MDWS SERVER DOWNTIME and INTERFACE UPGRADE TO V2.0
The MDWS server will be down for a period from 07:00 on Sunday 20th September (this might change) for software and hardware upgrades and for a change to V2.0 of the user interface. How long it will be unavailable for isn't known at the moment but it is likely to be for at least three or four hours. Watch this space for a notification of service resumption! Uploads should resume automatically well ahead of the Web server User Interface being available again.
SUPPORTERS/DONATIONS CHANGES
As already mentioned as a possibility several times over the past few months, the big change is that only users who have supported the site by at least a minimum Donation will have access to the majority of the new facilities summarised below for V2.0.
Additionally only Supporters will have access to uploaded data globally beyond the most recent consecutive 5 (FIVE) days (this only affects data access, there are no deletions for uploaders past those already in effect and well documented). Summary Data is currently available for one year maximum if you have been on the system that long and upload near continuously.
These changes still allow all users wanting to have remote diagnosis of their current stats from the resident Stats pundits - or just to browse - to use the system as normal for recent data over the last 5 days.
It's hoped that this change will eventually allow the MDWS facility to continue to be run and maintained without there being an overall system cost deficit and enable upgrades when required.
INTERFACE CHANGES
All the extras summarised below are only available to Supporters. The 'old' pre V2.0 system will still be available to everyone if preferred but many of the changes below will be unavailable and the 5 days still applies where appropriate.
GRAPH CHANGES
Graphs are now optionally wider for Supporters and available in six different heights from very small to very large (130 to 650px - the current size is 264px). The Control Box now sits above the graph rather than at the side and this makes much better use of available space and works more consistently between browsers. The Status Bar can be hidden if wanted to maximise the vertical space available for multiple graphs. The facilities available are much as they were before with just a few additions. See attachment.
FAILED UPLOAD MONITOR
You can now monitor your data uploads and be notified by e-mail if they stop for some reason. The period before this happens and the frequency at which you receive mail are configurable. You can also elect to receive another mail when uploads resume. This facility isn't really suitable for those who only upload sporadically,
ENHANCED DLM GADGET
There is an enhanced DLM gadget that gives a lot more information than the current small traffic lights by using a popup window. Available for FTTC connections only. See attachment. It's only accurate for 24 hour continuous uploads and will estimate for less.
MODEM/ROUTER DISPLAY
Users can now have their modem/router displayed along with each graph to aid remote diagnosis. While we sometimes manage the impossible, this was much more difficult and so you have to manually select the correct one from a list! This is already available via the current Options menu but not yet displayed on the graphs until the upgrade.
LATENCY MONITOR
Those who have one of the Latency monitors set up can now elect to have it publicly displayed on the Status Bar at its far right as a thumbnail above a graph with the full size graph also available as a popup (see attachment). Again, this is available as an Option currently but not displayed yet.
There still hasn't been time to update the Help system unfortunately but I'll post a more detailed guide to the changes here in a few days time and confirm the downtime.