Forums / Support / Free Access to High Speed News Servers

Free Access to High Speed News Servers

by BinaryBoy @
Want to download gigs and gigs of files from a high speed server for free? In a few days, a new set of news servers will be available for testing and a limited number of Binary Boy customers will have free access.

If you'd like free temporary access, send either your Binary Boy order id or your Binary Boy Newsgroups username to support at binaryboy dot com. Your temporary account will be set up in a few days.

There are no obligations. However there are a few suggestions:
<UL><LI>During the trial, use the new server as your primary server</LI><LI>Tell support at binaryboy dot com whether you would like this to become the main Binary Boy news server.</LI></UL>
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #971 @

Is anyone getting random disconnects during subject downloads? My cable modem connection has been quirky so I don't know if it's the server or my connection.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #974 @

Yum Yum!!! This is Da News!!!

I've been using New York exclusively for the last few days, downloaded 48Gb of stuff via RR cable, all came down pretty cleanly. Haven't used subject list tho, just NZBs so far... Files usually come down with 1 or 2 out of 80 of 50Mb each complete but damaged, QuickPar fixes just fine...

I noticed 2 disconnects while downloading, so enabled retry password just in case it did it again, and so far no problems..... and history is a lot better with longer retention that both previous BB servers. I finished off 2 downloads that I had given up on previously as unrecoverable but kept the files around just in case... one was a video of a concert posted 23rd march that was still complete, but no longer on pro.bb..... Many of the other files I would not have even tried via .nzb previously, too many parts would be missing on both BB servers, but they're still on New York and coming down via 8 connections although net speed is roughly the same as with 4 (2.2-2.5Mb/sec out of my total 4+Mb/sec pipe) which is excellent.

I'd be happy with this one forever, Howard!!!! Let me know if you have any questions... :) :) :)
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #975 @

Great. Thanks for the feedback. It looks like they may have fixed the disconnect/authentication errors in the afternoon. Last night I was downloading without any problems.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #978 @

Apparently not, as I've been trying to download list of headers from A.B.DVD since yesterday evening, and it persistently disconnects me after getting to around 300k headers. Guess it's done it several dozen times now....

Timeout was set to 3000secs to avoid timing out on the pro.bb server with 2M+headers, so I don't think it's me ;)

I am still downloading while all this is going on, but as mentioned before, I've noticed once in a while it hangs all the threads, errors out and then reconnects and continues after my 10sec. error timeout.

Still, with such impressive performance I can even live without the headers list for the time being, just using NZBs... :)
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #979 @

Ok. I just downloaded a few million headers from the New York server and so far no disconnects. I'll keep an eye on it. The admin is already looking into it so hopefully they'll get it fixed.

By the way, the timeout is reset everytime data arrives so you don't need a super huge timeout value.
 

geewhizza's reply to BinaryBoy #980 @

Is the offer still open, will be looking for a different newsserver soon, so can i still try or is it too late?.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to geewhizza #981 @

I can add another. Send your desired username and password to support at binaryboy dot com
 

geewhizza's reply to BinaryBoy #982 @

Thanks....
 

geewhizza's reply to geewhizza #983 @

This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification.

Delivery to the following recipients failed.

xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx

Is this addie correct or do i have it wrong?
 

BinaryBoy's reply to geewhizza #984 @

Yes, that's right. Try this super top secret address instead: xxxxxxxx at xxxxxxx dot xxx

Can you send me the full error text from the bounce?
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #992 @

The admin says the disconnect problem has been resolved. I haven't tried it yet though.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1000 @

Hmm, I still see disconnects during downloads, but more importantly I've been trying to download the headers from Alt.binaries.dvd for the last 3 days and so far it just keeps restarting after it gets to around 300k headers.... anyone else seeing this kind of problem?
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1001 @

If you're using Binary Boy and you have the cache enabled, those headers won't be lost. When Binary Boy starts counting over again, it's really just continuing from where it left off. You can verify this by checking to see if the cache file for that newsgroup grows after each refresh: The cache files are stored in C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR NAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Binary Boy\Cache

I'll look into the disconnect problem.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1002 @

They're able to reproduce this and have identified the problem. They're working on a solution.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1003 @

Yep, the cache solution would work, except that there's probably over 2Million headers there even when searched before DLoading, so BBoy has a fit when trying to sort, uses all my memory plus all the pagefile and eventually brings my PC to its knees!!!! :p

S'okay, It looks like a timeout of some sort on the server cause its pretty consistent, so I'll just wait till fixed.... :D
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1008 @

The disconnect problem should happen no more often than 150 minutes or 1GB of bandwidth. This is a temporary workaround until they resolve a problem with their authentication software.
 

geewhizza's reply to BinaryBoy #1009 @

My opion on the server..

it is fast..so far i have found retention to be around 9 days any longer and you are looking at incompletes..

Good selection of groups..including the obvious audio/video groups.


