We installed an XMPP server on our test server some weeks ago. We use this server for internal chat testing. The test setup also includes a database and a web server.
Last week suddenly a large number of clients hit our test server. Over the course of 2 days the numbers grew quickly to several thousand connections. It seems that there are many clients out there using our test server for chat on web pages.
Although this puts load on our small test server, we decided, that we would try to support these chats and let them continue. It turned out, that our test server can cope with the load. But the ongoing chats are sometimes disturbed by our internal tests. When we run tests or re-configure the server, then it happens from time to time, that the chat is offline.
Most users do not know about these technical issues. They just use the chat and this is ok. Since we allow the chat to continue, we feel the obligation to provide a reliable service. We know that it is very annoying if it suddenly stops working in the middle of a chat.
We consider renting an additional server exclusively for the chat. Then we can separate our test environment from the ongoing chat of real users. A full root server costs about 50 € per month. We are currently integrating a donation feature where you can help to support the chat server. We plan to spend this money anyway to make things safe and reliable, but we hope to cover some cost by donations.
The good news first: to the left you can see a sreenshot of the chat software we will publish soon. We are coding the last lines and have to integrate the software into the new installer. Surely some polishing has to be done but now we can see the end of the tunnel.
