Aussie Server Maintenance

I suspect this is much easier to do from a resource perspective for a small company than for one operating the world's second largest MMO.

Bioware has clearly explained its reasoning for choosing a single, global time. Once that approach is given, the choice of time is straightforward (fewest players affected). No matter which time is picked for maintenance, some players will be affected negatively.

Jamews, thanks for posting that explanation.

Just to clarify, that relates to SAP instances which might not be the case here. The backend databases in use here are most likely SQL or Oracle, and then you have the client.

Backend databases are rarely taken offline for maintenance because that goes against the fundamental design of a RDBMS - always online and high availability. When there is a patch to the databases the patching is done on passive nodes while the active servers remain online. Once the patching of the database servers are done (and the client) then downtime is minimal as the active server nodes are switched off and the passive server nodes become active (the previously active nodes then become passive, and the same patching is done there) - fundamentals of database clusters and replication.

I work for a global company (> 100,000 employees) and I am in charge of the company's main databases, hence my insights. When we perform maintenance we do it in phases so as to keep downtime for each region of the world minimal. We do not use global servers but regional ones, purely because of timezone differences.

Then again my company is a massive consultancy and not a medium sized gaming company so there will be differences.

There is the option of zero down time updates. I work for a software company that provides such solutions for telecomunications companies.

It's possible, they chhose not to do it, which is unfortunate.

Personally, while I'd prefer the overnight shutdown to actually be overnight, I was okay with it being at 7pm. That gives me an hour or so after I get home from work to get my dailies done or maybe squeeze in a hard mode, then I can cook dinner at 7 or get out of the house and do something else.

Now that it's been moved to 6pm that's almost impossible; this Tuesday just gone I got 35 minutes of play time.

Next month when it becomes 5pm I won't be able to play at all on Tuesdays, unless I stay up until 10-11 at night (by which time I should be in bed and the dailies have reset anyway).

For those who aren't sure when DST screws us over, this is what happens to our maintenance times during the year.

March 1st - Oceanic servers opened:
State Shutdown
WA 4pm
NT 5:30pm
QLD 6pm
SA 6:30pm
Vic/NSW¹ 7pm

March 11th - US went into DST:
State Shutdown
WA 3pm
NT 4:30pm
QLD 5pm
SA 5:30pm
Vic/NSW 6pm

* you are here.

April 1st - Aus² comes out of DST:
State Shutdown
WA 3pm
SA/NT 4:30pm
QLD 5pm
Vic/NSW 5pm

May - still 3/5pm

June - still 3/5pm

July - still 3/5pm

August - still 3/5pm

September - still 3/5pm

October 7th - Aus goes into DST:
State Shutdown
WA 3pm
NT 4:30pm
QLD 5pm
SA 5:30pm
Vic/NSW 6pm

November 4th - US comes out of DST:
State Shutdown
WA 4pm
NT 5:30pm
QLD 6pm
SA 6:30pm
Vic/NSW 7pm

December - still 4/6/7

January - still 4/6/7

February - still 4/6/7

March 10th, 2013 - US goes into DST
(see top)

¹ Also includes ACT & Tas
² WA, QLD, NT do not observe DST

So we have 4 months at 6/7pm on the east coast, 2 months (total) of 6pm, and six straight months of 5pm shutdown.

No, they have to do that because it's how things work. It's been stated and explained by BW.

It's "how things work" because that's how they designed their infrastructure. If they'd chosen to design it with location-based maintenance windows included we wouldn't be having this problem.

Indeed. It is constantly surprising how a company in today's global market can continue to be so inadequate in their infrastructure planning.

Problem solved. I have cancelled my SWTOR subscription and will not be coming back until they sort out the maintenance plan and stop screwing us working Aussies over.

Meanwhile guess I'll have to wait for the cuddly pandas and go back to Eve.

Right... so they should have multiple maintenance windows and staggered patch updates so that your personal play time can be accomodated...

Every maintenance period hits during my normal play hours, but it's only 4-8 hours tops, one day a week.

Be honest, if they staggered the updates, you guys would be upset because US-based servers were patched first. Clearly favoritism, right...? So unfair!

It's better to keep all of the servers on the same maintenance schedule and patched equally. Bioware has chosen to do it at overall off-peak hours. They aren't off peak for me, or maybe for you, but that's the breaks.

They can stick with their global maintenance as far as I'm concerned. Just have 1 week at 2 a.m. GMT, the next week at 2 a.m. CST, and the next at 2 a.m. AEST and loop through again.

Everyone gets to experience breaks in their prime play time, this would be the fairest way of doing it surely?