Seems like they're officially down. Thoughts and prayers go out to the Japanese people. Glad to see Square Enix doing their part to facilitate recovery!
Servers are Down
Printable View
-
03-13-2011, 07:04 PMShinChuckServers are Down
-
03-13-2011, 07:06 PMPunxsutawney
Yep these natural disaster are terrible. I hope Japan, the Japanese people, and the Japanese economy the best of luck and a speedy recovery.
-
03-13-2011, 07:14 PMAuctionGirl
Why would SE not setup their service in another country not affected while they are affected in japan?
-
03-13-2011, 07:20 PMHeroCorrect me if I'm wrong but isn't it because the servers are only in Japan?Quote:
Originally Posted by AuctionGirl
-
03-13-2011, 07:23 PMorigamikitsuneShort version, it takes weeks, if not months to plan that sort of change.Quote:
Originally Posted by AuctionGirl
They have to purchase the servers, get them as close to their current servers in specs, re-program the game and all web-services to point to the new servers, and then they still have to transfer the data which in and of itself would take hours probably in order to do it without taking down already crowded data lines. MMOs are not small games. It is not like downloading an MP3 from iTunes.
Once all that is done, they have to test, debug, fix hardware, fix software, patch, test again, debug again, fix software, patch, test again, etc.
Right now, Tokyo is expecting mandatory rolling black outs, expecting to last up to three hours in some areas within the city. There is no way they would have had time to do it.
Edit: Also, assuming they were willing to use data centers owned by third party vendors at all, there aren't likely many data centers in the world outside of the corporate, government, or educational institutions that could handle that traffic. I can only think of a few. -
03-13-2011, 07:24 PMmimehYou are right. It's a japanese game, made by japanese people and with japanese servers. Taking into account that they have an extimated death toll of more than 10000 people, I think their main priority is not that we can play in the rest of the world while their people is dying.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hero
-
03-13-2011, 07:25 PMAuctionGirl
If I was a "Large Gaming Company" with over 10 million in monthly revenues between all services, I would have off site/off shore servers ready to go if a natural disaster happened. Yes this event is unfortunate, but business is business and they are unprepared to do business if a natural disaster occurred.
Maybe they will learn from this experience as this shutting off the service could cause more people to quit and find another game to play. Just poor business judgment from SE that's all.. -
03-13-2011, 07:32 PMorigamikitsuneEven if they owned their own data center out of country, that could easily place their monthly internet bill in the tens of millions to maintain a live-ready backup.Quote:
Originally Posted by AuctionGirl
-
03-13-2011, 07:36 PMMikita
I think Square Enix realizes the implications of shutting down the servers for at least a week as this country tries to recover from the earthquake and its aftermath. They may also reconsider their BCP strategy in light of this disaster.
But we are in really bad shape in Japan right now.
I think SE has made the right decision under extraordinary circumstances and I applaud them for it.
I will miss being able to spend time with my friends in Eorzea. But I will be back when the servers come back online -- provided I don't die in one of these aftershocks that keep hitting us. -
03-13-2011, 07:37 PMKiroh
SE has no obligation to do anything with their servers, they can keep them wherever they want. If you don't like playing a Japanese game on Japanese servers from a Japanese company, then don't play.
To reiterate what I've already said in another post:
SE has the right to do whatever they want with their servers and their data, it's in the contract you agree to when you sign up to play. The fact that, in this case, they're doing it for a good reason simply means you have even less ground to stand on with your complaints. Grow up, you're not going to die just because you don't have a video game, people in Japan can (and will) die if they don't have electricity. -
03-13-2011, 07:39 PMNeko_Yanagi
Aside from all the other obvious reasoning, who knew something like this would happen? And who is to say that the same thing wouldn't happen in a second location?
Plus SE is based in Tokyo, Japan. It would make the most sense to have the servers there. To hire another IT department, plus servers, and going through all that trouble and cost is really something that is out of the question.
All I can ask of anyone and everyone, is to PLEASE give SE a break here. It's not their fault, and this is a horrific situation that is beyond anyone's control. If anything, I have to respect SE's decision to do the socially responsible thing. They are shutting down they servers to save energy for those who NEED it, who need to take care of vital functions, like hospitals for example.
My hopes and prayers go out the everyone affected by the disasters in Japan. Hang in there. -
03-13-2011, 07:44 PMReika
Some people are sounding like this is some kind of attack on Non-Japanese play time. Not saying in this thread, but in others. Know that Japanese players are not playing it right now either. And i guarantee you if you translate any discussion related to the outtage, they are NOT complaining or bitching at SE.
-
03-13-2011, 07:58 PMAuctionGirl
You guys misunderstood what was said. Large companies should always have a contingency plan with multiple locations ready to go. I am a programmer and server/database administrator and I have had to setup many companies with these type of fail over/backup plans. It doesn't cost that much for servers to have a fail over or even both in production at the same time and fails over if 1 place goes down.
