Server problems... - Page 2

reuben · 4 Sep 2002, 02:06 PM

my error message: (after logging in)

"'Could not determine server"

i've NEVER seen that before, in the 5.5 years i have been using pine.

rakhesh · 4 Sep 2002, 02:20 PM

Hi,

Trying http://www.fastmail.fm/ gives me the following error:

Quote:

The following error was encountered:

Connection Failed
The system returned:

(111) Connection refused
The remote host or network may be down. Please try the request again.

However, pinging www.fastmail.fm seems fine.

Quote:

C:\>ping www.fastmail.fm

Pinging www.fastmail.fm [209.61.183.86] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 209.61.183.86: bytes=32 time=511ms TTL=241
Reply from 209.61.183.86: bytes=32 time=570ms TTL=241
Reply from 209.61.183.86: bytes=32 time=481ms TTL=241
Reply from 209.61.183.86: bytes=32 time=561ms TTL=241

Ping statistics for 209.61.183.86:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 481ms, Maximum = 570ms, Average = 530ms

C:\>

Next, I tried http://server2.fastmail.fm/. This gave me the following:

Quote:

Bad Gateway
The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server.
accel: connect to 209.61.183.86:8080 failed while processing http://server1.fastmail.fm:8080/mail/login/

server2.fastmail.fm, however, pings fine:

Quote:

C:\>ping server2.fastmail.fm

Pinging server2.fastmail.fm [209.61.187.101] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 209.61.187.101: bytes=32 time=471ms TTL=241
Reply from 209.61.187.101: bytes=32 time=631ms TTL=241
Reply from 209.61.187.101: bytes=32 time=451ms TTL=241
Reply from 209.61.187.101: bytes=32 time=450ms TTL=241

Ping statistics for 209.61.187.101:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 450ms, Maximum = 631ms, Average = 500ms

What is this supposed to mean?

- Rakhesh

SanjaySheth · 4 Sep 2002, 02:20 PM

They're all pretty much the same error. Basically, the front-end server has been taken off-line (i.e. disconnected) while Rob works on fixing a faulty hard drive. Therefore, most other network connectivity (IMAP, POP, Web, etc.) is down. DNS connectivity and the ability to ping the server may be up/down intermittently as Rob reboots the server and works on other things.

Be patient... I'm sure Rob will resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

SanjaySheth · 4 Sep 2002, 02:24 PM

It is my understanding that www.fastmail.fm is the proxying server that passes on most requests to the backend servers (server1, server2, server3, and server4). So without www working correctly, most services are also down.

rakhesh · 4 Sep 2002, 02:27 PM

okies

I was under the impression that things are back to normal, save for one hard disk, and so probably users with accounts on that hard disk are the only ones affected. Hadn't realized the front-end server itself is down.

BTW, out of curiousty (and lack of understanding), could this front-end server be considered as some sort of a single point of failure? I mean, everything else seems to be working fine, but just because the front-end server is down, we can't access fastmail. Or have I got things all wrong?

Thanks,
Rakhesh

SIXPAK GQ · 4 Sep 2002, 02:39 PM

so how long b4 the misery ends...i thought fastmail was suppose to be #1.....

mikeshaver · 4 Sep 2002, 02:43 PM

This really sucks....I haven't been able to access the servers ALL DAY, and I'm trying to run an online business here guys...hope you aren't sleeping yet!

Mike Shaver

jafary · 4 Sep 2002, 02:44 PM

I won't pretend to understand the problems Fastmail is having but I'd like to know: what happens to email sent to xxx@fastmail.fm ? Is it all lost ?? Will it be retreivable ?

Fahim Jafary

alaken · 4 Sep 2002, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mikeshaver
This really sucks....I haven't been able to access the servers ALL DAY, and I'm trying to run an online business here guys...hope you aren't sleeping yet!

Mike Shaver

they aren't sleeping yet because:

1) They are dedicated and are fixing the problems, and

2) They are in Australia, where it is daytime.

alaken · 4 Sep 2002, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rakhesh

...could this front-end server be considered as some sort of a single point of failure? I mean, everything else seems to be working fine, but just because the front-end server is down, we can't access fastmail. Or have I got things all wrong?
[/b]

I'm wondering about this as well. "www.fastmail.fm" is used as the web server and as the IMAP and SMTP server entries in our email client programs, so if that server's hosed, we're screwed all around, even if all it does if forward requests to other servers (I admit I am ignorant of the architecture.) Are there alternate hostnames for the IMAP server we could use in a situation like this, or am I all wet?

zany · 4 Sep 2002, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Also, I'm still quite concerned about messages being lost because we have no way to know for sure at the moment.

