Amazon S3 Hiccups

Amazon has been having some issues with their S3 service. None have affected access to the back-end NRS servers which are hosted at Rackspace, but the information web pages may go offline when problems occur with S3. For information on how to directly log into NRS without going via the front page, please use e-mail to contact support at nrs-online.com.

Rackspace DNS Issues Affecting Access

Rackspace is having DNS issues which is affecting access to the NRS-Online servers. A notice on the homepage will remain until the issue is resolved. For real-time info on the situation at Rackspace, visit their Twitter account https://twitter.com/rackspace.

OpenSSL Heartbleed/Heartbeat Security Issue

None of the servers hosting the NRS or KRF backends were affected by the OpenSSL bug. As such, users do not have to change passwords.

Mail servers getting an update. Registrations by e-mail to the standard address may bounce for a few hours. Registrations may be sent to support at sevik period com for the time being.

An extensive backup and mirroring of online data will take place starting at SAT AUG 18 1:00am PST. Then server software will be updated. Access may be limited for approximately one to two hours from the start time.

We are preparing to move to a new system that has taken a considerable amount of time to develop. More news will come shortly.

NRS-ONLINE Servers being rebooted

Rackspace is migrating numerous servers as part of an upgrade so we are rebooting all of our servers now before the deadline for migrating.

Access to NRS and Sevik systems will be interrupted during the period 3:00am - 3:15am PST MAR 13 2012.

Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment

For those involved in the finance industry and are considering gaining some international experience, please investigate the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (UK). In addition to an expanding international presence (Europe and Asia, in particular), the Institute also offers great networking opportunities, continuing professional development courses and a suite of exams that one can use to earn qualifications.

FEB 18 2:30AM PST server update...

An SSL certificate on one of the busier sevik.net servers will be updated at FEB 18, 2:30AM PST. Users may notice a slower response from nrs-online.com functions for several minutes around this time.

Very Old Law Texts on Google Books

Google has scanned in the contents of numerous very old (19th century and early 20th century) law treatises, journals and other books. These are complete, unlike many of the newer books on Google Books, which are only partially available for copyright reasons. A good one to get, if you don't already have it, is "The Common Law" by Oliver Wendell Holmes.

The entry point for google books is: http://books.google.com

To get a list of only Complete Texts, use the Advanced Search function.

Canceled Avvo Pro Subscription

I had my Avvo ranking up to a 7.0 and then all of a sudden it dropped to a 6.1. Reason ? No new updates to my profile. Apparently, if you don't add new material then your score can decrease. This is under the notion that your "Industry Recognition" and even your 'Experience' can be considered to have declined if you don't add new material.

Personally, this looks a bit gimmicky. Avvo likely wants users to 1) provide free content to them in the form of guides and answering online questions, and 2) get peer recommendations (i.e. get other lawyers to access Avvo and say nice things about you).

Bottom line, if an Avvo client can provide free traffic and free content then their score goes up. Otherwise, it may go down.

If Avvo were more transparent in how scores are lowered and raised, it would be helpful. Otherwise, it looks like they can game the client very easily. I suspect article publications and speaker engagements are very limited in their effectiveness, and Avvo clients will likely find out that the best way to raise a rating is to help Avvo by giving them free content and free traffic.

Anyway, no more subscription money from me. I'd rather donate the $50/month to charity.

Software Upgrades

An upgrade to the core Control Panel software will be undergoing live testing during the holiday period. Users can expect periodic downtimes in the 2:30AM - 3:00AM PST time periods during the week of DEC 26 2010 - JAN 01 2011.

Some users will see the new control panel, while others will not. Users seeing the new control panel should note that the service will be SLOWER. The new code is in Python and interacts with a variety of cloud services, rather than our current more optimized and traditional system.

A lot more features are about to rain down for current users. We thank everyone for their patience. Numerous accounts have received extensions to their renewal date so as to make transitioning easier and to better coordinate renewals with the new services.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Reboot of one NRS server on NOV 27 @ 2:30am PST

A reboot of one of the NRS servers will take place on Saturday Nov 27 2010 @ 2:30am PST. This early morning re-boot may result in 1-3 minutes of requests not being processed. If there are any issues then a notice will be posted here and at the nrs-online.com home page. The server being re-booted does not deliver html content so the nrs-online.com website will not be affected.

DNS changes to nrs-online.com

We made some DNS changes to the domain nrs-online.com -- there does not appear to be any issues, but sometimes changes can take a while to realize themselves throughout the net. If anyone has access problems via nrs-online.com then logging in at www.sevik.com should solve them.

Planned Server Reboot: 10/15/2010 2:30am PST

Sevik will be rebooting several servers on OCTOBER 15, 2010 at 2:30am PST. This is due to a number of operating system updates that require a reboot. All services will be affected. A complete backup will occur prior to re-boot. Anticipated disruption time is 5 minutes. If there are issues, this blog will contain updates.

Web Server Restart in 10 minutes...

One of the web servers that serves static html pages for several Sevik sites will be restarted. There should not be any disruption; if a page fails to load though try again once or twice and it should load properly. This restart will not affect Control Panel access or usage as the Control Panel is hosted on different servers.

New Server, new sites coming...

New virtual server added to handle additional traffic - there were no interruptions; new Sites module BETA to be installed in some Accounts this week for managing entries in the upcoming Sevik Content Network - please test and use the feedback forms to alert us of any issues. First site should be public in a couple of weeks, after testing.

Rackspace Cloud working fine...

All Sevik servers have been moved from their original hodgepodge of VPS and dedicated servers at various providers to Rackspace Cloud. The transition happened early in the year, and we've been going without any problems since then, and getting great performance for the price.

Previously we had dedicated servers and various forms of accounts at Rackspace, Verio, Hurricane Electric, Linode and Slicehost. By consolidating with virtual servers under Rackspace Cloud, management of assets is easier and money is saved. The upcoming content network will be entirely hosted on Rackspace Cloud.

Summer schedule...

Things moving slowly during the summer. New Modules though should be ready for Sevik control panel users by the end of August. Content network on tap to be launched in September with testing throughout August. By the end of the year, the network is planned to expand to around twenty sites covering a range of themes.

SBTRUST, New Blogs, Storage, and more...

1. krf-law.blogspot.com will be my blog for discussions of law and my law practice. Future NRS-Online/Sevik discussions will occur on a different blog as well (URL to be posted). This blog, KRF on Everything, will remain for miscellaneous and personal posts.

2. SBTRUST module has been installed for those who previously had SBTRUST accounts with Sevik. All other clients will have access to it in June.

3. StorageZAP Module still in testing. If you need free online storage then consider using Mozy. Mozy offers 2 GB for free. StorageZAP will only be 1 GB free for current Sevik customers with additional storage purchased.

4. StorageZAP Module deployment, and SBTRUST widespread deployment, delayed due to priority being put on going live with Sevik's content network. Once the network is up and operating then we can also add our marketing features to the Control Panel.

Blog will Split...

Reading between the lines of a few e-mails, I think some aren't aware that my law practice and Sevik (a corporation) are distinct entities. To prevent that possible confusion from continuing and/or building, I will split my just started blogging career into separate blogs: personal, law and Sevik.