Techtoad started a few years back at the end of 2006. In the time that techtoad has been online, the server has been upgraded, changed, modified and moved. In 2006 techtoad started off on a Viglen P450 desktop computer, a 450Mhz Intel CPU, 64MB of SD 266Mhz SDRAM and a pathetic 20GB hard drive, It was just about able to cope running Windows XP Professional on an ADSL Broadband line via a USB modem. When I became more serious about Techtoad and bought the domain, Techtoad.co.uk, I decided to upgrade to a very slightly better server. I got hold of a Viglen C700, this had a 700Mhz Intel Celeron CPU, 128MB of 266Mhz SDRAM, a total storage space of 180GB and was running, a much more optimised configuration of Windows XP Professional SP2. I also got a better ISP with a higher internet speed and more bandwidth, as well as a brand new Netgear router. After 6 months of perfect running, I decided to convert my Windows server to a Linux server on an identical machine, this would give me a chance to learn more about Linux and provide a much more efficient server - this didnt go too well as I hardly knew what I was doing and was unable to configure a mail server properly - I went back to good old Windows XP Pro SP2. After doing alot more research about Linux, and with great help from my friend Dug, we converted it, again, back to Linux, but not just one machine, I had another identical machine, so we had one deal with Web and SQL, while the other dealt with Email and other various internal network facilities. Both servers were running Gentoo Linux and after alot of tweaking and testing, I finally had the servers I was looking for. That's when I realised that over all this time, my knowlege and imagination had also built up, I now have several websites demanding advanced server-side features which my current servers can only just handel. I noticed i was running out of space and thought - it's time to upgrade again.

So that is what I have done, I have gone and bought all the parts for a brand new server, a 2.6Ghz Dual Core AMD Athlon 64 CPU, 2GB of DDR 400Mhz RAM, 750GB of SATAII storage split over 2 drives and I will soon be ready to put it all together and install Arch Linux on it. This will become my new server and will hopefully be a huge improvement. Now that the servers are for my company, xcns.co.uk - I thought this upgrade was quite critical.

During the upgrade, I will be doing several tests and will be transporting all the original data (websites, email, files) from my old system, to the new system. This will be direct implimentation, there could be some down time, but I will try my best not to lose any data. Downtime will be scheduled around non-prime times, such as late at night. After the new server has been implimented, there may be small problems that I havent noticed, if you notice any, please let me know in any means possible, and I will work on it ASAP. I ask that you please co-operate with this upgrade. If you are unable to access a service that I provide, please try again later.

Wish me luck! Upgrading will begin this week. I would also like to thank my good friend Dug for all his support and help throughout this upgrade! Thanks man!

The techtoad mail server is back up and running. The problem occurred due to a bug in an anti-virus update. All systems are back online.

00:06 - Techtoad mail server has fallen over. The heat smacked it and it suffered a horrible, horrible death. Trying my best to get it back online, having difficulty. Due to build a new server soon, this one only needs to hold out for a few more weeks. You may not be able to access email services during this period, if you experience problems, please wait 10-15 minutes and try again.

It is my 16th birthday today, I had alot of fun in town with Charlotte and then went back home to see my sister who was unable to make it to my party last Saturday. Had a great time and really enjoyed myself.

I had my birthday party early as it was the best date for everyone else, I had great fun playing the Family Guy game with my friend Dug and my girlfriend Charlotte. My family came over to see me, but my sister was unable to join us as she was at a festival. We had alot of fun and I had a great time.