This goes to the saying...
Don't put all your eggs in 1 basket.
SE did just that, put all their companies servers in 1 location and if that goes down, so does the company.
I am not mad about the server downtime, I may find another game to play in the meantime and then I wouldn't have to look back. I'm just clearly pointing out that here is another fault in the company. Failing to plan for disasters (whatever type it might be). -
03-13-2011, 08:06 PMalienbaby
sucks for me, i really wanted to play tonight
-
03-13-2011, 08:24 PMGeistPlease think about it: a disaster of this magnitude isn't something you can "plan for", IMHO. You can prepare and try to lessen the impact, but you know there will be fallout, and that it will hit hard, and that there's a limit to the contingency plans you may have been running.Quote:
Originally Posted by AuctionGirl
Also, as a fellow system operator and sysadmin in RL, there's also a vertical limit to the multiple locations approach, when it comes to such a large, complex infrastructure, involving such huge throughput (and I must assume, far from marginal power requirements).
These are extraordinary circumstances and trying times: if this saves people's lives, or at least helps them pool together what resources they have at hand right now, let's keep the nodes down for as long as it takes. -
03-13-2011, 08:27 PMUsun
Don't be silly, it's a damn game, I support the SE decision.
-
03-13-2011, 08:30 PMAbraxai
While it is a shame the servers went down, I must applaud Square-Enix for their humanitarian side.. Must be cutting quite drastically into their Profits to shut down a game like FFXI.. They're basically sacrificing a month's income for the good of Japan. (An easy 8 figure sum). Kudos to SE.. Good move! God bless you all struggling through this messed up situation! x
-
03-13-2011, 08:37 PMAliseWhat is the point to have all the good manage and then suddenly a big disaster cost your life?Quote:
Originally Posted by AuctionGirl
if no life, then is no point to have money, this time it was lucky their company doesn't get
The developers are all living in JP. Even thought they may be able to put extra server in another country for reserve purpose, they can not put their "extra" life in any other country for "reserve purpose" -
03-13-2011, 09:22 PMArkhamNative
I fully support SE's actions to temporarily shut down their datacenters. I'd tell them please take as long as you need to do what's best.
I urge those who are complaining or questioning to take a moment to try to get a sense of perspective on the immensity of this disaster. Over 20% of the nation's electricity generation was lost. The remaining needs to be prioritized for rescue and recovery efforts, including heat for the shelters for the hundreds of thousands whose homes and even whole towns were completely destroyed. If you can't comprehend the horrible loss and destruction, maybe start with current estimates that the entire country seems to have shifted 8-12 feet from where it had been.
I also suggest that we look into donating at least some portion of our PlayOnline/FFXI monthly fee to a disaster relief organization providing supplies and assistance to Japan in this time of dire need. -
03-13-2011, 09:40 PMAbriaelYou don't get one bit of how servers of a MMORPG work right?Quote:
Originally Posted by AuctionGirl
Even if they had a server farm already prepared somewhere (and it's no small feat considering that each "server" of the game is not a single server, but a server cluster made of multiple servers), even just the process of tranfering the data takes several days of preparation, and more days to be physically executed and finalized.
You sure didn't begin your adventure on this forum in a smart way. -
03-13-2011, 09:42 PMRufaiOhhhh!!! u are crazy?? you only think in play?? [Removed by Moderator according to the FINAL FANTASY XIV FORUM Guidelines.]Quote:
Originally Posted by alienbaby
It's possible that aprox ten thousand deaths, and u only think in your *** game?? arrgghh!!! -
03-13-2011, 09:46 PMAramil^^^^ThisQuote:
Originally Posted by Abriael
Having backup servers off-shore would cost a lot in maintenance and employees for a situation that happen extremely rarely. We're not talking about a blackout, a fire or even a building collapse here but about an entire electric company asking not to use power unless needed for an unknown amount of time(the earthquake, tusnami were the trigger but this is what is causing the shut down.)
If you noticed, server were up today, meaning that the earthquake isn't the cause of the shut down, heck i find it impressive that after that kind of natural disaster everything was still running fine. -
03-13-2011, 09:47 PMElkwood
The fact that anyone is complaining during a crisis is beyond compare here... I am at a loss for words, I have never been disgusted with the NA community totally up until reading these posts this AM.
-
03-13-2011, 09:54 PMorigamikitsune
To put it in perspective, for a customer base of 300,000 people using dial-up, it is about 3million USD PER MONTH just to provide enough bandwidth for them to connect. That's on a 56k modem. Scale that to the bandwidth required by a broadband MMO, and you have your answer.
