This weekend, 2 very exciting things are happening:
- Halloween.
- Her Campus is switching to a Cloud server.
In the past couple days, you’ve become something of an expert in #1, Halloween, after reading all of our articles on putting together the perfect costume no matter if you’re a single lady, taken, or sadly cliché (we can fix that).
As for #2, I’m here to announce what’s happening with HerCampus.com this weekend, demystify servers and “Cloud computing,” and explain why this is all so exciting!
A server is an actual physical piece of hardware that you can touch (i.e. one of the ways you can break a server is by smashing it with a hammer), and that has a finite amount of disk space and memory (i.e. there are inherent limitations on a server’s capabilities). We’ve outgrown our server due to our extreme levels of traffic and too much simultaneous uploading on our site.
This weekend, we’re making the switch to a permanent solution in the Cloud. If you’ve never heard the term “the Cloud” before, what I just said must sound totally weird. Here’s what it means: “the Cloud” is a massive network of pooled computing resources that work on-demand to provide instant support and scalability for servers utilizing their infrastructure. For Her Campus, this means that when an article goes viral on our site, or eight Campus Correspondents are all uploading a new Campus Cutie at the same time, we don’t have to risk the whole website crashing because too many users are taking pieces of that finite RAM (memory) pie. The cloud just puts more resources to work for us, and handles traffic spikes like a charm.
So here’s the deal: starting this Friday, October 29 at 6:00 pm EST, we’re taking HerCampus.com offline to move all of our files and databases over to a brand new cloud server. The process will take some time, so don’t be alarmed if you see a site maintenance page up this weekend. We hope to be back in 24-48 hours, if not sooner!
We’re excited about this switch, and hope you are too!
Have a great Halloween weekend in the meantime, and see you soon :)