Monday, February 11, 2008

Uploading problems continue

Mediamax has struggled for the past several weeks with uploads and processing which were originally addressed to an uptick in upload traffic, but later reported to be caused by a database error which they hoped to have fixed soon.

Since around midday yesterday (CET) the upload system seem to have collapsed totally with upload speed being only a fraction of what people used to get and almost always sooner or later dropping to near zero before the upload crashing altogether. I have not notice an entry about this on MediaMax own blog about this also and seeing V6 beta has been delayed and we still have to muddy around with V5 it would be a good thing if they could patch up the system a little at least.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have been subscribed to this blog for some time and generally agree with the comments. I use MediaMax all day for work purposes (uploading and downloading) so I am quite aware when they are having problems.

I will admit the weekend was a tad slow with files showing up and that uploads were sluggish today.

But, I have not seen any "crashes" over the past 24-hours that you are talking about. Frankly I have more to do than watch my uploads, but they have always been completed when I come back to the upload window. Downloads have been just fine too and speedy.

I do not see anything collapsing and I believe you are over sensationalising which is common when one is frustrated.

WillTRiker said...

Excuse me? Sensationalism? I think I'm entitled a little more credit then that remark.

I'm part of a small upload group and for over a year I almost exclusively do only uploading to MediaMax and if everyone in that group complains about horrendous speeds and failed uploads and taking into account that these problems have been with us in various states of severity since the end of january I hardly think this is spinning a sensationising post out of one single incident. Around a dozen emails to John Hood reporting about incidents regarding this matter in less then 2 weeks would consitute a solid base for complaining wouldn't you agree?

Your mileage may vary when using your MM account, but I can only report what I see happening in my own community. And while I don't use MM for work purposes I'm on it generally for 12 hours a day so I'm also quite aware when they're having problems thank you very much.

Out of curiousity ... what size of files are you uploading? I'm assuming your files files are relatively small compared to mine (average 200MB) so in that respect it wouldn't surprise to see me if your uploads succeed where all of mine fail.

Anonymous said...

I and some others of the forum i am on have, have the same problems for a 2 days now. Upload speeds vary between 5kbs/sec and 20 kbs/sec
This is also for single file webupload (which used to perform much better than ftp)
Again I call for more communication by MM.

Icy said...

Well done Will, you've beaten me to writing the first post, and I was going to write about upload speeds too!

I've been trying the various methods with uploads. I've recently ripped my whole CD collection to Monkeys Audio and VBR MP3, and wanted to store the whole lot online for access anywhere. So I've started with the MP3's so far as they are significantly smaller, and with the current speeds, the APE files would take forever.

Anyway, my recent experiences.....

WEB UPLOADER
The web-uploader works, mostly, but still has the annoying habit of bombing out with the 12031 error (or something like that). What I find most frustrating about this (and I know I bang on about it on here) is that any files uploaded prior to the crash are lost. It seems like it should be such a simple thing to fix, but then it's not me who would have to do it!

It also always seems to crash either 30 seconds after I walk away from my PC, or within 90 seconds of completing the upload. Or at least that is how it feels.

Since the beginning of last weekend (9th/10th Feb), this has been running significantly slower than previously, and as a result, unless very small quantities or sizes of files are uploaded, it almost always bombs out.

(No doubt like everyone else) I don't have time to sit uploading files one at a time, so consider this method pretty much only any use for quickly uploading smaller files in my experience.

FTP
I have always used CuteFTP Pro to do my FTP Uploads, and back in the old Streamload v4 days, and even for a while with Mediamax v5, I have had upload speeds of around 375Kb/s which effectively meant about 17 minutes for a 50Mb file. Bliss!

Now I am lucky if I get 20Kb/s-30Kb/s. Actually, although CuteFTP always used to work fine, it is now timing out constantly and I haven't been able to upload more than about 1% or 2% of a 5Mb MP3 before it errors and stops.

The FTP Gateway programme terminates “unexpectedly” fairly regularly too.