-
03-13-2011, 09:58 PMAkumuHonestly its not just the NA community on these forums but most(if not all) native english speakers. Sadly though you probably are right...My NA people can be let down. Which goes to say why most countries hate us...THOSE DAMN AMERICANS!Quote:
Originally Posted by Elkwood
-
03-13-2011, 10:04 PMMauitimeAgreed. We Americans are despised by many other nations, but it is the few that make bad comments that represent the many that don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Akumu
-
03-13-2011, 11:08 PMAnaviAnael
Hopefully the voices of the people who are coming together wanting to help donate to relief organizations will be heard over the people whining about not playing a game for a week.
-
03-13-2011, 11:16 PMNayt
Best wishes for all affected.
I'll just spend this week at the gym, and then go visit my family, hurray!
I've been without my personal computer for a month, I can make do a few days longer.
(btw, I'm reading more complaining posts by people who are upset on players who are annoyed that they can't play, than those of the latter mentioned cathegory..) -
03-13-2011, 11:34 PMPaksenarrion
People. It's a game. It's made by Japanese and run by Japanese. Why should they have servers anywhere else other than in Japan? Just in case an earthquake occurs in Japan so non-Japanese people can continue playing?
Sure, maybe it's a good idea simply because it's a WORLD played MMO, but for any other reasons. (Like keeping the game running due to special circumstances, that's just ridiculous.)
I am not upset at all that the servers are down. There was an 8.9 earthquake, followed by tsunamis and numerous aftershocks. It is perfectly understandable the servers are down, and I would prefer all of the Japanese people, and FFXIV staff go somewhere safe, instead of continue working so people can continue playing a game. -
03-13-2011, 11:57 PMGriss
Its a totally understandable and its frankly the correct call to make given the situation. while i will miss logging in for the short time the servers are down talking with my in game friends and having many misadventures along the way. i realise the issues facing the Japanese people are far greater then our leisure time.
Best wishes to all who were seriously affected by this disaster -
03-13-2011, 11:58 PMGeistThis, exactly. There's a limit to the amount and variety of contingencies you can devise, and more importantly, we're talking about an unprecedented calamity, a natural disaster.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paksenarrion
Seconded. The road ahead looks hard and winding enough as it is for them, let's pray for the best.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paksenarrion
-
03-14-2011, 12:24 AMSheeoni^^^THISQuote:
Originally Posted by Elkwood
To those bothering to stir the pot with "They should have backup servers" ..May whatever higher power you believe in have mercy on you in your time of need regardless of your lack of compassion or understanding. Who can even bring something like this up at such a horrible time? I felt stupid logging into my sever yesterday to craft, understanding full well that so many people are without even basic life necessities.
Here some people are, trying to justify their greed by saying that SE isn't running a successful business model. Anyone with two brain cells should be able to understand that resources are needed elsewhere. Take this time to breathe.. appreciate your life, and that you are still here to even post on the internet.
My prayers and thoughts are with the Japanese people. I hope that you can forgive the ignorant. -
03-14-2011, 12:37 AMPaksenarrionCouldn't agree more.Quote:
Originally Posted by Geist
-
03-14-2011, 01:42 AMElkwoodHonestly I was surprised after the event the servers stayed up as long as they did. Hell after yesterday I started reading up on the progress of Diablo 3, turned around installed Diablo 2 (Which blows to get working on Windows 7 BTW) started playing that to pass the time. There is plenty to do outside of a world which we don't pay for atmo. Am i worried about how many will not return after said downtime, yes I am, but it is a game and sadly people seem to think that something is owed to them by SE.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheeoni
As far as contingencies to keep the game up, yes SE is a 2 billion dollar company, that is the profit they made last year outside of what the FF series brings in. However the cost / benifit analysis on this one as a buisness man, I would also not have had another set of servers setup in a different country. 100k a month, for the 1x in 10 years your servers go offline for a week due to a national catastrophe get real people. SE would have wasted 84 million dollars over the last 8 years on FFXI for the 1 week in 2011 they had to shut servers down. Lets see 84 million over 1 week to shut the NA community up, or 2.4 million for this months refunds that they should be issuing, not a hard decision here for a business.
These figures are based on 40k Datacenter rates, and 60k for 3x OC3 lines for bandwidth = 100k a month in server costs not including staff Hardware and training costs. -
03-14-2011, 02:10 AMAuctionGirl
You have to prepare for the worst if you make money with the internet. ISPs shut down for unknown reasons, maybe the data center loses power and now everything is down. This isn't only a plan against earthquakes, its a plan against unknown failures.
Also you need to look at the fact that because they might have servers in another location/country does not mean they will sit idle and do absolutely nothing waiting for this disaster. They should have them deployed and used the whole time operating in 2 or more locations at the same time. Also there would have to be nightly or scheduled data backups across locations to each location this way if 1 place goes down for ANY reason, not just earthquakes, but could be simply the data center goes down for any unknown reason.
