Pre Migration Confirmed Site Migration Tomorrow - (1/10/2018)

Discussion in 'Announcements, How do I, Feedback' started by Sully, Nov 13, 2017.

  1. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    #1 Sully, Nov 13, 2017
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2018
    Confirmed - Site Migration Tomorrow

    All,

    It's confirmed, the site migration will begin tomorrow morning between 8 and 9am EST!

    Here is how the process will go:
    1) Site will be turned off between 8 and 9am EST. If you hit www.motoringalliance.com, you will see a notice regarding the site is being migrated and to check back Thursday.
    2) Initialize moving the data from current server to seperate set of servers.
    3a) The database work will happen on these servers. This way if something does happen the production data will be clean etc.
    3b) In parallel, I will be upgrading the current server and prepping it for the new platform.
    6) Install the new platform and import the database.
    7) Do initial forum configuration updates etc.
    8) Reopen the site and continue to work through the updates and fixing any issues.

    The initial phase I'm estimating will take around 20 hours. Most of that time is the conversion and initial configuration. Once the forum is up and functional, I will re-open the forum. Then over the next few days you will see continued changes.

    As always - MCS02 and Steve continue to be a huge help. Really appreciate it!

    If anyone else wants to see the test site prior to the migration, let me know! :Thumbsup:

    Thanks!

    Josh




    November 15 - Update:
    It appears the date is set for the migration. Currently we are targeting Thursday November 30th. :fingerscrossed:

    _____________ Original Post Below_________

    Hello Members!

    I wanted to provide you a more detailed update regarding the site migration, status and timeline. However before we jump into that, I want to say THANK YOU to Steve and MCS02 for helping testing, provide feedback and suggestions.

    If you are a “show me pics†person, screen shots of the test site are at the end. :biggrin5:

    Why are we doing the migration?
    • The current site is running on code that went end of life (EOL) 10+ years ago.
    • Because the site is older, updating the site for feature, function or security is a game of chance.
    • Current platform was built for desktops only.
    • Over 50% of our viewers are using the mobile to visit the site. Per #3 a mobile site was created which added another platform/site to test and manage.
    • A lot of the “nice to have†features were either not available or required custom development to create, test and implement.
    • New platforms are faster, more responsive, have better user interfaces (UI), integrations and are easier to manage from a day to day basis.
    • New platforms have what is called “responsive†design that adjust based on the size of the screen. They natively will work on desktop, tablet, phones etc
    That’s great, we have been talking about the site migration for a few months now. What has been done so far?
    • The core data to test with was migrated 13 weeks ago. Needless to say there were a number of challenges.
    • A second migration happened where some of the bigger issues were fixed, primarily regarding Garages, Gallery and other media.
    • A few weeks ago Steve and MCS02 started testing and providing feedback and suggestions regarding the organization of the site and usability. This is a HUGE help.
    • We currently have two test sites. One is a sandbox to test ideas and make mistakes. Once they are “closer†to production they are moved to the “pre-production†site.
    • We continue to work at improving the site, making it more intuitive, testing things and trying to ensure the transition is as clean as possible.
    Will 100% of the site be migrated day 1?
    Initially that was the plan. However once the data is migrated all the other work is on me… After many long nights and discussions plus new issues with the current site we are starting to lean towards a phased migration. Here is the current thought process:

    Phase I:
    Targeting Monday November 20th or the week of November 29th (Most likely).
    • Forums, Gallery, Albums migrated (the majority of the site)
    • Updated UI will be implemented
    • Classifieds will be update
    • Site downtime = ~20 hours
    Phase II: Manual Migrations
    • Library (will be called either articles or Wiki) – 100% manual
    • Clubs (will be called Groups on new site) – The forums will migrate day 1. The rest is 100% manual.
    This is my first forum migration as an administrator/owner. I’ve talked to a number of other forum owners and was a member of four forums that migrated. It typically goes one of two ways:
    • Try and “mimic†the previous forum as close as possible.
    • Make changes and utilize the new platform strengths.
    We started out somewhere in middle. As my knowledge of the new platform grew we began testing some things and made some changes.. which are probably best described by pics:

    Home Page:
    - Similar to a “news†view. Shows updated articles, how to, News, recent threads
    Article1.png