Last night I downloaded FileZilla to try different software and this seems to be working, albeit ridiculously slowly. I started it running an album upload at 6:30am this morning, before I left for work. Six hours later, it has successfully uploaded 3 files, totalling 19Mb. Having just remote connected into my computer at home, it is reporting the upload speed at 930b/s, that's BYTES per Second, NOT Kilobytes per second. Admittedly, this may be in part due to my using bandwidth to connect to my computer, but I don't think it would make that significant a difference.

MEDIAMAX XL
This has been running on my computer at home 24/7. I was making steady progress with it, uploading at something like 33Kb/s, but since some time over the weekend, that "speed" has dropped off massively too. Over a 24 hour period from Sunday night to Monday it uploaded the grand total of 10Mb, only one file, although it has speeded up a little since then, it's still only about 50% of the way through the album it started uploading on Sunday and which normally would have been done in a couple of hours.

So overall, things have definitely taken a turn for the worse, whether it be database problems or an increase in uploading, I’m not sure. But I am most concerned by the response from the Support guys (posted elsewhere) that they are simply hoping the upload speeds cannot increase. This suggests to me that MediaMax have no control over this, which I would sincerely hope is not the case.

Oh, and in order to balance the article, any time I have downloaded anything from MM recently, it’s been super-quick! 

I know we have “wish-lists” posted elsewhere on this blog, and that MM appear to have included most, if not all of them in v6, but I think the key three things that MM need to address quickly (even before v6 if possible) are the following:

1. Upload speeds
2. Security of storage (ie being able to all but guarantee that files won’t be lost. Ever).
3. Download speeds

I think if they get those three things right, anything else will be forgiven.

Icy said...

Sorry, there was a significant typo in that post - it should read:

".....Support guys (posted elsewhere) that they are simply hoping the upload speeds CAN increase. This suggests to me that MediaMax have no control over this, which I would sincerely hope is not the case.

Anonymous said...

Yeah I remember the days when I could queue up a big list in ftp, and they would go beaming off at high speeds. Now I'm lucky to get 2kb/s maximum on ftp with FileZilla. My uploads everywhere else go 60kb/s at least.

The Web upload seems to never finish if you put more than 200mb on it, if you can even get the page to show up without random error number 6.

Mediamax XL is just a joke. If I can get it to login, uploads still go way slow, until the whole program freezes. This usually happens to me within 10 minutes.

There's just no alternatives left.
Release v6 already!

Anonymous said...

As much as I hate MM I gotta admit that (when it works) its still the best system I've found. Has anyone found another File Sharing site thats as easy for 'outsiders' to use? I mean, as long as they know my account name and MM's home page address, they can upload or download files anytime without joining, loggin on, or registering. And I dont have to advise anyone of links to particular files. Outsiders can just look in and grab whatever they want.

If theres anything similar to this anywhere I'd like to know about it, as a backup to my MM account.

Anonymous said...

The uploading seems to be back to normal speed at least for single file webupload. Have emailed John Hood 2 days ago but no response so far, the mm blog is also quiet so no idea what is going on.
Wish very much and I know lot's of other people as well to see some sign of progress with v6 Anyone of the readers of this blog knows more maybe besides delay in the userinterface of v6??
About other options, I only tried humyo myself. They don't have the options "yet" that u are looking for, it works decently, reliable so far yes but you have to pay for storage above 25gb which is a serious downfall. Don't know much about other possibilites but the options you mentioned I only know from mm. If they are really import maybe you should lookinto amazon s3 or the "related to mm" nirvanix company

WillTRiker said...

I know I should keep my big mouth shut as I will jinx it no sooner then I hit the "Publish your comment"-button, but uploading is .... somewhat fixed. I still notice a 60% drop in speed for a single webupload, but running 2 simultaneous uploads make up partially for that. I'm just happy that at least I can upload semi-normally again.

The files seem to be processed fairly quickly as well i.e. under one hour.