Would i pay for it>? hmmm depends on how much, what the download allowance per day is and if it is logged etc(so they know what your are downloading ie illegal mp3`s) and if paypal is accepted etc.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to geewhizza #1010 @

Thanks for the feedback. Subscriptions will continue to be sold by PayPal and 2CheckOut. The precise bandwidth per dollar I'll be able to offer isn't precisely known yet. I've asked about the privacy policy and will let you know when I get a response.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1011 @

Privacy info:

Our software does not have the ability to log which messages specifically users read. We do have the ability to see which newsgroups users read. We do not have that logging currently turned on, but we may turn that on from time to time to debug certain issues.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1019 @

All account names beginning with "user" were closed last night. Anyone who still has access to the server will need to use the original username/password that was provided.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1020 @

Yep, I was still using 195 build 157, so I'll give it a try. This build may have to be a "requirement" with the new servers...!!!

30Gb is somewhat worse than what we got now, though, cause that's only 1Gb a day... I have definitely used the existing 2Gb/day downloading the odd DVD before it disappears... and then catching up with lost bits using the pro server...

I've been trying my regular username from Pro, but no joy on the new servers... just authentication errors...
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1022 @

Whether the monthly limits are better or worse than the current ones depends on how often you maxed out. On the pro server (the main server doesn't show bandwidth usage), many people have a lot of unused days between the spikes so they end up using far less than the potential. For them, even the 10GB level is an increase.

I see there's some demand for another level above 30GB though. Do you think you'd be interested in having access to the main 2GB per day server plus 10GB per month from the new server for $14.95? In other words, replacing the Pro server with the new ones.

The only problem is on my side. There would have to be a significant number of users interested in the main server in order to cover the minimum price each month. :-)

I've been trying my regular username from Pro, but no joy on the new servers... just authentication errors...

You were one of the heavier bandwidth users so your account was one of the first closed.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1024 @

In an ideal world, I think it would easiest for everyone to just have one server to go to. However, servers do go down and some parts don't show up or are missed... so the split you suggest should work better, certainly much better than what we have today, as the Pro server doesn't carry all the groups that the news.bb or the test servers have, which also means some wasted bandwidth downloading stuff that can never be completed...

I guess I'm a heavy user, but I've gotten some really good movies that I watched years ago before there WAS a DVD, and aren't even available at BarfBuster or anywhere else in the US. Gotta love this broadband....

Guess I should restrain myself more, huh..._{"_"}_
 

TedB's reply to TedB #1026 @

Reconsidering the options... news.bb.com is sooo slow today...most of the file that I wanted disappeared as I was waiting..... I think I'd be happier with just one server @30Gb per month (I assume we can use any one of the three offered if my preferred one goes down or drags).

Is there any difference in location or speed between the three that would make it more than a random choice or are they load-balanced?
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1028 @

Yes, all three addresses will be available. Each address is for a server farm so I guess load balancing is built into each one but not across all three.

One farm is in New York, another in Phoenix and another is in Amsterdam so the benefit is getting a server close to you and also there would be a lot of redundancy if one went down or lagged. Right now the New York server is pretty slow. The admin says that's due to their RAID system and they're working on upgrading that. news.binaryboy.com seems only slightly slower than usual.

Here are the plans I'm considering right now:

$5.50 for 5GB/month from new servers

$9.95 2GB/day news.binaryboy.com + simultaneous access to 1GB/Month from the new servers instead of access to the Pro server. This is for people who want to keep news.binaryboy.com

$9.95 10GB/month from the new servers for those who switch over completely. (I might actually be able to increase the limit depending on what the average usage is.)

$14.95 30GB/month from new servers.

And possibly a higher limit for the heavy users with a price per GB lower than all other plans.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1030 @

Works for me!!!

Switch me to the last plan on the new servers whenever you're ready!!!
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1031 @

You're now switched over. If you hit the 30GB limit earlier than expected, let me know. It's possible that the server might remember your usage from the free trial. In that case, I'll have to make some adjustments.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1032 @

Cool... Thanks, will let you kow how it goes....
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1033 @

For anyone else with the $14.95 subscription, there's now a "Switch Servers" button on the <A href="http://www.binaryboy.com/newscp.php">control panel</A> to switch to a 30GB/Month account on the new servers. This is a one way switch. If you want to go back to the news + pro servers, you'll need to email me. support at binaryboy dot com
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1049 @

You're now switched over. If you hit the 30GB limit earlier than expected, let me know. It's possible that the server might remember your usage from the free trial. In that case, I'll have to make some adjustments.


:eek: I think I hit the limit.... it's giving me server cap login messages... is it
true? did I use all my 30Gb already?

Think I may have to ration myself.... If our Gigs roll over from date of switching I guess I have to remember when I signed up so I can go pound some more same day next month and hope what I wanted hasn't rolled off....

