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Technology Update May 27 - Learning About Unicorn

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Suplari, Inc.

Unicorn"'Do you know, I always thought unicorns were fabulous monsters, too? I never saw one alive before!' 'Well, now that we have seen each other,' said the unicorn, 'if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you.'"
-Lewis Carroll - Through the Looking Glass

I hope everyone had a great week.  I had a VERY VERY eventful week:

  • RainCamp in Dallas was PHENOMENAL.  I am so glad that I went and I was able to meet our members, grab beers, hang out and hide from a tornado in the ballroom of the DoubleTree Hotel.
  • For those of you who actually read the above, all of us at RainCamp Dallas got trapped in Tuesday's tornado that descended on the DoubleTree Hotel in Dallas.
  • The ActiveRain team got stuck in an elevator on Wednesday with Steve Shatsky on their way to Day 2 of RainCamp.
  • Due to the tornado in Dallas, it took us all a bit longer than expected to get home.  Seven American Airlines planes were damaged in the storm so everyone had to be rerouted.  But we are all safe and sound in tornado-free Seattle and Bob in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

As I have promised, here is our technology update for the week.  We had a few challenges this week, but we are making progress.

  • Site Speed: On Tuesday May 24, the site was running slow.  We reviewed and implemented changes to the database to improve the performance of the site.
  • Systems Monitoring: Simultaneously, we reviewed systems monitoring profiles to ensure problems are identified and resolved quickly. 
  • Sporadic Login Issues:  Some members around the country have had issues with accessing ActiveRain and logging into ActiveRain.  ActiveRain has eight servers at RackSpace.  Occasionally, one of the eight servers will run into an issue.  If a member's Internet browser connects with a server that is experiencing an issue, he or she may be not be able to login.  When we detect the problem, we can restart the servers to solve the issue.  We are trying to find the root cause of the problem.  We believe there may be an issue with the application or the application server called Unicorn.  We apologize for these issues, but we are working on solving the problem.
  • Transcoding: This week we saw a number of strange fonts show up on the community pages, but these fonts were not showing up on ActiveRain blogs.  The team was able to solve this problem, though we are keeping our eye on it.
  • Write A Blog Post: Thursday May 26, the "Write A Blog Post" link was not functioning.  When caught, we were able to quickly fix this issue.

We are making progress, especially in terms of quickly identifying issues and then responding to them as they come up.  As I mentioned before, we are focused on re-establishing the stability of the site.

Niki 

Posted by

Nikesh Parekh

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Comments (25)

June Tassillo
Owner/Broker RE/MAX Elite Realty - Franklin, NC
Let me help you with the next phase of your life!

Niki ~ Thanks for staying on top of major issues and letting people know what is happening.  I am so glad you guy's got out of Dallas safe and sound.  

May 26, 2011 11:22 PM
Chris Smith
Re/Max Chay Realty Inc., Brokerage - New Tecumseth, ON
South Simcoe, Caledon, King, Orangeville Real Esta

Thank you for noticing an addressing the issues.  Hopefully AR will become more reliable in the near future.

May 27, 2011 12:25 AM
Ginny Gorman
RI Real Estate Services ~ 401-529-7849~ RI Waterfront Real Estate - North Kingstown, RI
Homes for Sale in Southern RI and beyond

Niki, we appreciate the updates...it's Friday and things are running slower this morning too. 

May 27, 2011 12:36 AM
Jill Sackler
Charles Rutenberg Realty Inc. 516-575-7500 - Long Beach, NY
LI South Shore Real Estate - Broker Associate

I'm really thrilled that you're keeping us up-to-date. I couldn't log on late last night but this morning, everything seems to be fine.

May 27, 2011 12:48 AM
Barb Szabo, CRS
RE/MAX Above & Beyond - Cleveland, OH
E-pro Realtor, Cleveland Ohio Homes

I truly appreciate the updates. As long as we know what is going on I believe all will be well. Have a great weekend.

May 27, 2011 01:32 AM
Samantha Smith
214.422.0729 www.SamIAmHouses.com - Rowlett, TX
Sam I Am Houses, Simply Texas Real Estate

Thanks for staying on top of all these Techie issues & working hard to fix and prevent them! 

May 27, 2011 01:34 AM
Virginia Dean
Keller Williams Tulare County - Visalia, CA
Real Estate Done Your Way

I was trying to post a blog on Thursday so I experienced the problem.  I did however get an email reply to my help request.

