IsMyWebsite Free Hosting Development Blog

Work continues on virtually all nodes.

Node 1 - SmokyHosts
Still preparing to send a mass email regarding the transfer, and possible upgrade the ‘Hosting’ section to also display this (as a button to the ‘Old cPanel’). I’m hoping the button and email can be finished tonight, perhaps sent through the virtually unused SmokyHosts server.

Node 2 - IsMyHost.com
We’re giving away hosting for 2 more days on the top node, which you can just reply to get. We have just installed Installatron, so you can do some installing of your favourite scripts. (It’s like Fantastico.) Also upgraded all accounts to the top stage yesterday, since with the recent trouble I thought everyone deserved it.

Node 3 - IsMyWs.com
Not much to say. Still working well.

Node 4 - IsNumberOne.org
We will be switching to another hosting company here for sure. All accounts in queue for creation on this node are being moved to our new Node 9. All accounts already created will be transfered to the new server when we move. Due to the restrictions in place on this node, we cannot enable extra features of any kind, but it is possible to switch to a new node once all the old accounts are successfully created.

Node 5 - IsMyWe.com
Nothing’s changed… Still great, working node.

Node 6 - IsMyWb.com
We are running into the same trouble with PHP URL file access. Except now, Nixism wants me to send it to their technical department. It’s already been a whole month’s worth of hosting down the drain. Should I switch or continue pursuing this?

Node 7 - SuperbHost.us
Starting to feel a strain. I’ve also received word that Mike wants to get a VPS in place of his reseller with the domain ismyhost.net, which will be great. So given those two factors, all remaining accounts are being created on Node 9 for now.

Node 8 - IsMyWebs.com
Remember the company that originally hosted us on a VPS for a short period earlier and was also originally going to host IsMyHost.com. Well, now they’re back to hosting a reseller for us. Everybody welcome Crissic Solutions, run by Skylar.

Node 9 - IsMyWall.com
I’m reusing the domain name of our donation page simply because it’s already registered. I thought it fit the part fairly well, and it might attract more donations if it’s used for something. Anyways, this domain is going to host the remainder of accounts from IsNumberOne.org and SuperbHost.us.

Node 10 - IsMyHs.com
Just registered 7 new domains, this being the first one, with plans to build 7 new domains. I have found a small company to host this one, which is new to reseller hosting but confident in their ability. (The plan is to host a low number of accounts here to start.)

Node 11 - IsMyHt.com
Another domain seeking a server.

Node 12 - IsMySe.com
Node 13 - IsMySi.com
Node 14 - IsMySt.com
Node 15 - IsMyWi.com
Node 16 - IsMyWt.com
All seeking a reseller. I have a number of companies in mind, that I will be utilizing as we need them for future expansion. (Could be you who hosts them if you want to.)

So just a few hundred accounts left to build, and they are actively being created throughout the day.

Further work on virtually every node was completed. If all goes well, the next week will see capacity increase by 2000-2750 websites.

Node 1 - SmokyHosts
We are working on emailing clients their login information and instructions for securing their account data. Hopefully, all data will be moved in the near future. To ensure we are not filtered as spam, we are sending emails at a regulated pace.

Node 2 - IsMyHost.com
This node is now fully back online and backups will be taken regularily. The reset was due to a virtual hard drive error. The specific cause has been isolated and any future data will be safe. (Even if there is another problem, we will have backups a minimum of weekly.)

Node 3 - IsMyWs.com
Improved relations with TornadoGaming. They are pleased to have us host with them. All websites are still online and working with this node.

Node 4 - IsNumberOne.org
Evaluated alternative hosting companies and selected a better alternative which will increase the capacity here to the full 750 websites. More details will follow once our account with them is created and we are willing to transfer all accounts to the new service.

Node 5 - IsMyWe.com
We are still continuing with this node as before.

Node 6 - IsMyWb.com
URL file access has been publicly requested of Nixism, which I believe may work to get our request answered in a timely manner. If not, there are lots of other companies out there to help us. Other than this feature, the node appears to be working fine.