Is there any way to buy any more Gb on a temporary basis if we run out? like in 20 or 30Gb increments or something?
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1050 @

:eek: I think I hit the limit.... it's giving me server cap login messages... is it
true? did I use all my 30Gb already?


I added it up (I really need to make an automated way to do that) and it's way less than the limit, although today's bandwidth doesn't show up yet. Did you download a very large amount today?

There's no automated way of ordering additional bandwidth but we could do it through PayPal and I could set it up manually. Right now though I don't think you actually hit the limit so don't worry about that yet.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1051 @

Try it again. If you hit the limit early again, I'll know there's a problem and I'll contact the admin. On the other hand, if you did a lot of downloading today and really did hit the limit, it will show up tomorrow and I'll see what I can do about providing additional bandwidth.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1052 @

By the way, I asked the admin when the bandwidth limit resets. It goes by calendar month and not by account creation date. That doesn't explain why the limit kicked in though.
 

Dave_D's reply to BinaryBoy #1053 @

By the way, I asked the admin when the bandwidth limit resets. It goes by calendar month and not by account creation date. That doesn't explain why the limit kicked in though.


I noticed that the test servers slowed down quite a bit over the last couple of days. I had mentioned earlier that I was getting about 2100kb/s with my 2.5MBit ADSL line but the last couple of days I've only been getting 1200-1400kb/s. Was I throttled down because I was approaching the 10Gig limit or is the slowdown because of more users. I was using the Phoenix server mostly.

Dave
 

BinaryBoy's reply to Dave_D #1054 @

The throttle kicks in only after you reach the limit. It doesn't appear that you've reached the limit anyway. I'll look into it.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1055 @

The phoenix server is definitely not slow right now. With 2 connections open, I was averaging over 2000Kbps with spikes up to 2800Kbps. With a single connection, it was definitely slower though. If you're not already, try using 2 connections.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to Dave_D #1056 @

I noticed that the test servers slowed down quite a bit over the last couple of days. I had mentioned earlier that I was getting about 2100kb/s with my 2.5MBit ADSL line but the last couple of days I've only been getting 1200-1400kb/s. Was I throttled down because I was approaching the 10Gig limit or is the slowdown because of more users. I was using the Phoenix server mostly.


Do you have an account other than the trial one that was closed?
 

Dave_D's reply to BinaryBoy #1057 @

Do you have an account other than the trial one that was closed?


No, I don't have an account yet. The only one I had was the trial one. I'm a little confused about the various servers. Are the new servers faster than the news.binaryboy.com server? Is there less restricted downloads on news.binaryboy.com than the new servers? It appears as though we are allowed 2gig/day on the original server and only 1 gig/month on the new server for the $9.95 (is there a total monthly limit?). Is this right?

Dave
 

BinaryBoy's reply to Dave_D #1058 @

I'm a little confused about the various servers. Are the new servers faster than the news.binaryboy.com server?

Yes, in my experience so far the new servers are about twice as fast and have a better completion rate (about 96%). After some upgrades, the completion rate will increase even further.

Is there less restricted downloads on news.binaryboy.com than the new servers? It appears as though we are allowed 2gig/day on the original server and only 1 gig/month on the new server for the $9.95 (is there a total monthly limit?). Is this right?

If you sign up to the new servers for $9.95 access, the limit is 10GB per month (which will likely be increased to 12). It's limited to 1GB/month only if you also want access to news.binaryboy.com. That's mostly set up as a sampler for current subscribers but I can create that type of account for you if you request it. You could try it that way and then you could drop news.binaryboy.com and switch to 10GB/month if you like.

For the average user, 10GB/month is an increase over 2GB/day because the typical user skips a few days between download sessions. And the typical download session doesn't max out the daily limit. If 10GB isn't enough, consider the 30GB option for $14.95. It's a better GB/$ ratio too.

If you never miss a day of downloading and always max out the daily 2GB limit, then news.binaryboy.com is a much better choice. If you have a more typical pattern of downloading, then the monthly limits are a better deal.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1059 @

I added it up (I really need to make an automated way to do that) and it's way less than the limit, although today's bandwidth doesn't show up yet. Did you download a very large amount today?

There's no automated way of ordering additional bandwidth but we could do it through PayPal and I could set it up manually. Right now though I don't think you actually hit the limit so don't worry about that yet.


On that day I hadn't since it was blocking me, next day I did though :D today I'm blocked again.... don't think I used my allowance yet if it reset on the 1st... my BBoy doesn't seem to keep an accurate count of bytes downloaded. It seems to think I only used 7.7Gb, I reset it I'd guess around the 3rd/4th. Pretty sure I downloaded more than that tho.... or maybe not?

