In response to our Server Relocation Statement the other day we are currently making some changes to the mail server configuration and set-up to allow us to provide alternative access to mail in the event of a major outage of the main network.

This work should be transparent to users however there may at times be a slight delay in the delivery of received mail.

The reason the network had to be relocated was due to a change in ownership of RedBus Meridian Gate. RedBus was recently acquired by TeleCity and renamed to TelecityRedbus [TeleBus]. After the exchange TeleBus then proceeded to cancel all existing contracts and put new contracts in place.

The main routing equipment was relocated last night. This means that the majority of traffic is now currently going through IPHouse and then routed back to TeleBus (RedBus Meridian Gate). The actual servers remain in TeleBus and we will provide more details in the coming days as to when these will be relocated.

The advantage of now having the traffic re-routed means that when the actual servers are physically moved the downtime will be maintained to a minimum as the connectivity is already routed through IPHouse.

At approximately 14:30 today [13th June 2006] we began experiencing network connectivity problems and outages. This was identified as a problem with our IP range which had been re-routed in anticipation for the server relocation.

However the IP range was not announcing correctly causing connectivity issues and outages.

Engineers quickly worked on the problem to restore connectivity at 14:45 GMT

We have no planned the server relocation to take place between 17:00 today [13th June 2006] and 09:00 tomorrow [14th June 2006]. During this period users may experience 2-3 hours of complete downtime. There may also be intermittent outages between these times of a few minutes due to network configuration changes.

It was just 7 months ago that we originally moved our set-up to Redbus Meridian Gate. This move has brought faster connectivity and a much greater network reliability.

However in recent weeks Redbus has been purchased by Telecity a major European data centre provider. Since the buyout service levels at Redbus have dropped. There has also been an price increase of over 400% on contract renewals. It is my personal belief that the aim is to quickly increase profitability ready for a floatation and possible sale providing a big return on investment in a short space of time.