Planning for scheduled maintenance

[wige]

In the very near future, I will upgrade Apache and a few of the other applications on one of my servers. My question is how can I do this upgrade so that there will be minimal disruption for the search engine spiders, and so that visitors would be able to see an appropriate message about the redesign, instead of an error message from their browsers?

I know that I would need to set up an alternate server, and probably use DNS to redirect traffic to the new server, but can this be done "instantly" - change a setting when the maintenance starts, and flip it back on completion?

[crankydave]

DNS change should work fine. Put a copy of the site on a different server then flip the switch. It can take the web a bit to catch up but for the most part, it's about as instant as you can get. Then change the DNS back when you're done. Much the same way one might do an entire site rebuild.

Dave

[craigmn3]

I had to do this twice in a row a little bit ago.

using a quality hosting service, create a hosting account with a temporary url...and upload your updated sight to this url. Then when it's bullet proof and ready to go, use the DNS to change the name servers and the transition SHOULD be seemless


I just saw Dave's post...so I guess I am agreeing with Dave ;o)

[subsystems]

Since you will be "Upgrading Apache" it is clear to me that you have your own in-house server.
Assuming the webserver is only a webserver you could grab any old machine and make a temporary server with the same IP address. Setup the site(s) so that any traffic to the temp. server will get the Scheduled Maintenance page.

Maybe use a 307 Temporary Redirect to get to the Maintenance page.

I'd then shutdown the server neading upgrading and turn on the temp server. Visitors and spiders would then get a friendly message that the site is down for maintenance. Since it would be a 307 temporary redirect, the spiders would continue to look for the proper urls in the future.

The problem I see with involving the DNS and making changes is the update delay. Many visitors pre-update will get an error message and so will the spiders. The temp server and 307TR method avoids this.

[subsystems]

Sorry my post is not a detailed as I would normally have been. Kinda busy at the moment. I think you get the idea.

It does accomplish the "instant switch" you are looking for.

Since the "other applications" were not mentioned, my assumption is that you are not as concerned about continued functionality of those apps. during the upgrade.

If you don't have an old server laying around you could take a desktop pc or even a laptop and throw a spare drive in it that you can format to get the temp server running. Then when done just swap the drive back in the desktop or laptop and you are right back to where you were before.

[edhan]

Originally Posted by wige

In the very near future, I will upgrade Apache and a few of the other applications on one of my servers. My question is how can I do this upgrade so that there will be minimal disruption for the search engine spiders, and so that visitors would be able to see an appropriate message about the redesign, instead of an error message from their browsers?

I know that I would need to set up an alternate server, and probably use DNS to redirect traffic to the new server, but can this be done "instantly" - change a setting when the maintenance starts, and flip it back on completion?

If you have control over the nameservers then it should be with no disruption when you do the upgrading. For me, having a few servers, I simply point it to another server while upgrading and then repoint it back to the server again. Everything is transparent without any disruption.

[Terry Van Horne]

Depending on the legth of downtime SE's are not a problem unless you are down a prolonged period, I've seen literally a week pass and there were no problems. That may be affected by the trust the SE puts in your site.

I agree with crankydave you want to have both sites running at first as intenet domain records are cached on some servers longer than others. I generally try to give it at least two weeks. I also use a live/development sites setup so if there is a malfunction or problem you can roll back easily by just flipping a switch. That makes a rollout or update less stressful.

[Terry Van Horne]

Originally Posted by subsystems

Maybe use a 307 Temporary Redirect to get to the Maintenance page.

What is a 302 Temporary Redirect? Alan perkins is one of the smartest guys I've had the pleasure of speaking SEs with. Please consider that using 302 and 307 are likely two of the riskiest response codes used for highjacking sites. I would not suggest any use of either... especially if sleep is important to you

I will not list on sites that use 302 because that is a huge vulnerability I've never believed was entirely closed.