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  1. #1

    Freak weeks. How do you deal with them.

    <warning>This is probably more of a rant than anything else.</warning>

    For those of you who have been in business for quite some time, how do you stay calm, rational and sane during what I call freak weeks (or in my case, a freak month). For over a year business has, for the most part been 'smooth sailing'...hard work yes, and a few hiccups here and there, but no major problems. Then all of a sudden you find yourself going through a period where everything seems to go wrong. First, a cPanel bug all but cripples one of the servers, a bug which not even cPanel themselves are able to fix, days later when this is finally taken care of, the same server is then hacked (despite having a firewall configured and putting other security measures in place). You nevertheless get through those problems and everything seems to be returning to normal. Then comes the big daddy of all problems, the hard drive fails, it just simply stops spinning, but not to worry, I've been making daily backups right? Sure I have, so I'm safe. So I think, only to discover that the backup files on the secondary hard-drive seem to be corrupt. Leaving me with nothing but a 12 day old off-server backup.

    How do you keep a cool head throughout all of this and resist the urge to run screaming in the opposite direction and go looking for a 9-5 job like other normal adults?
    Last edited by VER-Mo; 07-07-2005 at 08:49 PM.
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
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    Sorry to hear about your issues that you had, they do happen to almost every host.

    I was wondering what plans you had in place to deal with these issues if they were to arrise?
    Gary Jones

    BlueFur.com - Canada Web Hosting

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    As they say... when it rains... it pours... sorry to hear about your recent troubles.

    Maybe try helping out here on WHT more than usual. I feel it builds 'positive karma' against the evil ServerError Gods.
    Jacob - WebOnce Technologies - 30 Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee - Over 5 Years Going Strong!
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  4. #4
    Originally posted by WebOnce
    As they say... when it rains... it pours... sorry to hear about your recent troubles.

    Maybe try helping out here on WHT more than usual. I feel it builds 'positive karma' against the evil ServerError Gods.
    Lol, thanks. At least that made me smile .
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  5. #5
    Originally posted by MH-Gary
    Sorry to hear about your issues that you had, they do happen to almost every host.

    I was wondering what plans you had in place to deal with these issues if they were to arrise?
    Like all serious webhosts we have contigency plans in place, and of course, they vary according to the situation. Putting them in place worked out decently with the first couple of incidents that occured recently. However the hard drive issue threw us a curve ball, as the "backup plan" (no pun intended) didnt quite fall into place.
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    I know that this is sort of against "usual policy" with a web host (as in must stay going 24/7 with answers etc), but if you have other staff give this a shot. If they're on, ask them to take over for an hour and a half or so.

    Here's what you do, or at least what I did (thanks to a friend for the advice).

    Go on a walk. It doesn't matter to where, but just go for a walk outside. Look at the scenery, notice how nice it looks compared to a ticket window. Then in an hour and a half, come back and take a deep breath and handle the problems.

    You'll find out that the serene walk is a good alternative to stressing out on other problems. It really does usually help! Now if the community outside is hectic, this may not be good of course, but usually it is calm and will be good for you

    Hope this helps.
    Automated Tendencies - Brand Management Agency from Baltimore, Maryland.
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  7. #7
    Greetings:

    During those freak time periods -- hair pulling, gut wrenching, just want to vomit and pass out -- my saviour is remember that my Redeemer Lives (Job 19:25 and many more). The same God who saved me on May 8, 1990 still lives. He is still in control; and nothing freaks Him out.

    God Bless.

    --- Peter M. Abraham
    Last edited by pmabraham; 07-07-2005 at 10:22 PM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    Lansing, MI, USA
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    Originally posted by Moni-Q
    Lol, thanks. At least that made me smile .
    Yay! five more ponts of AntiCrash karma and one to SmartClientsWhoUpdateTheirphpBBInstalls!

    I have it on good authority that you can cash in your karma points for frequent flier miles... but it seems like a bad idea, as then you would be out of karma and something could happen while on the plane!!!

    Cheer up. If you have done the best you can to the best of your abilities, then your conscience should be clear. You may have some upset clients, but once you explain it, I have found in nine out of ten cases, they're still rotten but then you can a least laugh at them. Kidding again, most will be happy to have you as a host provided you keep constant communications with them so they can relay to their customers what is happening.

    I don't trust local backups for the most part anyway. They are merely nice to have 'if' they work. We do daily remote backups and random spot-checks for this reason, and also backup the DB data through a different system as well. Works nicely so far

    edit: glaring spelling issue i had to squash.
    Last edited by WO-Jacob; 07-07-2005 at 10:46 PM.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Like Refresh said, go for a nice walk. Or if you have a bike, use that gets your heart pumping.

    Then come back and get to work. Mind is refreshed, and make sure you are working with someone else. It helps a lot, just drawing on experience before Provincial exams and major test.

