The instance has been updated to version 0.19.4!
You can see the official release post and notes here: https://lemmy.ml/post/16585359?scrollToComments=true
Since this update required some manual intervention anyway to update the database version, I took the opportunity to perform some overdue server maintenance and upgrades.
I have migrated the server to a more powerful configuration, and changed the way image files are being stored and served (object storage as opposed to filesystem storage).
I am also aware of some federation issues that have affected this and other instances. I am not sure whether this upgrade will deal with these problems automatically. I will be looking into it and hopefully will implement some solution soon.
Sorry for the downtime experienced in the past few days, but hopefully with the more powerful server the experience will be smoother and will remain so for a while.
For other admins and users interested, this is a bit of information about the server
The previous configuration:
Hosting provider: serverspace.io
8 GB RAM
4 Core CPU
50 Mbps network
400 GB SSD
Cost: $55 / month
The 400 GB SSD was being used to store both the server's database and the image files, and this component in isolation had a monthly cost of $36. I have migrated the images to an object storage provider ($6/month for 500 GB), and used the resources previously used for disk space to increase the other parameters. The new configuration is a lot better and less expensive.
New configuration:
Hosting provider: serverspace.io
Object storage provider: contabo.com
16 GB RAM
6 core CPU
50 Mbps network
100 GB SSD
500 GB Object storage
Cost: $47/month
Thanks a lot to the lemmy and pict-rs devs for the hard work they put into developing the infrastructure!
That's the same error I was asking about below, and wondering if it had to do with the current status of collecting all the content. If so, it sounds like it could be another day or two before we can view our front pages again?
For now, one option is to temp change your settings to browse by "Local" or "All". Or alternatively temporarily unsubscribe off a few comms; if you're subscribed to a small number of comms, some trial and error might help you to find which ones are causing the issue. (For me it was two LW comms).
Sorry for the double reply.
Check if you're subscribed to any of those communities: !technology@lemmy.world , !comicstrips@lemmy.world or !memes@lemmy.world. If you are, try to unsubscribe and see if your front page works again. For me it did the trick.
!fediverse@lemmy.world was also giving me problems, but apparently it's fine now, so odds are that the problem will eventually go away on its own.
All of this sounds like the issue is related to the new server still loading up the communities. I'm subbed to a pretty good list so it's probably best just to wait for the server to catch up. Thanks for the info though!