Xtra map instances tonight? Kings Row 3?

[Force Redux]

Just curious I didn't see the population was particularly high but I noticed that several map instances were showing up for zones like King's row which apparently had three instances up.

 

Anyone else notice this? Was there some kind of event or something going on I wasn't aware of besides the anniversary?

 

Or just a bug?

[Greycat]

I heard something about maintenance, having seen a few zones (talos, PD) with multiple instances.

[Triumphant]

Yeah, I had two instances of both Brickstown and Kings Row last night.  Probably server maintenance, yes.

[Force Redux]

Coolio, Ty. Curiosity assuaged! 

[Gerald_Deemer]

On 5/30/2024 at 1:35 PM, Triumphant said:

Yeah, I had two instances of both Brickstown and Kings Row last night.  Probably server maintenance, yes.

They can do server maintanance during a runnig game just by creating instances???

[Hardship]

4 hours ago, Gerald_Deemer said:

They can do server maintanance during a runnig game just by creating instances???

I believe there are some settings that only take effect when a zone first spins up. By spawning a new zone (with the changes active) and locking the old zone, they can let it drain somewhat naturally until few to no one is in it and then shut it down and let it respawn with the changes.

[Number Six]

10 hours ago, Gerald_Deemer said:

They can do server maintanance during a runnig game just by creating instances???

 

Short answer: yes. We have the ability to hotpatch fixes for certain types of issues by swapping in new code that new instances run on, draining (locking) the zones running on old code, and letting the old ones shut down naturally after all players leave.

 

There are limits since it really only works for mapserver changes, and the client & server data need to stay in sync, but it's quite useful for things like critical stability & security patches to be able to roll them out without a full shutdown.

[Force Redux]

That's awesome. Ty for explanation!

[Gerald_Deemer]

58 minutes ago, Number Six said:

 

Short answer: yes. We have the ability to hotpatch fixes for certain types of issues by swapping in new code that new instances run on, and letting the old ones shut down naturally after all players leave.

 

There are limits since it really only works for mapserver changes, and the client & server data need to stay in sync, but it's quite useful for things like critical stability & security patches to be able to roll them out without a full shutdown.

Very cool!