Problems viewing the cabin

[lutonlagerlout]

me too drunk half a bottle of Armagnac instead and watched TV
LLL

[mickg]

i can't gain access either other than through a proxy, very frustrating as its been like this nearly 2 weeks

[enigmaenigma]

@ carlbeardsmore

I just spent an age typing up about the possibility of it being DNS issues, but I then read the problem again…and thought it best to avoid going into the possibility of DNS issues / over complicating matters, well, and until I looked again at the problem.


As someone who often looks / lurks without logging in, then it has me confused, as the site is on public view to everyone.

Is there any chance of getting a screenshot of this page and uploading it?

(By pressing the prtscrn button on your keyboard and then opening Microsoft paint and selecting edit & paste…to paste the image into paint / save it as a jpeg)


I can’t help but wonder if the link you are using to access the website is to a feature that requires you log in…such as viewing a members profile, or attempting to send them a personal message on the forum.

Does the same message appear when you try this link at your home computer?


direct link to forum front page


………………………

@ brew cabin irregulars :p

Looking at the number of people who couldn’t connect on Monday night, and unless you all share the same ISP (internet service provider) then there’s a high chance that the forum / server was down.

It might have been the hamster on a go slow in its wheel.


@ mickg

It might be worth adding those details about my wondering if it’s a DNS issue:

Think of the old fashioned telephone exchange:

And how when you made a call it travelled from your phone down the wire to the local exchange, and then on to another few exchanges, before eventually finding its way to the exchange that was nearest the number you were calling and finally into the telephone you were contacting. Now imagine that one of those exchanges en-route had muddled up where it was meant to be sending or forwarding your call onto.

Being automated and a machine, unlike Rosemary the telephone operator, it would still attempt to connect you but the fault would result in a dead line.


DNS servers work in a similar way, and ensure that your click to connect to a website gets directed towards the IP number behind that website. But have far greater potential for problems.

(Think of it like the telephone book in your mobile but with all your contacts periodically changing their telephone number and attempting to keep track, so when you select “Joe Bloggs� you get their phone…although unlike your telephone book in your mobile its telephone books plural that have to be updated or keep track etc)


Now, and to get back to how or why it might be this:

Although I don’t believe that the brew cabin has changed its IP address recently, so there shouldn’t be an issue in waiting for the various DNS servers to update the details of where this website is located…as per the example about telephone books in mobile phones etc.


There is still the possibility that your ISP has a problem with one of its DNS servers en route, as per the example about telephone exchanges…where you click your mouse and hop skip & jump until it hits a DNS server that has its knickers in a twist and doesn’t have the correct details to bounce you forward onto to the end target of the brew cabin.


If it is this or a variation on this, then the solution is similar to that that Giles suggests. And it might also help if you add what ISP you are using, because if it’s Virgin Media then they are always messing about, turning certain servers on & off for maintenance.


However, and if you get hold of Firefox as suggested and are using Virgin Media then you can quickly alter the proxy you are using…so as to connect via Virgin but hopefully avoiding the DNS servers that are down.

If you are using Firefox, then you can change the Virgin proxy server you are using to another of their working proxy servers instead

Launch Firefox > tools > options > advanced > network - then click the settings button next to section marked connection

Select manual proxy configuration option and use the following settings

HTTP proxy: webcache.virginmedia.com

Port: 3128

And check the “use this proxy server for all protocols� option

[Tony McC]

There *was* a problem (again) on Monday. Thankfully, the ever wonderful Ian managed to switch it off and switch it back on again, but the past couple of weeks have, once again, raised issues about the functionality of the Brew Cabin.

Due to time constraints, at the mo' Ian is the only one with access to the on/ff switch, so if things go tits-up, we have to rely on Ian being available (he does actually have a real job to do), which is unfair on him. We're going to try to get our heads together over the next week and see how I can gain access, but it would make sense to have a third person with emergency access.

Secondly, and much more of a problem, is the fact that the existing software is really, really struggling, and not just with the sheer size of the database, but with the repeated attacks by spammers and ne'er-do-wells.

