New Email V2.0 Migration - LOST EMAILS

This week all of the domains I have hosted with DiscountASP.net were migrated to the new V2.0 email system. At one time I had a red announcement in the Home/News stating that the migration was complete; this has now been removed. It looks to me like they have rolled back? But no one from tech support will respond to my Help Tickets. Typical for these guys, they usually don't respond.

Since that time, all domains have been sporatically losing incoming email messages; which I have tested since Friday afternoon (22 Sept 2006). In addition, webapps that use email, such as purchase confirmations, have not be received to the respective email accounts. My purchase confirmation app includes adding the data to SQL so I know that purchases and comment/requests (another form) have been made on the web site but the EMAIL WAS NEVER SENT or the EMAIL WAS NEVER DELIVERED. Yes, the app is using the new SMTP server settings for V2.0 migration; maybe it shouldn't now since it perhaps has been rolled back? Maybe it should still be the new V2.0 setting, don't know, can't tell you, because Tech Support doesn't respond.

Technical support has refused to comment or contact me regarding this issue. On Friday when I first reported the problem someone did ask for a test account, which I provided and saw it used on Friday. However, nothing, nada, no comment since then.

Everyone should be advised that you are currently losing email if it has been migrated to the new V2.0 platform.

In addtion, I think we as users should be given a tech support hotline to contact them directly as the "web form" is too passive when such a massive problem has occured. They just don't respond, don't provide an ALERT that problems are occuring, which I know for a fact from my SQL data that they are....I now duplicate the web appemails to a more reliable email accounts, like hotmail. I strongly recommend others do the same. More as the weekend progresses.

Post Edited (Zebray) : 9/26/2006 4:16:38 PM GMT

 

Open Ticket Number 447984 and 448529. I was forced to open a new ticket because ticket 447984 has "System Unavailable Right Now" when one trys to view the status or make any changes to it. Thus, ticket 448529 was openned. Two and a half hours after my second ticket was submitted to tech support I got a response that it was escalated, code for, I don't know. Four hours after that response, I got another response regarding not being able to accessticket 447984, "Regarding not be able to access this ticket, it is a bug. It has been submitted to the developers for a fix." No comment on any update to the email issue.

Regarding the email issues, it seems to as of now, been fixed. However, my ticket as of this writing remains "open". All email that I sent during my test was batch (Saturday) downloaded around 7PM tonight (PT). I think Friday emails may have been misplaced and not delivered but I was not rigerously testing the accounts at that time so I can not say for sure. Based on the spam that I got in my intentional spam account, I am guessing quite a few emails were missed.

I continue to worry that users are not notified of problems with the site in real time or even ever. You guys are very quick to post a new service or collaboration that you have in the "Home And News" area of the admin site, but updates to problems that are currently occuring do not ever appear. We deserve to know that the site is currently undergoing a serious problem and for example that I am not getting any emails right now. I have customers who submit an order on line, get the confirmation email and then call me because there is no response from my end, why did I not respond? Because I didn't get the email, I didn't know there was an email problem. How do you think that works for me and my business?

How does it effet other peoples businesses that use your service?

Furthermore, we should be given a service update hotline, that can be called, with a recording that says something like "All systems are A-OK" or "Right now some domains are experiencing <<insert problem here>>. We are working onfixing it and the <<insert problem here>> should be fixed by <<insert time here>>". You know, like other companies do. You guys just never report a problem exists or existed. I don't like to hear from my customers that there is a problem; I should here it from you.

Finally, we should also be given a PHONE NUMBER to contact tech support to find out what is going on with what domains.

 

Well I host but four domains with you guys and all four had problems beginning on or around Wednesday evening and ended on Saturday afternoon when a large dump of emails accumulated during that period were finally delivered to the POP account. I can assure you; problems in your system were larger than my four domains, unless by some miracle, my four and only my four were effected by the problem. I think you would agree that would be pretty amazing. It is a typical reponse, "I think what you are seeing is probably very isolated", isolated to what, four domains and only four domains?

Finally what about my request to have a hot line to call into when problems are occuring; such as with my domain? My previous hoting provided also hosted thousands of domains but they were more upfront when problems were occuring so thatI know about it BEFORE my customers know about it?

What also about a telephone number to contact tech support? What of these requests?

 

I know you don't currently offer phone support, what I am asking for is a phone hotline for system status as other domain hosting companies provide. This is a recorded non-answered line that allows people to see if you are reporting any system failures. This could also be done via email (although it would not have worked in this case since you had the email problem). What of this idea? It could also be done in the News part of the admin control panel? Something that says, we are currently experiencing a problem that should be fixed....etc.

 

We do post relevant outage information in Control Panel, when we are doing upgrades on a particular server, etc. You may have also seen them regarding email migration. The issue you experienced was not systemic, however, so a global announcement was not called for.

The Control Panel announcements are more reliable than a phone number for system status, since it can be administered from virtually anywhere, and configured to be applied to users on specific servers, or only for a certain period of time. I have worked for a couple of other hosts with telephone system status schemes and they were rarely effective or accurate. Messages wouldn't be changed in a timely manner and you would have outages being reported when there were none, or "all systems are currently active" when there was a problem. It's tough to administer consistently.

mjp
DiscountASP.NET
<SUB><SUP>http://DiscountASP.NET

 

I think it is suppose to be pop3.yourdomain.com

 

Just a note concerning the upgrades. . .

I really really really wish the DASP crew would give us advanced notice for this.

The power was out here when one of my servers was upgraded to v2.

Then for several days users in my forums kept posting persists component errors.

Bad timing I guess.