Node 7 - SuperbHost.us
Further account creation continued, although there are still a few. Thanks for your patience.

Node 8 - IsMyWebs.com
I have selected a good company which I will be looking into using for our hosting here in the future. However, for now we are short the funds to complete the purchase.

Node 9 - IsMyWall.com
The right hosting company has been located and we have purchased with them. Once our account is set up, we can begin account creation.

Node 10 - Your Name Here
This is a great opportunity to run a free host without having to worry about finding new clients, developing a main website, establishing a working support sytem, or finding a control panel to manage accounts - at the same cost. Just choose a hosting company we’re not using and order a good quality reseller package able to fit over 100 accounts from them.

Strong-willed people who want to see this happen should email me.

I brought the main website back online today, although a lot of client websites still aren’t online. I’m looking forward to the day when all websites will be online. Here’s the current status of all nodes:

Node 1 - SmokyHosts
This is the present location of most of previous websites. Due to SmokyHost’s inability to change the domain name we are now stuck abandoning this node and moving all accounts over to the other nodes. It is still being debated whether we should drop SmokyHosts altogether or request that the reseller be reset to use a different domain.

Node 2 - IsMyHost.com
Hosted by NetXServers, this is our most prestigious node, with the most freedom for those hosted here. Although we had difficulty with nameservers, everything was online up until yesterday. (I’m still getting the full story, but I’m sure Mike would have alerted all of you and backed up data if he could.) Haloclan.us domains are hosted here.

Node 3 - IsMyWs.com
750 websites are successfully hosted here, and there has been no trouble since their creation. Despite being a relatively new company, TornadoGaming has proved a valuable reseller to use, being both affordable, fully working, and providing helpful support.

Node 4 - IsNumberOne.org
The massive hosting company HostGator is behind this node, bringing with them much experience in stability at the expense of restrictions on the hosting itself. Overselling could not be enabled, and thus accounts created on this node have to request every extra MB they will be using. We are looking into upgrading to increase the available resources.

Node 5 - IsMyWe.com
This node is currently using FelWebs, and successfully working. All 750 accounts were created smoothly and are now fully working. Reasonable support is also provided.

Node 6 - IsMyWb.com
This is one bad investment, however discounted it was originally. URL file access is disabled, and any request to Nixism to enable it or get a refund went completely ignored. It would be possible to manually create and adjust all accounts, or more likely just choose a different reseller for this node.

Node 7 - SuperbHost.us
Despite the undesirable name, this node has functioned surprisingly well, with almost all accounts now successfully created. This will be finished soon.

Node 8 - IsMyWebs.com
At this point, just a fantasy. InfernoWrestling is looking into helping us purchase this additional expansion with a better hosting.

Node 9 - IsMyWall.com
Reusing an existing domain name (for our donation wall) with a good reseller. The search is on to find the right company.

Node 10 - Your Name Here
This is a great opportunity to run a free host without having to worry about finding new clients, developing a main website, establishing a working support sytem, or finding a control panel to manage accounts - at the same cost. Just choose a hosting company we’re not using and order a good quality reseller package able to fit over 100 accounts from them.

One way or another we will make it through this. If you have doubts, please email me so I can address them. I would really like some strong-willed people to help us make sure this never happens again.

As some of you are now coming online, you will want to know how to get your files on the new server. Moving things is not difficult:

1) Just go to ftp://72.36.186.2/ with Internet Explorer and log in to grab the files. Open My Computer to a directory of your choice and drag the files you want from the FTP into that folder.

Alternatively, FireFox has the FireFTP extension available at http://fireftp.mozdev.org/. Click ‘Manage Accounts’ > Add New and use the host 72.36.186.2 with your username and password. Then connect to it. You can use the left frame to navigate to a directory of your choice on your computer and the left arrow to move files there.

2) If you have databases, go to http://72.36.186.2:2082/ and navigate into the PHPmyAdmin. Open the database and click the ‘Export’ link. Copy the contents into a text file - ‘data.txt’ for example.

