Tag: Simulator User Group 2020

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, December 22nd Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting.

For the TL;DR brigade: nothing major to report; not deployment, no viewer releases; meeting was a solstice / year-end party.

Server Updates

Week #51 eventually saw deployments every day of the week, which reportedly left all RC channels running on server release 553685 and the SLS Main channel on 553176. However, our home island was on the SLS Main channel is reporting it is running 553685,  so I assume that given there was no apparent deployment on Tuesday, December 22nd (as assuming our home island hasn’t been shuffled to an RC, the entire grid is now running on 553685.

SL Viewer

There have been no changes to the current crop of official viewers, leaving them as:

• Current release viewer version 6.4.11.551711, formerly Cachaça Maintenance RC viewer promoted on November 12 – No Change.
• Release Channel cohorts:
  • Dawa Maintenance RC Viewer, version 6.4.12.553723, December 15.
  • Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.552100, November 12.
• Project viewers:
  • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, issued on November 12.
  • Project Jelly project viewer (Jellydoll updates), version 6.4.12.552224, December 4.
  • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
  • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
  • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
  • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

In Brief

Map Tiles

Map tiles are still not being regularity updated, however the Lab both identified the cause of the issue and a possible fix, however, it now seems probable this will not be deployed until after the holiday break. On December 20th, Oz posted a comment to the SL forums, explaining the issue:

This is a temporary situation…  the data needed to generate the maps has been moved to AWS, but the code that does the work has not yet. Because of how the data centre version expected to fetch that data, it was not possible for us to make it work until the code has been moved too. That move is in progress and shouldn’t be too much longer (sorry, I don’t want to jinx the developer by setting a date).

Experience Keys

There is a significant issue with Experience Keys the is affecting all experiences grid-wide see: BUG-229892 “[Upilft] Experiences Failures”. This is also apparently impacting the Lab’s ability to release the new Linden Stilt Homes, as per an update to my article on the release of this new linden Home theme.

Uplift – Closure of Co-Lo Facility

Both April and Oz Linden have reported that with all SL systems and service now running on AWS, the work in clearing all of LL’s hardware and infrastructure from their former co-location facility in Arizona (a part of which involves the complete shredding of all hard drives) , and according to Oz, the work is “almost done”.

Date of Next Meeting

The next SUG meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 5th, 2021.

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, December 15th Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting.

Server Updates

Deployments in week #50 got a little confusing, with both SLS (Main) and some RC (Magnum) RC channel servers updated to release 553685, with the remainder of the simulators being updated to the same release on  Tuesday, December 15th. At the SUG, Rider linden explained the situation thus:

 So let’s see. We ended up having one extra set of rolls on Friday and then again today to catch the last of the stragglers. It was basically just an internal configuration change to help support uplift. I’m confident that that was the final roll of the year.

SL Viewer

The Dawa maintenance viewer updated to version 6.4.12.553723 on December 15th. The rest of the current crop of official viewers, remain as follows:

• Current release viewer version 6.4.11.551711, formerly Cachaça Maintenance RC viewer promoted on November 12 – No Change.
• Release channel cohorts:.
  • Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.552100, November 12.
• Project viewers:
  • Project Jelly project viewer (Jellydoll updates), version 6.4.12.552224, December 4.
  • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, issued on November 12.
  • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
  • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
  • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
  • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

In Brief

• Map tiles are still not being regularity updated, however the Lab both identified the cause of the issue and a possible fix, however, it now seems probable this will not be deployed until after the holiday break.
• The updates to Group chat made over the last day or so should not be seen as a “complete fix” for issues. Rather, it is intended to hopefully improve things for at least some who have experienced problems,with further work to come, with Oz Linden noting:

There is no doubt that group chat needs additional work. We have recently resolved some problems that we were able to diagnose, but more work will be needed as soon as we can devote some time to it.

• It  is possible that post-Uplift, EEP might see some further work, including an adjustment to the default Mainland ambient lighting.

 

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, December 8th Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting.

Server Updates

Refer to the server deployment thread for the latest news and updates.

