Last Lap before Upgrade Finish Line

Every Mod and Admin should read through this thoroughly and be prepared

To explain how serious we are about being prepared, the upgrade will not occur unless a majority of the Mods acknowledge the content here and append a comment to this issue

Goal

Let's start with the goal, once more.

The goal is that the site is going to be running the new software with the snapshot of the legacy database of the legacy site.

We've been running the new software with a snapshot of the legacy database since late February 2022.

In the beta site, we've traversed the problems and issues and have come very close to the mode of being almost ready for the last burst of work.

Last Burst of Work

Let's boil down what the process will look like:

Media Content that We need

1. We need a page that is in the B&C style that says this:

This is the old legacy B&C site. It's off-line. The Legacy Site is being upgraded.

In roughly 3-4 weeks the site will be back on-line. It will have all of your content restored. But the look and feel of the site will be slightly different. Nonetheless, it will be immediately recognized as B&C.

In the mean time, buy a box of plastic and crack open a pot of paint, etc...

2. We need a page that I need to place on the new site as the upgrade is progressing that reads as follows:

This is the new B&C site. But as you can see, it's off-line. It's off-line because the software running on the new site is processing your content from the legacy site to the new system.

You've been busy, for many years. You've made a lot of content. So, bear with us as we wait, with you, to have the process proceed.

In roughly 3-4 weeks the site will be back on-line. It will have all of your content restored. But the look and feel of the site will be slightly different. Nonetheless, it will be immediately recognized as B&C.

In the mean time, buy a box of plastic and crack open a pot of paint, etc...

Diversion

While the two static pages are up the next thing happens.

1. The DNS is changed so that the legacy URL points to the new Hardware. That effect takes time to propagate across the net. Some users will get the new IP address from DNS before others. Hence why we need two facades up. Eventually all DNS lookup of the legacy site will point to the new Hardware.

2. Once the DNS records we need changed have been propagated, then the system can begin the upgrade because the upgrade is done remotely through the web.

3. But while waiting for the DNS propagation to be mostly complete, the data transfer is already underway and the legacy data is installed on the new hardware awaiting conversion by the software.

The Upgrade Wait Game

At this point the software carries out the process per the Software.

After 4-5 days (perhaps a week), the conversion of the data and media from the legacy site (already copied as legacy schema on new hardware).

We're optimistic that this process will work because we've already been using the beta site that was established in the same way from a snapshot of legacy database from February 2022.

Light at End of Tunnel

At the end of this, the new software is running the newly converted database, but the site is still not on-line for the users.

This is where the Admins go in and apply all of the UX (Theme, etc..).

Then, once the UX has been updated, the Admins go in and re-assert the settings that bring the configuration inline with the settings reached in the beta version of the site.

After that, the moderators go in and do another pass through the site.

The test cases that were developed in the beta evaluation are attempted on the new site. The key is to put as many informed eyeballs on the new site to make sure we have not missed anything.

Just as in the beta site evaluation, we will wind down the evaluation of the new site and the Admins will declare the site open.

Re-opening the Site

When the site re-opens, things will be chaotic.

For most users the site will be strange. Behaviors once familiar will be new and different.

Users will depend on two things:

1. Their own level of patience. This sort of upgrade is not easy to perform and the software is not so easily re-configured to be exactly like it was on the legacy site. Frankly, do you really want it do be identical?
2. The patience of the Moderators to help users understand how to use the new site.

Advice:

Give the users an outlet to vent frustration. If the pressure of their disapproval is not given an outlet then the frustration will only metastasize into something far worse.

Treat every issue raised by the user base as a potential miss on the part of the Mods and Admins in identifying issues that we could have addressed in the execution of the upgrade.

1. Some things simply cannot go back to the way they were. Explain this with a list of alternatives.
2. Some things are fixable. By fixable, we can find ways to improve the way the software works. New software brings new capabilities and issues, but also potential for work-around that might be liked better. That is the expectation, that the software improvements were done for a reason by the vendor. Explain this with an emphasis on what the new software can do.
3. Every attempt was made to perform the upgrade to give the most we could to the users with the offering of the software by the vendor.

On the positive side, the new software and site gives us an opportunity to develop new kinds of media content -- Clubs and Blogs.

Side Effects

A list of side-effects that might adversely affect users.

Event Schedules

Are there ongoing building events that would be adversely impacted by being offline 2-4 weeks? Deadlines to post "done" with building X, Y, Z? Are the organizers of those events communicating about that? Things are still fluid on exact dates of down-time so part of the risk is that we don't know yet the dates so we don't know when (or if) those build-events are impacted.

More? List them here..

Good luck

We're almost there. A lot of work by a great many people have been involved to make this happen. The site is up for the benefit of the Warhammer 40K community and as you know it's very popular and useful.

Please consider making every effort to support the site. Post great content, keep building great models, share your ideas, stories and questions and debate everything about the game as you see fit.

But over all, respect what this is and help us make the site as good as it can be.

Thanks