I doubt that any messages will be lost. Email delivery is fairly robust that way. When the sender attempts to deliver mail to the fastmail servers, it will not be able to connect, and will typically reschedule mail for resending at a later time.

kalyan · 4 Sep 2002, 03:06 PM

Fastmail still down at 11.34AM IST. Hope FM team has some miracles up their sleeves

bbrener · 4 Sep 2002, 03:09 PM

I thought there was a backup in Europe? How can one hard drive take down an entire email system? I agree ... this will set FastMail back a long time.

Brian

aha · 4 Sep 2002, 03:14 PM

It has been mentioned that FastMail would be backing up the incoming mails at their Europe server. So there is nothing to fret about. It's just a matter of time before everything is back to normal.

rei · 4 Sep 2002, 03:15 PM

fastmail.fm wasn't working for most of the day. server2 was working for a while as a workaround suggested here, coming home, it no longer works. :/

4 Sep 2002, 02:20 PM	#18
SanjaySheth Master of the @ Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,079	They're all pretty much the same error. Basically, the front-end server has been taken off-line (i.e. disconnected) while Rob works on fixing a faulty hard drive. Therefore, most other network connectivity (IMAP, POP, Web, etc.) is down. DNS connectivity and the ability to ping the server may be up/down intermittently as Rob reboots the server and works on other things. Be patient... I'm sure Rob will resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Last edited by SanjaySheth : 4 Sep 2002 at 02:22 PM.

4 Sep 2002, 02:44 PM	#23
jafary Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 9	Email - Is it Lost ? I won't pretend to understand the problems Fastmail is having but I'd like to know: what happens to email sent to xxx@fastmail.fm ? Is it all lost ?? Will it be retreivable ? Fahim Jafary

4 Sep 2002, 02:06 PM	#16
reuben Essential Contributor Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 240	my error message: (after logging in) "'Could not determine server" i've NEVER seen that before, in the 5.5 years i have been using pine.

4 Sep 2002, 02:24 PM	#19
SanjaySheth Master of the @ Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,079	It is my understanding that www.fastmail.fm is the proxying server that passes on most requests to the backend servers (server1, server2, server3, and server4). So without www working correctly, most services are also down.

4 Sep 2002, 02:27 PM	#20
rakhesh Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Muscat, Oman Posts: 551	okies I was under the impression that things are back to normal, save for one hard disk, and so probably users with accounts on that hard disk are the only ones affected. Hadn't realized the front-end server itself is down. BTW, out of curiousty (and lack of understanding), could this front-end server be considered as some sort of a single point of failure? I mean, everything else seems to be working fine, but just because the front-end server is down, we can't access fastmail. Or have I got things all wrong? Thanks, Rakhesh

4 Sep 2002, 02:39 PM	#21
SIXPAK GQ Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 142	so how long b4 the misery ends...i thought fastmail was suppose to be #1.....

4 Sep 2002, 02:43 PM	#22
mikeshaver Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 17	This really sucks....I haven't been able to access the servers ALL DAY, and I'm trying to run an online business here guys...hope you aren't sleeping yet! Mike Shaver

4 Sep 2002, 03:06 PM	#27
kalyan Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Hyderabad, India Posts: 13	Fastmail still down at 11.34AM IST. Hope FM team has some miracles up their sleeves

4 Sep 2002, 03:09 PM	#28
bbrener Essential Contributor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 467	I thought there was a backup in Europe? How can one hard drive take down an entire email system? I agree ... this will set FastMail back a long time. Brian

4 Sep 2002, 03:14 PM	#29
aha Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: India Posts: 173	It has been mentioned that FastMail would be backing up the incoming mails at their Europe server. So there is nothing to fret about. It's just a matter of time before everything is back to normal.

4 Sep 2002, 03:15 PM	#30
rei Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 45	fastmail.fm wasn't working for most of the day. server2 was working for a while as a workaround suggested here, coming home, it no longer works. :/