Question for Pprune

[spekesoftly]

Hi Danny. Is it possible to configure the search facility to "search all forums" using registered membership number? This would be particularly useful in helping members keep track of their own posts. It also appears that "search" puts quite a load on the system. Would restricting it to members only be a fair compromise, and lighten the load?

Glad to see search is back again, and thank you for all your hard work.

[PPRuNe Towers]

An entirely reasonable and sensible suggestion. 67 forums though. Roughly 40 gigs of bare text on file at any one time and never just single user working on search.

As you suggest, it's all down to server loading despite us keeping lean and mean and running as much of the system as possible on unix.

PPRuNe Dispatch may be able to step in with some current stats - we monitor the loads and usage on a minute be minute basis and are always reviewing our efforts.

The real answer appears to lie in the direction of yet another server and backbone upgrade. Ultimately though a new basis for the software seems the way forward. Pretty front end to an entirely unix based database so that every page request is really no different to a search - it's all an SQL query.

Crashdive created a proof of concept model a couple of years ago but got dragged into the flying side of things at just the wrong time (for us anyway :D ) He's simply been too busy with work commitments to further develop the project.

Commercial efforts have meantime switched along similar lines and we will look very carefully at anything coming to the market.

Rob

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

Searching all the forums by membership number would put a heavy load on the server, but even if the machine was otherwise idle it would take so long that your browser would time-out and so you wouldn't see the results anyway.

We are always looking at ways of improving the service we provide and always have a couple of projects on the go...

Some stats : July traffic month was 180 Gb and we had well over ten million hits.

---Mik

[spekesoftly]

Thank you to Rob and Mik @ PPRuNe for your replies and explanations.

[ExSimGuy]

:eek: another two questions . . .

When you first stated PPRuNe, did you ever, even in your worst nightmares, envisage what a monster job it would develop into?

How the blazes do you manage to find time for minor details ion your lives like - earning a living?

[PPRuNe Dispatcher]

Good question, ExSimGuy. Since getting very involved in helping to run PPRuNe about 18 months ago I've really learnt how to plan my time. It's been much more effective than any "Time Management" course I've been on... :eek:

The satisfaction I get when I see good things happen because of PPRuNe, the many wonderful people I've got to know, and the opportunities it brings (such as getting to see at first hand the work being done on G-BOAF, flight deck rides, PPRuNe bashes etc.) make it all very worthwhile.

---Mik
PPRuNe Dispatcher

[PPRuNe Towers]

ESG - Like Mik says - it's a time management thing.

Three of us run the core site functions but we couldn't cope without our team of moderators who off load a lot of tasks for us.

We still manage to reply personally to all queries and I individually answer everyone who fills in our 10 second survey.

Over the years I've found that the load settles down to 2 hours admin to every hour spent on site. I'm the lucky one. I know that Danny works on an even worse ratio than that. And to think it all started as a bit of a joke :D :D

Rob

PS - I fly 900 hours a year and somehow I'm still married.