As an enhancement request I would like a section on the web account info page with total usage for that month so that we can check the numbers before deciding to download that last big movie... unless BBoy can get that information from the new servers as it goes and display it in the status bar... yeah I know... :)
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1060 @

I've asked the admin to look into this. In the meantime, please try alt_tedb@binaryboy.com. I'm not going to reset the regular account yet so he can take a look at it as it is.

A bandwidth count is planned for the control panel.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1061 @

By the way, I'm seeing less than 5GB downloaded by you for the entire month so far so the cap definitely shouldn't have kicked in.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1062 @

On that day I hadn't since it was blocking me, next day I did though :D today I'm blocked again.... don't think I used my allowance yet if it reset on the 1st... my BBoy doesn't seem to keep an accurate count of bytes downloaded. It seems to think I only used 7.7Gb, I reset it I'd guess around the 3rd/4th. Pretty sure I downloaded more than that tho.... or maybe not?


Do you have any logs of the actual messages received from the server? The admin is looking into it and would like to know what specific message came up when you reached the limit. If possible, please enable the log in case it happens again.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1063 @

Just enabled log and will email you zip file. Whereas this morning it was consistent on all threads, now it seems to happen only to 1 or 2 of the 4 threads open, switches around between them etc. Looks just like deliberate slowdown cap should...
S'okay, I'd expect teething problems with all this stuff, it's what makes change such fun!!!
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1065 @

Just enabled log and will email you zip file. Whereas this morning it was consistent on all threads, now it seems to happen only to 1 or 2 of the 4 threads open, switches around between them etc. Looks just like deliberate slowdown cap should...
S'okay, I'd expect teething problems with all this stuff, it's what makes change such fun!!!


Just got a response saying the bug has been found and they're working on it.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1067 @

Yep, went back to original id yesterday pm.... looks good so far... Thanks again!!!
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1068 @

I replied to two of your emails yesterday. At the end of the second one, I mentioned a change to your account. Did you get that?
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1069 @

Umm, mea culpa, only pick up my hotmail accounts once in a while (too much spam) but just saw them.....thanks again, will try to keep an eye on my usage.... and let you know about the cache garbage... figures Roadrunner would have corrupted headers, they got everything else screwed up !!!
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1070 @

tedb, the admin says you did actually reach your limit when the server started rejecting your logins but that the usage is slow getting to the reporting database. For now, just continue to go by the amount reported in the control panel until they get it worked out. If it's not too inconvenient, I'd appreciate if you'd measure the bandwidth usage with Binary Boy for a few days and then compare it to the control panel. I'd like to get a better idea of just how far it's off.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1071 @

ok, just reset the byte count in BB, not dl'ing anything more tonight as giving me too many connections-password rejected error anyway for the last hour or so.. View usage says 9.09Gb right now. Will post byte counts again maybe tomorrow...
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1072 @

They made some changes yesterday to try to prevent the "too many connections" error. A test showed that once you reach the limit it would clear up after about 30 minutes of no activity rather than the hours it would last week so it seems to be improved a little. I'll let them know it's still a problem.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1073 @

They made some changes yesterday to try to prevent the "too many connections" error. A test showed that once you reach the limit it would clear up after about 30 minutes of no activity rather than the hours it would last week so it seems to be improved a little. I'll let them know it's still a problem.


Wel,it didn't work.... I was dormant all night, just came back to downoad three stubborn parts and still getting the error..... ;)

Incidentally, for the last few days I noticed every time I press GO, it gives me a Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Then if I leave it to retry a few times it continues anyway (until yesterday)....
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1074 @

alt_tedb@binaryboy.com account is activated again so you can get those parts and an updated bug report has been sent to the admin.

I noticed those unexpected close messages too and will look into it. It's probably just the server timing out.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1075 @

Not a server timeout, they're instantaneous responses soon as you press go... and Thanks, I'll try the alt_way! Hmm... that didn't seem to work either, still getting same password rejected/too many connections error.... :confused:
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1076 @

I was thinking maybe Binary Boy wasn't reporting the closes until it tried to do something with the connection. It turns out though it's reporting them exactly when they happen. Now I'm thinking maybe it's the server timing out but not actually closing the connection until it sees some activity.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1077 @

Makes sense to me, I'll try to keep an eye open for when it happens again.... By the way, can't get in at all with either id, not even to download headers. Tried shutting down the BB instance, still same error.....
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1078 @

Ok. Another update sent to the admin. I have a feeling he's not working this weekend.

You can use news.binaryboy.com if you like. Same username and password as your main account.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1082 @

By the way, can't get in at all with either id, not even to download headers. Tried shutting down the BB instance, still same error.....


Try again.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1083 @

Nah, still the same oin both ids...

200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga13) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"

I think we hit a limit on their server software, either OS or they have some sort of TCP/IP problem..... BTW, this is after a reboot, and RR server is okay and downloading as we speak...
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1084 @

Ok. Reported.

Did it let you login at least once today? They reset the connection totals but didn't fix the problem yet.

