach me when BellaOnline is down, you can use my personal email at LShea@charter.net or PM me on Facebook - both are good ways to check in.

It's a shame this happened, but it's better to cut our losses and plow ahead, to a more stable, smooth platform. We should be there shortly!

Sincerely,

Lisa Shea, owner
BellaOnline.com

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