satchmo

I hope Surpass moderator will not take this posting down just because it puts them in a negative light, but it's unfortunate.

I have had good experience with their support service, but the shared server is extremely unreliable. To prove my point, here is my support ticket. The server goes down every other day ever since I signed up for the service. They always fix the problem, but it inevitably returns the following day.

-----

User Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 10:47 AM I am noticing that it's been taking longer and longer for the page of my site to load. It's a very simple preliminary page so far, and I fear that when the whole site is up, it might take too long for people to wait for the server to load up the page.

I just tried it this morning, and it took 30 seconds or more to load. Is this expected? Alex H. Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 11:22 AM User,

There was a DoS attack on the server earlier this morning. We are trying to get this issue resolved very quickly. As of now, however, I can access this page without issue. Could you run this diagnostic:

In Windows:
Go to Start->Run...
Type 'cmd' press enter.
Type 'tracert yourdomain.com' press enter.

On Macintosh, do this:

Go to Finder->Applications->Utilities->Terminal
Type 'traceroute yourdomain.com' press enter.

Paste the output in your reply.

Regards,
Alex User Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 12:24 PM Thank you for the prompt reply.

I am still getting "Server Timed Out" error messages, and it's taking more than 90 seconds to load the page.

Here is my tracert output:
-----

Tracing route to gamingparents.org [66.7.194.211]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 36 ms 35 ms 34 ms L100.DSL-03.LSANCA.verizon-gni.net [71.107.64.1]

2 33 ms 34 ms 34 ms P3-1.LCR-01.LSANCA.verizon-gni.net [130.81.34.220]

3 37 ms 36 ms 92 ms so-7-1-0-0.BB-RTR1.LAX01.verizon-gni.net [130.81.17.145]

4 51 ms 49 ms 51 ms POS2-0.GW7.LAX9.ALTER.NET [152.63.113.9]

5 54 ms 52 ms 53 ms 0.so-0-1-0.XL1.LAX9.ALTER.NET [152.63.117.222]

6 54 ms 53 ms 52 ms 0.so-5-0-0.XL1.LAX7.ALTER.NET [152.63.116.249]

7 52 ms 52 ms 56 ms 0.so-6-0-0.BR1.LAX7.ALTER.NET [152.63.112.41]

8 53 ms 53 ms 52 ms so-2-0-0.gar1.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [209.0.227.37]

9 52 ms 52 ms 53 ms ae-2-54.bbr2.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [4.68.102.97]

10 119 ms 121 ms 121 ms so-1-0-0.mp2.Orlando1.Level3.net [4.68.144.6]

11 122 ms 120 ms 118 ms ge-11-2.hsa2.Orlando1.Level3.net [209.247.9.250]

12 126 ms 123 ms 124 ms 4.79.118.38

13 124 ms 124 ms 124 ms 66-7-194-211.static.dimenoc.com [66.7.194.211]



Trace complete. Alex H. Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 01:03 PM User,

Your traceroute looks fine. I cannot see any issue in that way. Try clearing out your DNS cache by typing:

ipconfig /flushdns

in the Windows command prompt.

Regards,
Alex User Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 01:53 PM I flushed the DNS, and now the page loads very fast.

Thanks. User Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 02:00 PM I just tried loading the page again, and it took more than 45 seconds and a retry to load. I guess the issue has not resolved. Jayson G. Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 02:45 PM User,

I am able to resolve your site in under a second and the server is running optimally. I am not sure why you are having issues with connectivity, can you perform another traceroute if you are still experiencing latency? Everything is running fine on our end.

Regards,
Jayson User Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 07:57 PM When I tried again, it's hit or miss. Sometimes I get a "Server not found" message after waiting more than 20 seconds, sometimes the page loads immediately.

I am still at work right now (yeah, just like you, I am working the entire weekend), so I cannot run the tracert. When I get home later tonight, I will post the result.

Thanks for the response so far. You guys are great! Ryan G. Posted On: 27 Aug 2006 08:47 PM User,

We're not currently experiencing any problems, please go ahead and provide a traceroute if you have further problems.