3) Access your new FTP by accessing ftp://ismyhost.com* or using ismyhost.com* as your host. (See instructions from step 1.) Upload the files saved in step 1 into the right directory.

4) Access your new cPanel at http://ismyhost.com:2082/* and use the ‘MySQL Databases’ tool to set up your databases again. Then use the ‘Import’ feature in PHPMyAdmin to upload your old database from the file you saved in step 2.

* Your exact address will depend  on the node of your account. Your details can be found in the hosting section of your account at http://web.ismywebsite.com/. If you cannot access your new node (other than IsMyHost), please wait until we can check all the accounts and declare yours working.

If you have any troubles, you can get assistance by emailing me. Pvcsnathan also has access to help you or transfer the site for you.

As it stands, right now, a number of websites are now online. Including of course, our active blog participants at:

http://criminallives.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://goptorrent.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://hqbc.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://hosting4u.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://magnxpyr.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://maisam.ismywebsite.com/ (Under Construction)
http://masdir.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://rap-it-up.net/ (Under Construction)
http://rotb.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://smashgames.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://sociopaths.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)
http://yourlife.ismywebsite.com/ (Working)

Once their contents are uploaded I urge you to check them out.

Many other websites are online on the nodes and now, for the first time, you can access them by logging into the site. If yours doesn’t work, you can be sure I am working on creating it as I write this.

Please Report:

• Features of your IsMyWebsite account that don’t work. (Everything should now be working except for the hosting and the forum registration.)
• Errors experienced in cPanel by those mentioned websites above. (Other nodes are not guaranteed to be fully working at this time.)
• If more features are needed by those websites mentioned above.

Do Not Report:

• That your account and/or website has not been created yet. (I know that.)
• That you can’t log in to cPanel. (Perhaps it’s because your account isn’t created?)
• Minor errors which do not affect the functionality of the site or reduce security. (Would love to hear them when our status is back to ‘reliably hosting hundreds’.)

If those mentioned require any assistance in accessing their websites (as all functionality should be accessible by logging in) or they need any extra resources, they are free to report it any time by email. For everyone else, thanks for your patience. It should only be a couple more days.

Okay, I’ve completed the final calculation and assigned everyone to their nodes. (Accounts are not all created.)

However, I’m discovering that there are still about 300-400 clients who don’t fit anywhere. There are a few options:

1. Squeeze them on the VPS, which may introduce vulnerabilities and it wont be an exclusive server anymore.
2. Raise through donations now to buy another node.
3. Find another node somewhere.
4. Wait without the accounts created until enough revenue is generated, then go for the new node. (Anywhere from a couple weeks to another month.)

Any ideas?

I’ve now completed the first stage of restoration - building the core features of the administrative backend to handle it. The next 4 days will be dedicated to creating and fixing all accounts (many of which are already created as of this writing).

Those of you who are patient and dedicated can get my special surprise - hosting on an exclusive server. The criteria to get signed up:

1. You must have an active website, which previously received a minimum of 10 visitors per day on average.
2. Ads must have been placed at some point before the downtime.
3. You must be willing to further improve your ad placement (if possible).
4. You must reply to this comment within 2 days. Please include your website URL.

We can also look at getting your site online ahead of the others.

http://haloclan.us/forumhost

Post the URL’s of the themes u want added.

The hosted forums are running on phpBB3

It’s good to know that some people still visit the site. These are not easy times. Since I’ve been asked this a lot, there are a number of ways you can help.

1. Download our toolbar. It works on most common browsers, is free, contains no spyware, adware, or viruses, and has tons of useful features. It gives you direct updates from our blog and when you search with it, you help support us financially.
2. Place Google AdSense on any popular website. It doesn’t have to be hosted with us. Just send us a link to your site and we can send you code.
3. Donate $5 CDN, $5 USD, $5 AUD, £5 GBP, or €5 EUR. This will go towards establishing more nodes and supporting the ones we have for next month. (Just a few people donating is a huge help. If everyone that could did, that would be awesome.)
4. Buy a domain for $15/yr. Just email us if this interests you more than a donation. Nameservers can be anything.
5. If you may be interested in providing us with another node, see the criteria below.
6. Know of any good items we should sell for credits. (We have no budget to buy at this point.)
7. Keep checking the blog. Stay active here. Make more comments. Be optimistic. Never lose hope.

