Server Up Again

And after one long weekend, the OEDILF server is up again. It was very sweet of Australia to arrange to have the Labour Day long weekend just when I needed the time.

Things I have learned:

  • Just because a backup procedure works when you first test it, doesn't mean that it will keep working a year later as your database grows.
  • Some programmers think that the end of an incomplete export file is the only place to publish the fact that the export terminated early.
  • An untested backup is not a reliable backup.
  • Linux is like religion. They all look alike on the surface, but each schism has its own variation of the canon.
  • It's a bad idea to let a shell get between your password and the application that needs it -- when your password contains non-alphnumeric characters.
  • Simple installations with simple reconfigurations take vastly more time than you ever thought they could.
  • Programs that provide an automatic version upgrade don't always upgrade all the necessary parts of their schemata.

I'd say that life was slowing down again, but having just had an 8am to 9:30pm day at work, I think I'll reserve my judgment.