    Forums Page:
    Organized by topics:
    • Community Discussion and Chat
    • Car Builds, Experiments and Racing
    • Technical Discussion, Q&A, Tuning & Performance
    Forum_1.png

    A little lower down:
    Forum_2.png

    Sub Forum - Technical Q&A Forum
    • Threads for general technical questions
    • Areas for model specific discussion
    SubForum_1.png

    Garage (Now called “Showcaseâ€)
    Lots more flexibility to show off your garage!
    Article2.png

    Ultimately, this is site is built for you. I encourage you to participate in helping build the future one. The more members we have test the better. For example when Steve and MCS02 started testing, they identified features I didn’t use (or knew existed) in the current site.

    If you have any interest at all, now is the time… depending on when you “jump in†you will be able to see how the sauce is made. :Thumbsup:

    Again, I want to thank Steve and MCS02 on their continued help. Their feedback and suggestions continue to shape the new site.

    Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or thoughts.

    Thanks,

    Josh
     
  2. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    Thanks Dave.O for the like.. :)
     
  3. Goldsmithy

    Goldsmithy MINI Alliance Ambassador
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    Thanks for all the hard work Sully. Now you can go back to having a life :) :)
     
  4. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    Lol - Think I have a few more weeks of this.. :)
     
  5. Steve

    Steve Administrator
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    "a few" :lol:
     
  6. Minidave

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    Well done, look forward to seeing the new site launch!
     
  7. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    I'm a glass half full... :cryin:
     
  8. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    Thanks - your welcome to test it. If you are interested would love to run some thoughts by you regarding the Classic Mini sections. :idea:
     
  9. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Sure, message me or call 913-948-3652
     
  10. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    Good deal - I'll give you a call today. Thanks! :cornut:
     
  11. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    Updated Site Pics!

    Thought you may want to see some of the updated Pics of the new site...

    Here is the main forum.. more pics a little later of the other areas!
     

    Attached Files:

  12. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

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    Looking forward to it. Hopefully the teething problems and adjustment period will be brief. :)
     
  13. MCS02

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    Its nice sight! It works a little different but is a huge steep up. Posting pictures is much easer.
     
  14. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

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    Out of curiosity, would I be able to load pictures directly from an iOS device, right from my photo roll? I do about 98% of my browsing in Safari on iOS these days, so that would be a nice feature.

    I understand if it’s not feasible.
     
  15. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    Absolutely - that is one of the key components I was looking to improve with the new site, mobile access and picture uploads. With the changes to photobucket and or broken links for older threads, it would be ideal if members upload to the site compared to linking to other sites.

    That said, with iOS 11 Apple released a brand new image format (HEIC) option which outside of Apple isn't widely supported. Apple did make some changes to convert that image to jpeg when uploading to social media etc. I'm working on testing and seeing how to handle that. The immediate work around is you can set your iPhone to shoot JPGs rather than HEIC. To do this go to Settings>Camera>Formats and then select Most Compatible.

    For me that is not ideal. I want all members to be able to easily upload and share information without having to modify how they interact with their devices. In this case compatibility issues aside, there are some advantages to HEIC from an overall storage and quality standpoint.. so I'm sure it will get resolved.
     
  16. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

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    Huzzah!

    I’ve not yet bothered with HEIC. Turned that off day one. ;)
     
  17. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Sully The pictures I uploaded came straight from my iPhone. Its running a bata of 11. I think you got it working.
     
  18. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    I have iOS 11.2.5 it does not have an option to change formats that I can find. But I was able to upload to the new sight straight from my phone, no resizing it was easy! you will like it Sully has worked his butt off
     
  19. Sully

    Sully Administrator
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    You to.. many late nights together on this bad boy.. and many more. But at least we will be moving forward with a platform from this decade. :wink:
     
  20. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    This will be interesting as well as terrifying for me, to be sure, for I am completely ignorant when it comes to technology. That's the terrifying part. :eek6: The interesting part will be when new formats are available for non-techie reading. :fingerscrossed:

    Still, it's a step in the right direction and I can see you have put a tremendous amount of work into this. :Thumbsup:

    Damn...I need a cigar! :lol:
     

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