By the way, you can use the domain names listed at http://www.binaryboy.com/newscp.php in case they're using any type of load balancing. It won't fix this particular problem though.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1085 @

Nah, still the same oin both ids...


You should be able to access the servers again.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1086 @

Yep, back in bizness today..... will keep u informed !!!
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1079 @

I was thinking maybe Binary Boy wasn't reporting the closes until it tried to do something with the connection. It turns out though it's reporting them exactly when they happen. Now I'm thinking maybe it's the server timing out but not actually closing the connection until it sees some activity.


Not just new servers....Also just got this on News.bb.com:

Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).
200 Welcome!
200 Welcome!
Downloading subjects from alt.binaries.x on news.binaryboy.com.
Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).
200 Welcome!

after a while of inactivity, mind you....
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1080 @

It seems Binary Boy is reporting the close notification as soon as it receives but for some reason the notification might be delayed until Binary Boy tries to send a command. Very weird. I'm testing 1.95 build 1 to see if it does the same thing...
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1081 @


Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).


Did the "Error #10053" happen immediately after you clicked a button?

If the connection closes on its own after a long time, it's not a problem at all. It's a *potential* problem, and certainly weird, if the connection closes immediately after you start a new refresh or start a download.

A new build is available that will display a timestamped message on the Log tab each time Binary Boy receives a notification that the connection has been closed. (The current build only displays the message when there's a 10053 error.) I tried three different servers, including news.binaryboy.com, and all disconnected on their own after a normal timeout period. None disconnected immediately after starting a download. I'll try to test the new servers tomorrow.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1087 @

Regarding the Connection closed unexpectedly message, it seems to occur on the Headers Refresh button after a long time without refresh, even though D/L ing on other connections is going on. I suspect BB is keeping that connection open in recent releases rather than letting it close after the refresh is done.

Might also explain why if I have multiple instances open, one d/ling and one refreshing the headers RR complains I have too many connections open. Can't remember this happening until recently..... ???
 

TedB's reply to TedB #1088 @

BTW, just refreshed headers on NY after a lull and guess what, Too many connections !!!!!
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1091 @

BTW, just refreshed headers on NY after a lull and guess what, Too many connections !!!!!


Connection count has now been reset.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1089 @

Regarding the Connection closed unexpectedly message, it seems to occur on the Headers Refresh button after a long time without refresh, even though D/L ing on other connections is going on. I suspect BB is keeping that connection open in recent releases rather than letting it close after the refresh is done.

It has kept the connection open after a refresh since some of the earliest versions. In fact, one reason for that is to avoid breaking the connection limit. When a connection is closed, there can be a delay before the server reduces the connection count, causing the next connection to violate the limit, so BB allows it to stay open until the server itself closes it due to a timeout or until BB is forced to close because of a user action such as the toolbar Stop button or the program closing.

The strange part is that normally a server will timeout and close after about 30 minutes (I tested this on 3 other commercial servers a couple days ago), but when connected to the new servers, it appears the server doesn't close until the first command is received after the timeout. In other words, the new servers timeout and then just sit idle until the next command is received. THEN they close the connection. I reported this to the admin and he passed it onto the engineering staff but they haven't commented. I'm guessing this was a recent change to try to fix the connection limit problems.

Are you using build 707? Every time the server closes the connection, BB will display a message like the one below rather than the "unexpected" message:

hh:mm:ss Connection closed. xx bytes available. Error #xx error text

Might also explain why if I have multiple instances open, one d/ling and one refreshing the headers RR complains I have too many connections open. Can't remember this happening until recently..... ???

Yes, there will be 1 connection for subjects for each instance even if the instance is used mainly for downloading.

To see how many connections you have open, go to the command prompt and type netstat. Count how many go to port 119 (or it might say nntp) and are in the "ESTABLISHED" state and that's your connection count. If there are more established connections than you expected, let me know.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1090 @

By the way, this morning I reproduced the problem using nothing but telnet. Here's what I did:

Created and logged into 6 connections using telnet
6th connection gave 502 too many connections error as expected. No problems.
For all 6 connections, I typed QUIT, pressed ENTER and the server closed.

Created and logged into 4 connections. 4th connection gave a "Too many connections error"
netstat confirmed 4 connections to the server
typed QUIT and pressed ENTER for each connection. All closed and netstat showed 0 connections open.

created and logged into 2 connections. 2nd connection gave a "502 too many connections" error.
netstat confirmed 2 connections to the server.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1092 @

BTW, this also appears with news.bb.com.....

Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).
200 Welcome!
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).
200 Welcome!

not just with the new servers...{"_"} I never saw this until recent builds.... maybe it's just me though, too much brain damage for one human bean to stand.... it comes up after a long lull when restarting downloading as well.... will do the 707 update today after I catch up with some parts....