How many servers/locations do you think Google, Microsoft, WoW or any other successful gaming company has? I know google has servers everywhere in the world... Tell me why they would do something so stupid? Because they understand that the internet is an uncontrollable and the more locations you have, the more control over 1 or more failed locations.
Please don't post if you are ignorant to how Companies setup/use multiple servers/locations in case of anything. Maybe after this issue, they might think about splitting their servers into multiple locations.
Again, I could care less if the game is running, just pointing out a major flaw in their business process.
And to the one who said they don't have a staff in another country, have you heard of remote access? You can SSH/SFTP or anything else across the internet and control everything somewhere else.
Another benefit to multiple locations is that clients whom are closer to one of those locations can get reduced ping times better game play, and possibly less lag.
Who buys OC3s anymore? This is old technology for phones/voice, Data plans are purchased 10mbit/100mbit/1000mbit increments. If any of you know in California USA, you can purchase 1000mbit or 1gigabit up/down bandwidth for under $20,000/mo. Yes OC3s are still being used today by ISPs and phone companies.
This will be my last post about this. Have fun with your week plus off, I hope all of you find another game you enjoy more than XIV during this downtime. -
03-14-2011, 03:49 AMAvaHow much money do you really think SE is making off the "internet" via FFXIV atm? For all we know when the game bombed they could have shut down their other server farms to save money. IIRC there was a pre release interview that stated they were using multiple international server farms, so idk.Quote:
Originally Posted by AuctionGirl
-
03-14-2011, 04:05 AMcloverkitty
Even if there are backup servers which i would not be surprised if there were at least for FFXI. The game is worldwide (unlike other games) all servers share across the world the same information live. If you take down 1 set of servers it would have an impact on the entire play world as an entire audience and some of the load balancing would be affected.
Even if it was possible to split the servers like that I would still be supportive of shutting down the world for a week or 2 if nothing else just out of support of Japan and respect to the players in Japan that would be missing out also as the world changes without them.
However as a company faced with 2 choices below, it is really a no brainer and if nothing else I would just do it out of support. The fact that on XI they will be not charging for April is very nice, although I kind of wish they allowed people to opt in for an April charge and donate and donate all that was collected to the Japanese that need it or services there that need it.
1. Keep and Support a Virtual World so that those not affected can play and risk increased power issues to a ravaged nation, as well as life and death just to keep this Virtual world afloat
2. Turn off the Virtual world, get the cities and towns and power up and running again, then turn it back on taking Real Life and Safety first and Virtual World second. <---- This one is the no brainer -
03-14-2011, 04:14 AMOuka_Ranbu
Too lazy to copy and paste some ignorant people's post and rebutt. People are dying (Earthquake isn't over) and still embracing for maginitude 7 aftershocks that they don't know when they are going to hit. Any power/water reserve that they can save should be reserved for those that are in dire need of help. Japan's main priority isn't whether or not You can play online game, their priority is to save people's live and reduce any more casualties. You think government isn't aware of the economic hardship that they are going to face by shutting down global company's income producing operations? Of course they are well aware of that, but right now it's more important to save people's lives and reduce casualties rather than worrying about off terriotry customer who looses few playing hours. Half of self defense force is mobilized to rescue works (news said 100,000) and US is sending air craft carrier, that's how dire the situation is. Stop bitching about your play time and pointing out business operation contingencies (which is method to reduce not prevent loss from unexpected event, and the event is unexpected as they can get) rather show some respect to those who just lost family, friend, and their entire livehood in blink of an eye.
-
03-14-2011, 04:21 AMFar
might be hard for people to understand their power issues have to do with a nuclear power-plant shutting down its reactors and that 2 of its reactors are reaching critical and have thought to have had a partial meltdown that could expand to a full meltdown, so international servers or not we could be with out FFXIV,XI for a lot longer than a week
-
03-14-2011, 04:25 AMShalindraCelesti
I'm at a loss for words really - a country is facing multiple disasters within a short time in addition to thousands of citizens either missing or dead and people here are leaving comments about how SE fails because they don't have backup servers to keep the game running.
Is a game all you can think about at a time like this? I even don't want to imagine how someone could be able to enjoy playing FFXIV during a time like this.
Maybe as soon as you fall victim due to a natural disaster like this, I want to see your face when you hear from people how they give a damn about you losing family members or your home and they rather want their game to be running...
I'm wondering myself that SE did keep their game servers on for this long and I'm happy to see that they are supporting the idea of conserving energy for those, who need it most right now. I could care less how long that will last as long as Japan will manage somehow to avert a much bigger crisis.