Thanks for keeping us posted.

May 27, 2011 03:00 AM
Dick and Dixie Sells
Sells Real Estate, LLC - Trinity, FL
Realtors, Tampa Bay Florida Homes For Sale

Thank you for the update. I too was in a panic trying to post a blog post Thursday. I did send in a ticket to the tech desk and got  a reply that it was fixed. Good to know what is going on and I thank you for that.

May 27, 2011 03:13 AM
Stacey Smith
Keller Williams Realty - Aliso Viejo, CA
Your Orange County Beach Cities Realtor

We appreciate everyones hard work at Activerain in keeping the site up.. Glad to hear everyone had a great time in Dallas and make it home safely.

May 27, 2011 03:57 AM
Craig Rutman
Helping people in transition - Cary, NC
Raleigh, Cary, Apex area Realtor

Thank you and thanks to everyone who are working so diligently to keep AR up and running smoothly. These tech updates are very much appreciated, as are your efforts.

May 27, 2011 05:02 AM
Brian L. Sirota, Esq.
Bristar Realty (Realtor/Attorney) - Orange, CA
For Solutions: (714) 501-7660

Niki, we appreciate the level of transparency you promised us.  Thank you. 

Brian L. Sirota, Esq.

May 27, 2011 05:59 AM
Jim Paulson
Progressive Realty (Boise Idaho) www.Progressive-Realty.info - Boise, ID
Owner,Broker

 I had a few issues with the site being slow posting comments earlier today but it was intermitent.  Maybe you need to upgrade from "uni-corn" to a "dual-icorn"?

Upgrade from Unicorn to a Dualicorn

May 27, 2011 07:05 AM
Bill & Cyndi Daves
Hiawassee, Young Harris, Blairsville, Hayesville, Murphy and Beyond! - Hiawassee, GA
TeamDAVES - Your REALTORS In the GA/NC Mountains!

Niki, thank you for the update.  I had a couple of issues this week but nothing I can't live with.  The communication from you is welcomed and we're all glad you arrived safe and sound back in Seattle!

May 27, 2011 08:54 AM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Niki, loved the quote from Lewis Carroll & the communication, now on a side note what about also maybe addressing the response to Contact Requests, just my two cents...have a great long weekend

May 27, 2011 09:48 AM
Donna Foerster
HomeSmart Realty Group - Parker, CO
Metro Denver Real Estate Assistant

Hello Niki~ I have noticed a much quicker response time when errors come up and I'm thankful!  I had a small glitch this morning and by the time I mentioned it on Facebook, the problem was solved.  Great work!

May 27, 2011 10:32 AM
Ken Barker Realtor® GRI, E-Pro Certified
Dilbeck Real Estate - Burbank, CA

Nikesh - Thanks for updating us. It is great to know rather than be in the midst of the problem and not know if it is a recognized problem.
I was not affected by most of what you stated.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

May 27, 2011 03:34 PM
FN LN
Toronto, ON

Hi Niki - I am starting to notice that the site is getting slower when displaying posts and submitting comments, even at this time of night on a long American weekend.  Hopefully, the technical people can address this after enjoying the long weekend.

May 27, 2011 05:47 PM
Sharon Alters
Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty - 904-673-2308 - Fleming Island, FL
Realtor - Homes for Sale Fleming Island FL

Niki, the Write A Blog link was not working for me earlier tonight, fyi. It is great to be informed of changes you are making.

Sharon

May 28, 2011 07:38 PM
Virginia Hepp - Mesquite NV REALTOR
Desert Gold Realty - Mesquite NV Homes For Sale - Mesquite, NV
Mesquite NV Homes and Neighborhoods - Search MLS

Good update - thank you.

I have not had any problems with AR, logging in, blogging, etc, for a few weeks.  Thankfully, it is working very quickly from my computer - otherwise, I would have been in trouble when submitting my May31 Contest posts at the very, very last minute every day, 8:59 PM Pacific.  I am such a procrastinator!

May 29, 2011 12:00 PM
Barbara Hensley
RE/MAX Properties - Rockwall, TX
Homes for Sale in Rockwall County, Texas

Thanks for the update.  I was excited to hear you in Dallas go over these issues and am glad they are being addressed in a timely manner.  Thank you.  I love the unicorn!

May 30, 2011 03:39 AM