As for when the site will be back online, I’m expecting 4 days to get the main site online and improve the admin panel to work with nodes. Then I will be starting to create and fix accounts over the next 4 days.

Some recent decisions:

• We will not be using SmokyHosts anymore. Those hosted there will have to be relocated to another node elsewhere. Clients who cannot do this themselves will be able to get assistance from administrators given this task. There is 3 weeks to get all data transfered. (Check previous posts to find out why SmokyHosts is unsuitable.)
  
• No more free domains will be offered until we are re-established. There are higher priorities at this time. (We are, however, looking at getting other items up for sale soon.)
• We are taking time right now to make sure things are all working, and will not go offline in the future. This is instead of making sure things are online really quickly now, but liable to go down again in the future.

Becoming a Node Criteria

• A reseller, VPS, or dedicated server with cPanel installed and powerful enough to handle at least 100 accounts. Storage and bandwidth requirements are usually 5MB/50MB per account, assuming you have overselling enabled.
• Make sure ‘Free Hosting’ is allowed by the TOS of any company you are hosting with. If there are any additional restrictions, those should also be mentioned.
• A good domain starting with ‘is’. The extension should be .com, .net, or .org. If your domain is different, you will still be considered.
• Up to the task of monitoring the node to keep it online.
• You will need to set up packages on the WHM. Details will be emailed.
• Obviously we will need access to your account.

We have scripts all ready to create the accounts on your node, as well as performing updates to those accounts. Once you get it set up, all you need to worry about is keeping it working.

Thanks For Reading!

I’m getting a lot of questions about how the nodes system will work. Here it is, in a nutshell:

1. You visit http://this.ismywebsite.com/ (or any other subdomain)
2. One PHP page will process the address you visit and send the right response.
3. If there’s no interest in that subdomain, no account has been created yet, or the account is offline at that time, the appropriate page will be displayed.
4. Otherwise, you will be redirected to another domain (for example http://this.ismyws.com/ or http://this.isnumberone.org/)
5. This ‘node’ will display the proper website.

Here’s a quick FAQ:

Will my domain be the same?
Your website will be hosted on a similar but often shorter domain, with the same subdomain. (For example, instead of this.ismywebsite.com, it would be this.ismyws.com). However, this.ismywebsite.com will always function as a redirect to that site.

How do you choose my node?
Most of them have already been chosen. I am assigning people to nodes where they fit, in the order hosting was requested.

How do I access cPanel?
Generally, you just go to http://yournode.com:2082/ and login. You will receive all your login details by email once we know things are working.

What features will I get?
There is no plan to change the features. One of our nodes is run by HostGator, which refuses to enable overselling, so if you need the full 100MB from that node, just request it. Over 95% of our clients don’t use it all. (On that note, if you need more than 100MB on any node please ask as well. You earned it through your patience.) On top of this, some of the nodes have different extra features so there may be some pleasant surprises.

What happens if my site goes offline?
We are monitoring all the nodes and if the downtime is for an extended period, a temporary error page will be displayed on the IsMyWebsite subdomain.

Do domains still work?
Yes. However, the nameservers are going to be different depending on your node. You should also receive those instructions by email when your account is set up.

I’m using another host now. Can you set up a redirect?
Sure, just tell us where to direct it to. And remember, you can still place our ads on your site and use our toolbar.

Do I still need to place ads?
Now more than ever. And you should place them well.

When will things be finished?
Right now, it’s looking to be 4 days before the first accounts will be completely ready to go. (So 4 days plus whatever time it takes to build all the accounts before yours.) We are going as fast as we can.