There *is* a new Brew Cabin in the background. It was almost launched this time last year, but I kept hitting minor niggles that I decided to resolve before officially launching. However, because I have to earn a living too (no longer the luxury of living off my earnings and equity from years gone by) I just haven't had the time to get all of the niggles nailed down and fixed.

I'll have a look at this again over the next fortnight or so and look at paying an IT pro to sort out the bugs that I can't fix, as I'm genuinely concerned that when traffic picks up again in about 8 weeks time, the whole damned thing will fall over once and for all.

If you do find that the BC is off-line, please email or call me. I'm not always at my desk and sometimes it can be several hours before I'm even aware there is a problem.

Thanks for your patience.

[carlbeardsmore]

Hi enigmaenigma,

I tried both methods of access. ie direct to http://ext.pavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi

and clicking via the front page , site map,then to forums and then to click for forum.

I could not see the forum as a guest. It said I must be logged in to view it.

Like Mickg, this has been happening for at least two weeks not just on last Monday.

I am back home on Friday so will get a screen shot then.

Cheers Carl

[DNgroundworks]

i have this problem too, but only when im using broadband, its fine when im using my dongle, but the speed of the dongle is shit

[carlbeardsmore]

I have now narrowed it down to my ISP. I have tried both windows explorer and firefox with the same results on two different operating systems. Vista and xp on different machines.

I am doing this post from my phone which works on 3g but not if I try and use the phone on wifi.

This is the message I get
Error message

Does this help any? Cheers Carl

[mickg]

I see the same error Carl

its definitely IP related as my IP number is barred from accessing the forum

I get errors when trying to login using a proxy too and takes a few attempts to gain entry

I spoke to Tony again last night and its not an issue with our PC's its software in place to stop spammers but sadly its locking some of us out too

[GB_Groundworks]

Carl did you not see my post or did you choose to ignore the post from a degree holder in computer science? Haha lol. I appreciate enigma thought he was helping with the dns, but dns is not selective we'd all be having the problem and dns would stop you seeing the entire site not just the forum.

but I knew what it was as I've had it before.

Try the proxy route?

[mickg]

i have problems using a proxy Giles, i have to try and access the forum 3 - 4 times before i finally see the forum let alone log in so what ever is stopping me must be affecting a lot of other people too

[carlbeardsmore]

Giles I choose to ignore the post from a Rugby Playing Digger Driver.. Why not use your degree and fix my problems. lol
Sorry Giles, only having a mess with you. Glad you put my tax to good use when doing your degree and then using it in your current job.

Back to the proxy , I have tried a few proxies but they were not any quicker than turning off the wifi on my phone and using the 3G.

Most of them had that much spam attached to them I was affraid the wife would think I was looking at porn :p

Do you know of any good proxies that I can put into the browser options so it works without any user intervention?

We have a proxy at work but alas I cannot use it while at home.

Boss Tony, would it help if I sent you my ip address so you could add it to the whitelist?


I would prefer to view the site from my home pc not on a crappy phone.


Cheers Carl

[flowjoe]

You may not be able to see anything at all Carl, when that Rugby Playing Digger Driver gets a hold of you :laugh:

[GB_Groundworks]

There's not really a White list like a company firewall it's a range of ips that's banned not ones that are allowed these are to prevent spam in the brew cabin.

But give Tony your ip and when he has a minute he'll be able to see which subnet range your in that's excluded

[carlbeardsmore]

Thanks for that Giles. I have finally found a proxy that is not banned by the brew cabin hosted in Japan of all places.

I have set up firefox to always use this proxy and so far, it has been very reliable.

MickG, if you want to I will pm you the details. Its not a web based one though, you have to set up your browers to use it.

On a side note, I found most UK,German,and Usa proxy ip server addresses are banned by the cabin.

Thanks for everyones help, just hope this proxy lasts.

Cheers Carl

[mickg]

cheers for that Carl, its the first time in weeks i have been able to log in normally