The nuisance is that it seemed to me that sometimes if I pressed the STOP button to kill everything, the server would still think I had all the connections open and refuse to let me continue until it timed out the connections.... On RR that's within a few minutes. Maybe that's it.... If the new servers don't time out and hold them open forever, that's why I'm getting this too many connections message when I restart soon after, and then they don't timeout because I keep retrying????
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1093 @

BTW, this also appears with news.bb.com.....

Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).
200 Welcome!
Connected to news.binaryboy.com (38.119.71.69).
200 Welcome!


You didn't answer my question about this. How much time is there between the second "Error #10053." and the "Connected to news.binaryboy.com"?

This is not a problem:

mm:ss
00:00 Download file
30:00 Connection closed unexpectedly
45:00 Press Download button
45:00 New connection opened

This is a potential problem:

00:00 Download file
45:00 Press Download button
45:00 Connection closed unexpectedly
45:00 New connection opened

Notice in the first case the connection closed on its own well before the download button was pressed. In the second case, the connection closed immediately after a new command was sent.

I never saw this until recent builds....


I reproduced it in 1.95 build 1. From the log tab...

200 Welcome: @WWWSpace UseNET - http://WWWSpace.NET/usenet/ (Tornado v1.0.6)
Downloading filename "DVDs..Videos" part 1 of 1. Article #41629 in alt.binaries.multimedia.erotic from newsfarm.phx.highwinds-media.com

&lt;waited a half hour here and then force downloaded the same article&gt;

Error #10053. Connection closed unexpectedly.
Connected to newsfarm.phx.highwinds-media.com (69.28.173.186).

The nuisance is that it seemed to me that sometimes if I pressed the STOP button to kill everything, the server would still think I had all the connections open and refuse to let me continue until it timed out the connections.... On RR that's within a few minutes. Maybe that's it.... If the new servers don't time out and hold them open forever, that's why I'm getting this too many connections message when I restart soon after, and then they don't timeout because I keep retrying????


Normally there's a certain amount of delay before a news server recognizes that a connection has closed. This can lead to a few "Too many connection errors" that eventually go away.

I'm making a wild guess here, but the reason for that in the usual case is probably more databse related than connection related. On server farms, they probably save up and batch the connection open/close events rather than fire them at a databse immediately. That MIGHT be what's happening with RR, just the normal lag time.

The problem the admin is looking into might or might not be connection related. They haven't said, but they're continuing to look into it.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1103 @

If you get the 502 error, it should now clear up in 5 minutes.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1109 @

Nah, doesn't look like it.... when I start to download a file after being dormant for a while, that's when I get the connection closed, and then the new servers don't release it for a loooong time.... much longer than news.bb.com or RR servers.... sometimes I can wait an hour or so before I get connected again.....like just now....
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1110 @

It's working pretty well for me. I even intentionally messed it up by trying to use 8 connections. Try running Binary Boy with the -dynadjust switch so it doesn't completely stop when it gets the error.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1111 @

I'm seeing it now. Reporting to admin...
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1112 @

BB doesn't stop as I have it in settings to retry connection after a 10 second delay. Otherwise I'd be postal by now....

Hmm, 5 minutes? that's not the way it's working for me... Right now I have a queuefull of files, only 1 connection in Settings since I had 3 fileparts that were stuck in the q for quite a while. So I'm still waiting.... and waiting, still same 502 error....

It keeps retrying every 10 secs..... same 502 error, has been doing this now for at least 15-20 minutes just as I'm watching.... and lookit, it just cleared and is running again....so I up the connections to 4, figuring they're all reset around the same time...nope, three 502's to one connection open..

Only thing that strikes me is that with my normal setting of 4 connections open, when I am dormant and then add some files to the q, I immediately get the 502 error on all 4 connection attempts, and then the timeout/502 process begins again. Once in a while a connection or two open up and stay open after that, but I haven't noticed a time or pattern to this. Very frustrating if I want to look at a simple text message or download in NFO file before continuing...

Try the same scenario, hopefully you'll get the same results...

BTW, on news.bb.com and RR, the "connections end unexpectedly" when I Q the files, but then clear after at most a few retries so I don't really care. Guess the new servers are more easily insulted....!!!
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1113 @

Ah. The retry option is a better idea anyway. Just checked -dynadjust and it seems a little buggy.

The server problem has been reported to the admin.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1114 @

Gerrahtahearrrrr! Buggy?????!!!!!

You should try using Microsoft software!!!!!
 

TedB's reply to TedB #1115 @

Another interesting thing I noticed this morning....

Now I have one connection that's consistently only running at 11.68Kbps, while the other 2 are at 700-800Kbps and one is doing the 502 error....

So what did I do...? (q still filled) I go into settings and reduce the number of connections to 1 so that it gently allows maybe more bandwidth to the single connection so that it can complete, as it's holding me back from un-raring the whole set.

Okay, the existing 3 connection downoads complete and close.