The week sees a series of deployments between Monday and Wednesday:

• On Monday, December 7th, the simulators on the SLS Main channel were updated to simulator release 553168 contacting “some internal tweaks”.
• On Tuesday, December 8th, the RC channels were updated to simulator release 553176, which again contains “some internal tweaks”.
• If all goes will with the RC deployment, 553176 will be deployed to the SLS Main channel on Wednesday, December 9th.

Commenting on the week’s deployment, Rider Linden said:

So. We’re just about done with the tight sequence of rolls. Tomorrow [Wednesday  8th] we should be doing the main channel again, and then all will be right with the world. We are hoping that that is the final roll of the year. In January we should be back onto our regular Tuesday/Wednesday schedule. We know that the packed schedule has been disruptive over the last week, so thank you for being patient with us.

While there are no planned deployments between the end of this week and year-end, it is likely all regions will be restarted before the holiday break at the Lab to “keep things fresh”.

SL Viewer

The Start of the week has seen no change to the current crop of official viewers, leaving them as follows:

• Current release viewer version 6.4.11.551711, formerly Cachaça Maintenance RC viewer promoted on November 12 – No Change.
• Release channel cohorts:
  • Dawa Maintenance RC Viewer, version 6.4.12.553053, released December 3.
  • Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.552100, November 12.
• Project viewers:
  • Project Jelly project viewer (Jellydoll updates), version 6.4.12.552224, December 4.
  • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, issued on November 12.
  • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
  • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
  • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
  • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

In Brief

• Map tiles are still not being regularity updated, however the Lab both identified the cause of the issue and a possible fix, however, it now seems probable this will not be deployed until after the holiday break.
• LL have suggested that the Map system might be looked at in the future, with a request being made as to what people would like to see, were such a project to go ahead. Some of the suggested made at the meeting included:
  • The ability to add a logo over regions, rather than having to make one from prims (allowing for constraints that would be required to prevent abuse (such as having an expanded set of iconography?).
  • Allow the map to ignore region surrounds so the terrain can be seen on the map, rather than the map tile being a blank coloured square.
  • Heat maps showing traffic over varying time periods, a-la the old Metabolt client.
  • Better zoom capabilities.
  • Indicators / textures for showing whether the region is currently in daylight or night-time.
• Work is continuing to try to improve the teleport issues some are experiencing.

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, December 1st Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting.

Server Updates

• On Monday, November 30th, the simulators on the SLS Main channel were all updated to version 552571, matching the RC channels.
• Originally, it had been planned to follow this with a tight series of rolls over the next few days, with simulators updated in batches at roughly 16-hour intervals. However, at the time of writing this is on hold, as Rider Linden explained:

That plan, like so many others, is now up in the air. There are a couple of last minute snags that we ran into and so we’re evaluating what the best way to do these deploys is going to be and we do not yet have an answer. We will keep you all informed on the blog where things settle out.

This means that – again at the time of writing – the rolls listed on the grid status pages are TBD, and subject to update from LL.

No Change Window

Normally, December sees a limited number of deployments for the simulators, with a “no change” window coming into effect over the holiday period  (usually from just before the Christmas break to just after New Year’s day).

However this year, thanks to the migration work, this are apparently more fluid, and dates – if any – have yet to be announced.

SL Viewer

The Start of the week has seen no change to the current crop of official viewers, leaving them as follows:

• Current release viewer version 6.4.11.551711, formerly Cachaça Maintenance RC viewer promoted on November 12 – No Change.
• Release channel cohorts:
  • Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.552100, November 12.
• Project viewers:
  • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, issued on November 12.
  • Project Jelly project viewer (Jellydoll updates), version 6.4.11.551213, November 2.
  • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
  • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
  • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
  • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

In Brief

• Map tiles are still not being regularity updated, however the Lab both identified the cause of the issue and a possible fix,, with Simon Linden noting:

We know what’s going on but unfortunately it’s going to take a bit of time before we can have a fix. Some of the other work on getting to the cloud needs to get done first. It’s complicated by how inter-dependent our systems are.

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, November 24th Simulator User Group meeting.

Server Updates

Please also refer to the week’s server deployment thread.

• On Tuesday November 24th,  RC channels were updated to simulator version 552571, comprising “some bug fixes and internal tweaks”. However, one fix should correct the inability to correctly set permissions (e.g. edit rights) for friends.
• There is no planned SLS Main channel deployment for week #48.