 

Even worse, if you have any web applications that send mail you need to update the smpt authentication or the web app that sends the mail will fail.

 

I guess your users have already complained about the persist object, as I said in my previous post, you need to change the code for that as well.


There is another thread on how to do this, I was just looking at it and the code is correct. Something like:


mailobj.SMTP="newsmtp"


mailobj.Password = "accountpassword"
Russ

 

The link to the forum that discusses changing the web app code to work with the new mail system:

http://community.discountasp.net/default.aspx?f=9&amp;m=13911

 

Yep, that was my post, just trying to help anyone else who ran into trouble with the change.

Since this is a Chat section please allow me to spill some distaste.
(I'm not flaming, just speakingout-loud from my court, as I see it.)

It's rather embarrassing to have a mail server using non-Microsoft technology, especially PHP.
From the trenches I absolutely hate PHP with a passion.

</ rant>

 

Regarding PHP I agree but what can you do?


Sorry about the cross post, didn't notice who was saying what, just that it was relevant to this thread. Best of luck with the V2 mail migration. It was a major week of headaches for me as I have four sites with this hosting provider.

 

I can't seem to access my emails via pop mail. I've changed to pop3.domainname.com in the incoming mail server field in Outlook but it still does not retrieve mail.

 

...I'm considering using the provided ASP.NET components to create mail for my users.

This has been really embarrassing for me since I've encouraged some of the Developers to start using ASP.NET instead of PHP and then they find out the mail server is PHP, then they let me have it big time.

I'd like toat some pointstate that my sites are 100% Microsoft. . .

Thanks for the chat bro.

 

We do send out email to the account contact before migrating an account...didn't you get one? you should get one shortly before and then immediately after migration.




mjp
DiscountASP.NET
<SUB><SUP>http://DiscountASP.NET

 

I think he said he had a power outage when the notification email was sent out, by the time his power came on the migration was complete and thus he had no way of getting the email you sent...bad timing I guess.

 

Don't you think it's wise to use the best available application for something though, even if it doesn't exactly sync up with the rest of what we offer?

We have talked about switching to a better forum program, for instance, but it isn't .net, so there is some hesitation to make the change. But to me, it seems unreasonable to use something inferior when there are other options.

We're in California, but when I look out in the parking lotI can count the American cars on the fingers of one hand (on one finger, truth be told). Loyalty shouldn't trump functionality or quality.

mjp
DiscountASP.NET
<SUB><SUP>http://DiscountASP.NET

 

Zebray,


GM may be the dominant auto maker worldwide, but in wealthier areas people gravitate toward European and Japanese cars. Is that perception, status, advertising or quality? It's probably a mix of all of those factors.


But if we're talking specifically about .net applications vs. php applications, there are areas where the php applications are superior, and areas where .net applications are superior. If it's technically possible for your site to use either, it would make sense to opt for the best in class. But I certainly understand why someone would want to use what they are more familiar with "under the hood."


If technology was gauged by quality alone rather than momentum or market forces, we would probably all have Apple computers and Betamax recorders (before we got TiVo, anyway), and Windows servers would have been relegated to the dustbin back in the mid 90's when their performance was inferior to their UNIX counterparts.


Before you stone me to death on that last comment, ask someone who worked with Windows servers back in the prehistoric days (10+ years ago), they'll know what I mean. That's no reflection on their quality now.


What rises to the top rarely has to do with quality as much as market forces, advertising and (as you pointed out) perception.


mjp
DiscountASP.NET
<SUB><SUP>http://DiscountASP.NET

 

My point exactly....so just because the parking lot is filled with imports from Japan doesn't mean the American cars are inferior and just because the computer market is dominated by Microsoft doesn't mean that others are inferior ... it is an opinion based on a single point of view (yours, mine, his, etc), and that point of view (perspective) is distorted by more things than are possible to mention.


I am not sure that the generalization that weathier people gravitate towards the import market is all that true, again, I think this is a coastal phenomenon and not something that is common in the middle of the country. Most high end taxies and limos are of the American variety (both in SF and NYC, Lincoln towncar is the #1 seller for this market). These days even an import isn't truely an import with Ford owning the highest end manufacturer of them all, Ferrari. I am not some fanatical American car whack job, I drive a Toyota but I think this is more because of where I live than "quality". Look at NASCAR, a hugely (massively) popular sport, they all win with American cars.

 

mjp
DiscountASP.NET

 

Sorry for a delayed post... I've been away from the forums for a little while and just read this thread. I agree with Zebray that some type of phone status would be very helpful. Take, for instance, the outtage that your new IDS software cause a short while back. I would've been nice to be able to call a number, find out what happened, get some sort of ETA for a fix, and be able to report that to the rest of the organization that was on my ass about the outtage. Can't quite get the update through the control panel when your entire site is down.


That's my $.02


Mike Reilly

 

Thanks for leaving this post up

Hey...

Just wanted to say that I appreciate you guys keeping posts like this up. These kinds of things may be a little bit painful sometimes but nothing runs perfectly, that's why everybody has tech support departments.

This thread gives me a realistic sense of what to expect on your platform. I appreciate the appearance that despite various frustrations folks on both sides kept a cool head and worked to resolve the issues.

We are working to build an ASP.net site for a customer who needs to use components that require a full trust environment. GoDaddy's answer was over $2,000/year in virtual dedicated server hosting costs, not very practical for a shoestring startup effort. DASP seems to be providing what we need for $120/year.

 

Mark,

We like keeping the old threads open too. Hiding problems doesn't benefit anyone.

But just to be clear, we no longer use the mail system that originally caused these issues. We moved to SmarterMail.