  10. #10
    I agree with the "go for a walk" philosophy. Sometimes there are things that can get a bit overwhelming, and going for a nice long walk is the only way to take a necessary break.

    Best of luck to you!
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
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    Go for a brisk jog or some aerobic exercises, believe me it does wonders.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    You could also try to think more positive, I mean there is a positive side in the backup failure situation, you did have offsite backups that were only 12 days old (except for dynamic data for well-trafficked websites, that'd be good enough for most customers), meaning you were rather well-prepared. You mustn't ignore the good things or you'll be overwhelmed by the bad.

  13. #13
    Originally posted by RambOrc
    You could also try to think more positive, I mean there is a positive side in the backup failure situation, you did have offsite backups that were only 12 days old (except for dynamic data for well-trafficked websites, that'd be good enough for most customers), meaning you were rather well-prepared. You mustn't ignore the good things or you'll be overwhelmed by the bad.
    That is so true. In the middle of moping to myself I had to stop and think of how fortunate I was to have any backups at all. What if I was relying soley on the secondary hard drive?
    At that point I had to stop and say a prayer of gratitude that things did not go as badly as they could have gone.
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  14. #14
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    We go to massage with "happy ending" in this kind of situations

  15. #15
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    Just take a deep breath, realize that even in a 9-5 job, problems will happen to everyone. Then figure out the fastest way to get everything back to normal, and work towards it. I have found that if you are honest with your customers, a good customer will understand that things like that happen sometimes and will be understanding as long as you are up front with them.
    IQ Studio
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  16. #16
    Keeping out of the "Business Continuity Plan" arena (disaster recovery plan (because you already know about that by now))

    Wake up early one morning and then purposely drive in rush-hour traffic. You'll remember why you started your hosting company real fast.

    And....don't forget those compliments you save from customers. Review those too.
    Kenneth R Taylor
    Inet7 Internet Serivces
    Web & Application Hosting Services
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  17. #17
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    Aug 2004
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    >Freak weeks. How do you deal with them.

    I panic and freak out... but in the end this leads to the best results for me.

  18. #18
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    Seriously... you know that Hagakure quote from GhostDog movie ?:

    "Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige's wall there was this one: Matters of great concern should be treated lightly. Master Ittei wrote: Matters of small concern should be treated seriously."

    It means you need to be prepared so if something ****ed up happens you are prepared really well.

  19. #19
    Join Date
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    "Just keep swimming....."

  20. #20
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    Originally posted by Jimerson
    "Just keep swimming....."
    Yeah... thanks... i so needed that song stuck in my head again.
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  21. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
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    I would.

    A) Call server admins and transfer all negative angry energy to them.

    B) Go for a drive

    C) Repeat steps A and B until problem is solved =]

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    >Call server admins and transfer all negative angry energy to
    >them.

    Not a good idea. You should try to maintain a good relationship to anyone you are working with. If you piss of business partners or employees it will come back to you in the end.

  23. #23
    Join Date
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    In weeks like that I sometimes get to the point that whilst everything is fscking or whatever there is 30 minutes where all I can do is watch a screen so as such is listen to a cd with new age music which just calms things down.

    Also you have lots of angrey clients but I always try to put things into the perspective of that no one is going to die if their website is offline and if you can't get things to work any faster then just relax and let things wash over you
    Russ Foster - Industry Curmudgeon
    Freelance Sysadmin for Hire - email vaserv@gmail.com

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Orlando FL USA
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    I built a pond.

    It has turtles, flowers, bees, fish, birds, a working windmill, and running waterfalls.

    I spend a lot of time sitting by the pond

    I visit the pond multiple times a day...and spend extra moments out there during "THOSE DAYS!". If it's one of THOSE MONTHS then I find myself YANKING out weeds and shifting rocks or redigging the whole thing just to get energy out

    The pond has helped me emotionally in more ways then I could ever express. It's not a joke ...it's truth. I strongly recommend anyone that's experiences high stress to do something like I have done with my pond. If you can't build a pond... (big or tiny...) try a garden box or anything that can be done 'close to work on a daily basis' so that it can work as an escape for a second here or a minute there.

    Even a fishtank by the desk can be helpful. You're bound to obtain a fish that reminds you of "that client" or another that seems to be extra relaxing during "those moments" lol. Crazy geeky people can make up quite a bit of personality into a fish when needed for sanity's sake

    Most of all..... remember -- Breath by Breath. Step by Step. Nothing more, nothing less.

    Deb
    FutureQuest.net
    Quality Services & Professional Support Since 1998
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  25. #25
    Thank you Deb. Just reading that I'm relaxed.

    One final note, when the disaster is over....do yourself a favor and count the losses. You'll be surprised at customer loyalty, only a few will leave you and then you will feel all the stress anger an anxiety was worth it. That in itself is very calming (although not as calming as trickling water).
    Kenneth R Taylor
    Inet7 Internet Serivces
    Web & Application Hosting Services
    http://www.inet7.com

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