History of This Web Server

Latest News Updated December 01, 2008

• This is an experimental server which went online on Thursday, January 30, 1997.

• Our first machine was a generic Pentium PC running IBM OS/2 Warp and Apache 1.1.1.  We initially experienced some stability as well as DNS problems with this server.  The problem was eventually corrected.

• Until further notice, we are known as technology.niagarac.on.ca on IP address 192.197.62.35.

• As of Tuesday, February 4, 1997, we are running Microsoft Back Office under NT 4.0.

• Monday, February 17, 1997:  replaced the motherboard in the server machine to increase availability and stability.

• Thursday, May 8, 1997:  Added LEDSign v2.7 -- we're Java enhanced!

• Monday, May 26, 1997:  Added Web Counter 2.6 -- "over one dozen served" and counting!

• Friday, August 15, 1997:  Upgraded to Apache 1.2.1 under FreeBSD 2.2.2 -- we've gone Unix!

• Friday, August 22, 1997:  Upgraded to Apache 1.2.4.

• Thursday, October 16, 1997:  FreeBSD and Apache are very stable.  Check our uptime!

• Thursday, November 20, 1997:  Our domain name is now aliased to technology.niagarac.on.ca.

• Monday, January 26, 1998:  Upgraded to Apache 1.2.5 and Count 2.4.

• Friday, January 30, 1998:  Three operating systems later, we celebrate one year on the Web!

• Monday, May 11, 1998:  Upgraded to Apache 1.2.6.

• Tuesday, March 2, to Friday, March 5, 1999:  (Bad hardware strikes again!)  Experienced operating system hard disk failure, after 179 days without a reboot.  Replaced the disk and CPU fan, added hard disk fans, reinstalled FreeBSD 2.2.2 and upgraded to Apache 1.3.4.

• Sunday, April 11, 1999:  Upgraded to Apache 1.3.6.

• Tuesday, January 4, 2000:  Survived Y2K... Upgraded to Apache 1.3.9.

• Monday, January 31, 2000:  Three years on the web!

• Tuesday, November 28, 2000:  Upgraded to Apache 1.3.14 and PHP 4.0.3pl1.

• Saturday, January 20 - Monday, January 22, 2001:  Due to another impending hard disk failure, we have finally migrated over to our new Sun Enterprise 3500 server (shown at left).  Although FreeBSD remains an outstanding, rock-solid operating system, the crappy PC hardware just couldn't handle 24/7 service...

• Monday, April 16, 2001:  Our Sun server was compromised by an unknown intruder.  The cracker (or possibly script kiddie) exploited a vulnerability in the Solaris operating system and installed a rootkit.  For more details, visit the following link:
  

  http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2001-05.html

• Tuesday, May 8, 2001:  Upgraded to Apache 1.3.19 and PHP 4.0.5.  The web site will be revamped in the next four months.

• Friday, June 8, 2001:  Discovered the intrusion embarrassingly late!  Removed the Sun box from the 'Net and did a post mortem, which revealed, among other things, a 1.5 MB packet sniffer log file!  Reverted to the ol' reliable FreeBSD server for a couple of months...

• Thursday, July 26, 2001:  Having been fooled once, I closed a potential security hole in FreeBSD.  For more details, visit the following link:
  

  http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2001-21.html

• Monday, August 20 and Tuesday, August 21, 2001:  Installed Solaris 8 from scratch, recovered files and restored backups.  Upgraded to Apache 1.3.20 and PHP 4.0.6.  Installed firewall software.  Our Sun box is back in business!

• Saturday, February 16, 2002:  Applied patches, upgraded to Apache 1.3.23 and PHP 4.1.1.  During the process ran a stripped-down version of the site on a Sony PCG-220FX notebook running Slackware Linux.  :-)

• Thursday, February 28, 2002:  Upgraded to PHP 4.1.2, due to a vulnerability in earlier versions of PHP.

• Saturday, October 5, 2002:  Applied patches, upgraded to Apache 1.3.27 and PHP 4.2.3.  During the process the site ran on the Sony again.

• Sunday, August 24, 2003:  After suffering a lengthy downtime due to the Northeast Blackout of 2003, fixed, patched Solaris, and upgraded to Apache 1.3.28 and PHP 4.3.2, PostgreSQL 7.3.4, and MySQL 4.0.14.

• Wednesday, September 17, 2003:  Just for fun, put up a new main page.  Eventually, most of the site will move to this format.

• Monday, May 31, 2004 to Thursday, June 3, 2004:  Due to a "misunderstanding", our domain name was temporarily changed.  It got changed back after much protest! After this debacle, I restructured the site and updated the main index and program pages.

• Monday, May 24, 2005:  Upgraded to Apache 1.3.33 and PHP 4.3.11, and MySQL 4.1.12.  Also installed a second version of Apache that will keep the site semi-live during such upgrades.

• Tuesday, July 19, 2005:  Started to update the web site content, due to the consolidation of this web site and the (stillborn) Technology Division (tech.niagarac.on.ca) site -- beginning to undo the damage caused over one year ago. :-)

• Thursday, September 22, 2005 and Saturday, September 24, 2005:  Upgraded to PHP 4.4.0, MySQL 4.1.13, and PostgreSQL 7.3.4.

• October 2005 to May 2008:  ???  [Webmaster's two children were born — sleep deprivation — not much time available for web stuff!] :-)

• Wednesday, June 4, 2008:  Upgraded to PHP 5.2.6, MySQL 5.0.51, and Apache 2.2.8.

• Monday, October 6 to Wednesday, October 8, 2008:  Upgraded to Bash 3.2.0 and Apache 2.2.9.

• Monday, November 24 to Monday December 1, 2008:  Upgraded to Apache 2.2.10; rebuilt PHP 5.2.6 with mysqli support.  Upgraded and added PHP support to backup Apache installation — plan to keep site up in the future during P.M. cycles.

  Over the next few months, a replacement server — Intel Core 2 Xeon class with six SATA disks running Solaris 10 — will be configured as a hot spare.  It will eventually replace the Enterprise 3500 unit, which, of course, refuses to die. :-)

A Retrospective

• One of Our First Attempts at a Home Page
• Our Last Windows NT Home Page
• The First FAQ
• When We Were ICT
• Our Last FreeBSD Home Page
• The Second FAQ
• When We Were CIT
• When We Were CIT (2)
• When We Were CIT (3)

The Fine Print (#include <stddisclaimer.h>)