Network Issue Announcement

[Andy R]

I just wanted to post an update about reports of super slow page loads at our site. I was able to speak with some members and get some trace route info that helped identify the problem. The server admins looked into the results and they found an issue between our servers and some members. The server admins then contacted the upstream providers and they responded saying "These issues are occurring because the connection between our networks is full."

So here is a brief overview of what is happening. The network the servers use a system that sends the information back and forth over the shortest path in order to try to speed things up. Like taking the shortest road to work. The problem is sometimes there is the equivalent of an online traffic jam and even though the packets are trying to take the shortest path they cannot get through. So they sit there waiting and the pages load really slow.

I am looking at options to change to a different network that uses route optimization to find the fastest path (not always the shortest) to speed things up. This is more like watching the news and finding out where traffic is really bad and picking a new route to work. It might be longer but there is less traffic and you get their faster.

In the short term there is nothing I can do. I apologize for the issues that this backbone provider is causing. Please rest assured I am looking at solutions and hopefully we can get upgraded to a higher quality network as soon as possible.

If you would like to contact us and let us know you are having problems please use the contact us link at the bottom of the page. We can then run some tests so we have more information to understand where the bottlenecks are occurring.

Thanks for you patience,

Andy R