Same rate on the first connection, didn't work, so I dialed the number of connections back up to 4, guess what, I immediately get the 502 error on ALL of the other connections other than the one that was running slow.... couldn't have been more than 2 minutes... did BB release the connection when it finished those other downloads and ran out of connections immediately? It looks to me like it doesn't, and the server thinks I'm trying to open 3 MORE connections, which isn't allowed.

I guess BB needs to track and reuse the existing connections if they're still open....
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1116 @

Is it still slow? I'm getting over 1200Kbps from the New York server on each connection.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1117 @

Nope, seems to be okay now across all the connections, that was just strange... haven't seen it since.... maybe ghosts in the machine...!!!!
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1118 @

Has the "too many connections" situation improved at all? They made another change last week.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1121 @

Nope, doesn't look like it, just after full reboot, still have 1 connection out of 4 stalled with 502 and has been for over half hour now... I don't dare stop and restart it as I'll probably lose my others too. I'll wait till current download finishes and let you know later again.....

Update:
Maybe 30 mins after fnishing previous d/l..... stalled again...

10:53:15: [744] Connection closed. 0 bytes available. Error: #10053 - An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine..
10:53:15: [600] Connection closed. 0 bytes available. Error: #10053 - An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine..
10:53:15: [96] Connection closed. 0 bytes available. Error: #10053 - An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine..
10:53:15: [732] Connection closed. 0 bytes available. Error: #10053 - An established connection was aborted by the software in your host machine..
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
200 (lga14) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga14) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga14) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga14) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
Connected to 69.28.186.125 (69.28.186.125).
200 (lga14) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga14) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga14) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
200 (lga14) Welcome (Tornado v1.0.6)
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"
502 Too many connections.
Password rejected by server "69.28.186.125"

rinse and repeat...
For last few minutes, and just now it cleared up and they all open again....
 

TedB's reply to TedB #1124 @

No, this is definitely not yet fixed. Just loaded an nzb to finish up a posting and it did the 502 error IMMEDIATELY and stuck on 3 out of 4 connections.

It's been stalled and retrying them every ten seconds for the best part of an hour now..... very frustrating as they're the last 3 parts of the last three files required to complete the download... all the other parts downloaded on the single open connection in the meantime.... no way to download just the last three parts!!!

Stopping and restarting three times in quick succession just now didn't help free them up... any ideas?

Is it me or is anyone else having these hassles on the new servers? :confused:

I'm thinking of trying Newshosting's unlimited plan, same price, 24 day retention, unlimited downloads.... is anyone out there using it successfully???
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1125 @

Best thing to do is to stop the attempts for 5 or 10 minutes, reduce the download connections to 1 and try again.

Yes, this is happening to others, including myself, and the admin is aware of it but the technical people appear to be having trouble fixing it. I'm contacting the admin and will ask for a more thorough explanation of what's happening.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1126 @

Yeah, it may be time to dump those guys, I think that after a month of this, doesn't sound like they know what they're doing!!!....

Do you have any connections at Newshosting to maybe resell their unlimited service? I'd like to continue supporting you if poss... ;)
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1127 @

Yeah, it may be time to dump those guys, I think that after a month of this, doesn't sound like they know what they're doing!!!....

Do you have any connections at Newshosting to maybe resell their unlimited service? I'd like to continue supporting you if poss... ;)


I'm holding off on the nuclear option for now. If they can fix this one thing, it would be a very nice service. Doesn't look like Newshosting has the type of reseller program I can use. I'm still signed up with the previous companies so I can still switch back. Hopefully they can fix things so the 5TB of bandiwdth I bought isn't wasted. heh

A new email has been sent to the admin and I was more firm than in previous emails. I'm pressing him for specifics on what the technical problem is and I will continue with follow ups if there's an unsatisfactory response.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1128 @

Best thing to do is to stop the attempts for 5 or 10 minutes, reduce the download connections to 1 and try again.



Just tried that, after at least 15 mins, didn't work either....
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1129 @

In the email I sent I also mentioned that you were unable to connect so they should reset the connection count anytime now.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1130 @

A tech guy wrote back and said the problem has been fixed in their lab and they will be rolling out the new software late this afternoon.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1131 @

The new server software is running. It seems to be working although its a little slow. I've notified the admin of that.

Give it a try.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1134 @

Yes, it's been okay all day yesterday, all nastiness seemed to have disappeared, but now it's back..... getting 502 error again for last few minutes on just a single part text msg I want to look at.... :mad:

Quick thoughts.... why does BB have to terminate the connection when you request a file and therefore always instigate this problem.... could it not try and reuse the connection and if not available, then reset it and try again? Or timeout and reset the connection after 5 minutes of inactivity or something. Or just kill the connection altogether after 5 mins.? Setting up a new connection is not that time-consuming, judging from the first run of the day...