Thanks,
Ryan User Posted On: 28 Aug 2006 02:24 AM Here is the second trace result:

-----

Tracing route to gamingparents.org [66.7.194.211]

over a maximum of 30 hops:


1 36 ms 36 ms 34 ms L100.DSL-03.LSANCA.verizon-gni.net [71.107.64.1]

2 33 ms 34 ms 34 ms P3-1.LCR-01.LSANCA.verizon-gni.net [130.81.34.220]

3 36 ms 36 ms 37 ms so-7-1-0-0.BB-RTR1.LAX01.verizon-gni.net [130.81.17.145]

4 50 ms 50 ms 52 ms POS2-0.GW7.LAX9.ALTER.NET [152.63.113.9]

5 52 ms 52 ms 52 ms 0.so-0-1-0.XL1.LAX9.ALTER.NET [152.63.117.222]

6 53 ms 52 ms 53 ms 0.so-5-0-0.XL1.LAX7.ALTER.NET [152.63.116.249]

7 54 ms 53 ms 55 ms 0.so-6-0-0.BR1.LAX7.ALTER.NET [152.63.112.41]

8 54 ms 53 ms 52 ms so-2-0-0.gar1.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [209.0.227.37]

9 54 ms 50 ms 49 ms ae-2-52.bbr2.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [4.68.102.33]

10 121 ms 119 ms 181 ms so-1-0-0.mp2.Orlando1.Level3.net [4.68.144.6]

11 119 ms 120 ms 118 ms ge-10-2.hsa2.Orlando1.Level3.net [209.247.9.238]

12 167 ms 176 ms 211 ms 4.79.118.38

13 123 ms 123 ms 123 ms 66-7-194-211.static.dimenoc.com [66.7.194.211]



Trace complete.
Jeff N. Posted On: 28 Aug 2006 03:38 AM User,

The first step in your traceroute is higher than we normally see (most of them are closer to 1), so it's possible there's a connectivity issue with your ISP that's adding to anything the server is experiencing. However, I have restarted Apache and the DNS service on this server, to see if this would improve the issue. Please check your site again and let us know if you're still encountering slow resolution.

Regards,
Jeff User Posted On: 28 Aug 2006 09:46 AM I just loaded the page this morning, and it loads in less than three seconds now.

Whatever you did (i.e. restarting Apach, etc) resolved the issue. The page was loading fine prior to the DoS attack, and it became sluggish after the DoS attack. However, resetting the server did the trick.

If another member is having the same problem, you can try doing the same thing for her.

Thank you very much. User Posted On: 28 Aug 2006 04:30 PM The page does not load at all now.

Here is the tracing:
-----



Tracing route to gamingparents.org [66.7.194.211]

over a maximum of 30 hops:



1 34 ms 33 ms 35 ms L100.DSL-03.LSANCA.verizon-gni.net [71.107.64.1]

2 35 ms 36 ms 36 ms P3-1.LCR-01.LSANCA.verizon-gni.net [130.81.34.220]

3 37 ms 37 ms 37 ms so-7-1-0-0.BB-RTR1.LAX01.verizon-gni.net [130.81.17.145]

4 50 ms 52 ms 53 ms POS2-0.GW7.LAX9.ALTER.NET [152.63.113.9]

5 54 ms 52 ms 53 ms 0.so-0-1-0.XL1.LAX9.ALTER.NET [152.63.117.222]

6 53 ms 52 ms 54 ms 0.so-5-0-0.XL1.LAX7.ALTER.NET [152.63.116.249]

7 54 ms 54 ms 53 ms 0.so-6-0-0.BR1.LAX7.ALTER.NET [152.63.112.41]

8 58 ms 56 ms 116 ms so-2-0-0.gar1.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [209.0.227.37]

9 54 ms 55 ms 70 ms ae-2-54.bbr2.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [4.68.102.97]

10 119 ms 119 ms 120 ms so-1-0-0.mp2.Orlando1.Level3.net [4.68.144.6]

11 123 ms 120 ms 121 ms ge-11-2.hsa2.Orlando1.Level3.net [209.247.9.250]

12 123 ms 123 ms 124 ms 4.79.118.38

13 126 ms 124 ms 124 ms 66-7-194-211.static.dimenoc.com [66.7.194.211]



Trace complete.
Eric F. Posted On: 28 Aug 2006 05:08 PM Hello,

Im forwarding this to our level 3 Tech Support.

Regards,
Eric Rahiman Posted On: 28 Aug 2006 08:32 PM Hello,

Please check your site now. It should work fine.

