E-mail practically unusable since yesterday

[#1]

All my e-mail accounts using imap.plus.net have been practically unusable since yesterday. My client has been unable to connect to download e-mails, or on the odd occasion that it does, the connection drops almost immediately.

I have read a lot of threads referencing a server migration. I have not had any mails notifying that my accounts are being migrated.

Sorry to start another e-mail thread, but I cannot see a consolidated thread for e-mail issues starting recently.

[#2 · Accepted solution]

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@Digsy wrote:

Sorry to start another e-mail thread, but I cannot see a consolidated thread for e-mail issues starting recently.

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A general comment to all...

There isn't a consolidate thread for this or other current issues (e.g. SPAM) because folks keep creating new ones ... and it is not the start date which is relevant, but the last posted date.

The persistence in opening new threads every couple of days for the same issue, creates unnecessary additional work for the volunteer moderators and those offering support.

Users will receive specific communication when THEIR account enters the migration programme.  In the meantime the business support staff are working on measures to mitigate the impact of the migration activity on the general usability of the service.  Currently migration does not run 8pm to 8am which is optimal for a residential grade service, seeking to ensure that when folks are back from work, they can access their private email services.

[#3]

Yes well a general comment to @Townman is that lots of us out here don’t have an 8-8 working day as we’re retired or otherwise at home so making sure that everything nasty happens during the am to pm period makes the service about as unusable as it can be. Just how much email traffic happens overnight? 95% of mine is daytime when I and any companies I’m dealing with are online.

[#4]

@Townman

Are you sure that migration window is correct?

In over half a century in the tech industry all the migrations I've been involved with have been carried out in low usage times.

Usually overnights 00-0600 for example, irrespective of user base.

The Plusnet email user cohort will include large numbers of active users during the day , when apparently migrations are happening.

These include WFH, commuters, people at work/on breaks and the mature demographic.

This would explain a lot of the recent posts on email performance.

[#5]

Thanks to @Townman for clarifying the root cause of these issues, but why isn't this information in the pinned post here?

The post doesn't even hint at disruption to services, a time window, or whether you will be affected before or after you recieve your migration notification?

That was the first place I looked for information on this after I failed to find a "service status" page (am I crazy or did PlusNet used to have one of these?) 

People are only going to keep raising e-mails treating this as a fault if the information to the contrary isn't easy to find.

[#6]

Communications, or lack of, has been flagged before
https://community.plus.net/t5/Email/Can-we-get-an-update-on-the-Greenby-migration-please/m-p/2029222...

[#7]

@Protech 

I would agree that normally in a business world one would not run intensive activities during the day - one would run them when folks are not working, when services need to be optimal.

This is a residential grade service which one might argue needs to be optimal when folks are not working.

Very dark hours running has been discussed but there are some needs for manual oversight.  It remains in the SU discussion list.

[#8]

@Digsy 

I would guess that severe impact on overall performance was not predictable.

Two decades ago I was managing a major service migration for a government department.  There was one comparatively trivial activity required towards the end of the process: the owner of that refused to attend and engage late on a Sunday afternoon during three rehearsal slots - “It will be fine - it will not impact the process”.

One the go live weekend he rucked up 3 hours before the expected completion time of 6pm to run his “little job”.  At 10pm we abandoned the migration and flipped back to the existing system.  A whole weekend lost due to one comparably trivial workload.