Just thinking of all those folks who might not have retry set to 10 secs like I do.... must be purgatory to keep pressing GO every few seconds... ;)
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1135 @

Yes, it's been okay all day yesterday, all nastiness seemed to have disappeared, but now it's back..... getting 502 error again for last few minutes on just a single part text msg I want to look at.... :mad:


Doh! I thought for sure they got it this time. I'll let them know.

Quick thoughts.... why does BB have to terminate the connection when you request a file and therefore always instigate this problem.... could it not try and reuse the connection and if not available, then reset it and try again? Or timeout and reset the connection after 5 minutes of inactivity or something. Or just kill the connection altogether after 5 mins.? Setting up a new connection is not that time-consuming, judging from the first run of the day...


It does try to reuse the connection. Can you capture the problem in a log? I'll try to see what's going on.

I don't know what you mean by reset the connection. It's either open or closed and after that a completely new one is created. A closed connection can't be opened again.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1136 @

In log.txt it will say "xx:xx:xx Closing socket." when Binary Boy initiates the close. There's one instance where Binary Boy initiates the close during a session--when it gets an error after requesting a header. That should be rare though because most of the time it tries to request the whole article instead of requesting the head/body separately. I'll see if I can eliminate that.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1046 @

The test period is over. If you'd like to sign up, you can go to http://www.binaryboy.com/server.php Currently the following plans are available:

$9.95 - 10GB/month (This might be upgraded to 12 or more)

$14.95 - 30GB/month

In addition, the following are planned but not on the sales page yet:

$9.95 - 2GB/day from news.binaryboy.com + 1GB/month from the new servers. (simultaneous access)

$14.95 - 2GB/day from news.binaryboy.com + 10GB/month from the new servers. (simultaneous access)

For either of the last two, sign up for the appropriate price and then email me to switch you over.

If you already have a $9.95 account, you now have 1GB/day from the new servers in addition to news.binaryboy.com access. If you already have a $14.95 account, you also now have 10GB/day from the new servers. The control panel will be updated today to show the new server addresses. The pro.binaryboy.com server will be dropped no later than June 1, 2005.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1047 @

The test period is over. If you'd like to sign up, you can go to http://www.binaryboy.com/server.php Currently the following plans are available:

$9.95 - 10GB/month (This might be upgraded to 12 or more)

$14.95 - 30GB/month

In addition, the following are planned but not on the sales page yet:

$9.95 - 2GB/day from news.binaryboy.com + 1GB/month from the new servers. (simultaneous access)

$14.95 - 2GB/day from news.binaryboy.com + 10GB/month from the new servers. (simultaneous access)

For either of the last two, sign up for the appropriate price and then email me to switch you over.

If you already have a $9.95 account, you now have 1GB/day from the new servers in addition to news.binaryboy.com access. If you already have a $14.95 account, you also now have :D 10GB/day from the new servers :D . The control panel will be updated today to show the new server addresses. The pro.binaryboy.com server will be dropped no later than June 1, 2005.


I WISH !!!!
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1048 @

Doh!

That should be 1GB/month from the new servers for $9.95 accounts and 10GB/month from the new servers for $14.95 accounts.
 

Dave_D's reply to BinaryBoy #1021 @

All account names beginning with "user" were closed last night. Anyone who still has access to the server will need to use the original username/password that was provided.


I had been using my Dave_D account on the test servers and was informed this morning that my password was no longer valid.

Dave
 

BinaryBoy's reply to Dave_D #1023 @

I had been using my Dave_D account on the test servers and was informed this morning that my password was no longer valid.


I just tried it and it's working. I'll send you your info again by email.
 

BinaryBoy's reply to BinaryBoy #1016 @

The bandwidth I bought for the free trials is running out so I've closed the accounts of the heaviest users. For everyone else, theres still a little time to download.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1017 @

Sounds reasonable, didn't realize you had to prepay for the trial.....

BTW, my real account never did work... and I never did get a full listing of headers from any of the servers for any of the newsgroups I was interested in unless it was a small number of headers, BBoy always crashed, guess 2Gb of RAM isn't always enough.... Was going to try a different prog since this never happened on the old servers, but never quite ot there....

so is there a concensus on whether it's worth switching?

Any ideas of how this bandwidth limit will be priced/regulated/enforced?
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1018 @

Have you tried latest Binary Boy build? The search results use less than half the RAM as previous versions. http://www.binaryboy.com/patch.php

The feedback on the new servers has been overwhelmingly positive so I'm 99% certain of switching to the new provider permanently.

The bandwidth limit will be per month rather than daily. It looks like 2 levels will cover most users. $9.95 for approximately 10GB per month and $14.95 for approximately 30GB per month. Do you have a rough estimate of how much bandwidth you'd want to use in a month, assuming it was priced reasonably?

The limit will be enforced by throttling rather than cutting off completely. That way users can finish their last file if they hit the limit unexpectedly. I'll need to watch for abuse of that feature though. :-)