========
rootsh103 [~]# w
20:32:34 up 34 days, 22:54, 3 users, load average: 0.77, 0.55, 0.52
=======


Rahim
3rd Level Admin
Surpasshosting.com User Posted On: 28 Aug 2006 09:39 PM It does seem to work well now. I'll let you know if there is any more problems.

Thank you again. Leena Posted On: 28 Aug 2006 11:52 PM Hello,

Glad to know that your issue is fixed.
We are now closing this ticket.
You can reopen it in case of any further issues.
Have a great day
Leena
Unix Admin
SurpassHosting.com User Posted On: 30 Aug 2006 02:05 AM The site does not load again. Sudheesh Posted On: 30 Aug 2006 02:51 AM Hi,
Your site http://www.gamingparents.org/ is loading fine now.There was some issues in server.We corrected it.Please check it from your end.

rootsh103 [~]# w
02:49:24 up 1:12, 3 users, load average: 0.30, 0.48, 0.35
USER TTY FROM LOGIN IDLE JCPU PCPU WHAT
root pts/0 72.29.72.130 01:56 39:21 0.05s 0.05s -bash

Please feel free to contact in case of further issue

Sudheesh
Unix Admin
SurpassHosting.com User Posted On: 30 Aug 2006 11:45 AM It's loading well again. Thank you.

I certainly hope that the server will not fail me as often as in the past week. User Posted On: 31 Aug 2006 09:56 AM The site went down again.

I am seriously considering switching hosting service now. The server is down 50% of the times . . . perhaps more. I can't run a community on fickle service like this.

__________________
www.gamingparents.org

satchmo

Here is a resolution from support:

-----
We will transfer your account to another server, as your troubles with the current server have become too frustrating. We apologize for this inconvenience.

During the transfer process the website will not go down however it will be hosted from both the old and new server for a period of time. This will cause any database updates made to your website on the old server to be lost, and also email may need to be retrieved from the old server after the process is completed. If you are not running a public discussion forum or other dynamic application on your website, do not worry about database updates.

Before we continue, let us know if your account or accounts are using custom DNS settings, SSH access, dedicated IP addresses, or using SSL certificates so we can continue with the transfer process.

If you need any other assistance, just ask.
-----

I will keep you posted whether this problem is solved permanently. But the support staff is definitely praise-worthy.

__________________
www.gamingparents.org

Unleashed2k

You just got a bad apple, just ask to switch servers

__________________
“The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make some other bastard die for his.” -George Patton
VPS5

GamingHybrid

1. Surpass won't take down negative posts, they don't hide opinions. As proof, threads have to be approved before posted, this is to ensure there isn't spam.

2. This all happened within 4-3 days, how does this make the service "unreliable" generally?

3. If support could access the server, then it is not the server, but something with the account or your IP. I believe a DDOS attack had happen.

4. Try more sources, ask others to try to access the website. There coul dbe a IP connectin gissue with the server (aka it denying your IP for any reason).

I'm not trying ot sound harsh, just don't judge a 3-4 day possible issue to be a general aspect of the service.

My advice is, if it is still having issues, ask for a account transfer to a different server on the Surpass network. There are 100s to go to, just ask them to move you... as it may reduce these issues (which seem server side or user side, not network).

I've used their Shared Hosting for a long time, no big issues. And, I'd ask to move to another shared server if the problem continues (sorry for repeating that :P ).

__________________

GamingHybrid

BTW, Your current server seems to be....

SH102
(66.7.194.99) : Shared

__________________

satchmo

Thank you for the replies. I have requested an account transfer, and Surpass happily obliged.

Since the new account was established on a different server, there has been no problem whatsoever with the site. It is simply flawless now.

Once again, Surpass proves to be excellent!

__________________
www.gamingparents.org

GamingHybrid

Glad things seem to be good. Just remember, if there is ever an issue with the service technically, then it could be the server. Surpass will never have a problem moving your account to another server (since it seems the previous server is having troubles that is taking awhile to fix).

Glad to hear everything is going fine.

__________________

Partsking

^..and they always are, from my experience. Their business practice is way above par from what I've witnessed from other hosts. They're definitely the benchmark for all other hosts to be compared to, IMO.

As long as they continue to exist, I'll be a customer. No doubt.

__________________
Server: Mecca

Site: Lonaf.com
Co-winner 2004 Surpassies - Most Helpful

About me:
Ford Parts Manager, Moderator at Trekbbs.com, Owner of Lonaf.com. Love golf, Love Miller Lite and Love my wife and kids.