Phoenix - Chat Like It's 1999

Just curious if anyone knows (Tony) how AIM did live server updates (server version upgrades) without taking down the connected users? The only way I can think of, off the top of my head, was to redirect all new incoming connection to different hosts/services, then update the services that have no connections... seems this would be a slow process as some people NEVER disconnect from AIM...

BOOM!

tonyshowoff

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Yes, but only with clients, IIRC around 2.0 and higher. Essentially when a server either needed to go down the client was sent a service relocation notice with provided IP, and then in the background it simply signs on to the new provided server. When this happens the user state remains in the system so someone may not look like they've changed servers or reconnected, even when they have.

This didn't always work seamlessly though, sometimes the client may not notice but all his buddies would see a new sign on time, or all his buddies would sign off and then sign back on, for example if he got moved to a new feedbag (buddy server) that was slow to update the state or something.

There are various reasons for these, but overall the main idea was more to make sure the user *experienced* uninterrupted service rather than worrying about sign on times, which typically was never allowed to be more than 15 days due to various technical reasons though it's possible to go over that.

c0n

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interesting. so was the service relocation notice one of the food groups that are probably missing from 3rd party documentation? That would be good to know..

Between jobs, and before I was married, I built (coded) and managed a dating website (ha) that eventually had tens of thousands of users on it. It had the usual messaging systems and web-based live chat, much like facebook.. in fact exactly like facebook. I eventually sold it after I got married because it was... just weird to manage and I had other projects.

That "social network" wasn't as big as AOL, obviously, but it taught me a lot about software as a service. One thing I learned is that the more reliable the service, the more popular it became. If people can't trust it, they dont use it. This showed up in SEO as well, if your website goes down it's not seen as "trust worthy" by Google and gets a lower rank. It also reduces the amount of time spent on the website by your user base (which google tracks).

Anyway. I wish I could get access to all your "food groups"... I'm sure there is plenty to be learned. Tell Oath to hurry up lol

BOOM!

ohhihohello57

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You never fail to amaze me with your AOL insight, Tony. ;)

I really hope the foodgroup that does the service redirection is something that has already been documented on, especially since I assume the server upgrade in AIM Phoenix's server software is the one where iWarg implements the physically separate server infrastructure he teased on another forum he goes on. If so, then whatever does the service redirection would be really helpful when he deploys the future server software updates. =p

if (Nerd->Personality == (NERD_PERSON_FRONTFACING + NERD_PERSON_SMARTALEC)) { return; }

Posted on: 07-03 5:31 pm
tonyshowoff	[Quote] > interesting. so was the service relocation notice one of the food groups that are probably missing from 3rd party documentation? That would be good to know.. > I really hope the foodgroup that does the service redirection is something that has already been documented on Yes, it is, and I think Pidgin even handles it IIRC.

Posted on: 07-03 7:54 pm
ohhihohello57	[Quote] Nice! =D I now have a reservation with Pidgin's source code soon. =p if (Nerd->Personality == (NERD_PERSON_FRONTFACING + NERD_PERSON_SMARTALEC)) { return; }

Posted on: 07-04 6:15 am
Wildman Beta Tester	[Quote] I already knew about it, and will be using it in server 0.2.x.x to avoid down time from crashes. the oprtational design for the new server topology has been decided now it's just a matter of being recovered enough to begin coding it. Hououin - your friendly neighborhood AIM server operator

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