Week #49

If all goes to plan at the Lab, week #49 (commencing Monday, November 30th) will see a daily series of rolling restarts across the grid. Due to start on Monday, this will be batches of regions being restarted, with the plan that restarts are staggered to avoid too much disruption, and if everything proceeds smoothly, each region should only be restarted once at some point in the week.

Commenting on the restarts, Maxidox Linden stated:

I think it will be something like at most 14-16 hours between rolls. Though as Rider says unless something changes we don’t plan to roll the same region in two successive rolls. And we’re going to do our best to avoid times with tons of people on-line if we can.

These deployments are liable to occur at 16-hour intervals.

Uplift Status

As per my blog post from week #48 (see: LL confirms Second Life regions now all on AWS), whilst all regions are now running on AWS services, the work in transitioning all of the Second Life back-end services is not complete, and LL are still “operating with one foot in either camp” – and this may be exacerbating the problems currently being experienced by some.

Another factor could be the different communications routes between viewers and servers following the move from operating out of the Lab’s co-lo facility in Arizona to the Amazon centre in Oregon. For some, this has definitely resulted in a noticeable increase in basic ping times to / from the servers, although for others, this has barely changed.

Commenting on the general state of play, Mazidox Linden observed:

We are not yet at what I would call “Final uplift performance” (that is to say, without any explicit attempts at tuning performance and behaviour of system communication). There is still plenty of stuff making that round trip over hundreds of miles to the data centre, slowing things down.

In this respect, some of the issues people are noticing at the moment may be down to the fact that LL haven’t as yet started fine tuning things, and are unlikely to do so until all services are running via AWS. As such, some of the problems people are noting might be down to this. In this respect, Oz Linden noted:

We’re much more focused right now on getting things other than the simulators uplifted and fixing anything that really breaks. Performance problems are a step down in priority until that’s done, but we won’t forget about them.

SL Viewer

The Start of the week has seen no change to the current crop of official viewers, leaving the as follows:

• Current release viewer version 6.4.11.551711, formerly Cachaça Maintenance RC viewer promoted on November 12 – No change
• Release channel cohorts:
  •  Custom Key Mappings project viewer, version 6.4.12.552100, November 12.
• Project viewers:
  • Simple Cache project viewer, version 6.4.11.551403, issued on November 12.
  • Project Jelly project viewer (Jellydoll updates), version 6.4.11.551213, November 2.
  • Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.4.11.550519, October 26.
  • Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9, 2019.
  • Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22, 2019.
  • 360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16, 2019.

In Brief

• Group Chat: There has been an update to the Group chat servers which the Lab hopes will help alleviate the issues of the last couple of months. The hope is that as a result of this, things should be somewhat better, although it is acknowledged things are “not perfectly solid” as yet.
• Map Tiles: there is a known issue with in-world Map tiles failing to update. At the time of writing, there was no ETA on when a fix will be implemented.
• Teleports: people are still reporting teleport failures, although data collected by the Lab using additional logging apparently shows the overall level of teleport failures as being back to “normal” after the recent spike.
• Textures: Slow texture loads: people are reporting slower than usual texture loading. When isn’t currently understood (given textures are among the data coming to users via the CDN, so not directly a part of the AWS transition). The speculation offered by Oz Linden is that where texture messaging is concerned, it may not be going as fast as LL like.
• Scripts: there have also bee reports of some regions initially showing improved script performance, only to apparently drop back to “pre-uplift” levels of processing. Commenting on this, Maxidox Linden stated:

 If you’re seeing changes to scripts run the likely explanation is that there is contention for shared system resources beneath the simulator layer. That is something we had only mild control over before and have even less control over now..  That said, it’s on our radar. I can’t promise that even when someone gets time to look at it there will be anything we can *do*, but we are aware, and we’re not ignoring it. …

I mean, it is almost possible that we’re calculating that number wrong Lucia, because we have certainly changed the hardware the simulators are running on in ways that the people who made that statistic probably never imagined. I’m not going to swear that is or isn’t happening, but it will certainly be one of the many things we look at.