As for other developments. I got a reply from John late last night in which he attributed the recent problems to their work on V6. I assume he meant that they have shifted resources from V5 to V6 in order to further their development process. Needless to say I wasn't quite happy with the massive drop in performance and suggested that they should buy/rent more resources instead of cutting down on V5. Also John informed me of another delay (cause by UI problems) of V6 beta and they hoped (note the word hope) that they can release V6 at the end of this month.

Icy said...

Thanks for the updates Will, I don't think John H would like being bombarded with emails whenever there are problems, so I tend to leave it knowing you are in touch with him, and am grateful for the information you post here.

I can also confirm that the uploading seems to be performing better again today. Cannot be specific about speeds etc as I won't be connecting in to my home PC until later, but things are uploading quickly (well in recent terms anyway!)

Anonymous said...

Uploading had been better, for a few hours, but once again, it is in the crapper. If you can connect, speeds are at extreme crawl (I think snails are beating it), and of course if the file is larger than a few MB, it crashes out, or just never progresses at all, even after 5 hours.

shamanana said...

WillT, by releasing V6 by the end of the month... did he mean the final version which would possibly cause even more problems with uploading or using MM services in general for the next few months like during the V5 transition?

Or the beta version meant just for the testers to give it a try and report back on the possible bugs and impressions of usability and features...?

Just wondering since two days have gone by already since the post and there is absolutely no change in uploading speeds/slowness.

Anonymous said...

Hooray! My Mediamax nightmare is over. I spent $10 for a domain name plus $20 for plenty of space for a year to store my files. A bit of help was required from a friend to sort out an upload and download 'sharing program' but now its perfect.

This is how an internet business should be run... http://www.freehostia.com/free_hosting.html

I feel so much more relaxed already but I feel sorry for all you poor MM victims. Good luck!

(PS. If you try FreeHostia theres one catch. The free space has a 500k file size limit. That why I chose the $20 plan.)

Anonymous said...

WillTRiker- Thanks for spreading the good news. I'm sorry that it's taken so long to resolve this issue, but I think we're on the uptick.
JD- I wrote you back on the 15th. Let me know if you didn't get the email and I'll re-send.
Beau- I hope you'll come back after you see our new product.
madoka- we hope to release the beta version by the end of this month to mid-march. We're not going to GA release ANYTHING before it's been beta tested by our user group, ALL of whom are subscribers to this blog.

Anonymous said...

John I read ur mail, tnx for replying
Glad to learn that v6 will run completely separate from v5
Can't wait for v6 to come out.
Can't you whip those developers to hurry up? :-)

BTW the uploading problem was back this weekend, seems to be solved now but only a huge delay in processing remains

shamanana said...

John, I hope that your new product is/will be as good as you say, but unfortunately the present uploading issue is still largely unsolved. For some reason speed (still) fluctuates greatly, dropping down to zero all the time. And during certain hours uploads are more prone to crashing...
Yes, you could say that it is better than a few days ago, but I am still uploading with 1/4 of the usual speed. And that's when it's actually uploading.
Is there a light at the end of this tunnel? Or we are forced to wait for V6?

Anonymous said...

I've had problems since May of last year, so problems are still ongoing with Mediamax. No surprise.
I cutof my monthkly cash infusion for non-service some time ago.

Just had enough of empty promises and no delivering

Anonymous said...

I no longer upload to Mediamax. I use it to receive files which I download as quickly as possible before they lose them. Sometimes/often not quick enough :(

I don't have any faith in them saying V6 will fix everything and that it will not be used until it is stable. If they were honest last time they said that we would all still be on Streamload.

How will V6 stop them losing the files almost as soon as they get them? If they know what is causing the losses, how come they continue to happen?

I haven't asked for refunds. They can see that my use of their service has been much reduced since the change. An honourable company would automatically be making reduction in fees until they got their service working. I have simply lost faith in their ability to make the service work as well as Streamload did. I no longer expect nor wish for better.

I don't know why we had to have the change from streamload, nobody has explained it to me, I just know the wheels fell off when they did it.

Even today, when trying to sort my files I get Media Max general system errors almost every time I try to move files. Frankly I am fed up.

spook1958

Anonymous said...

Okay, here is a stupid question. I have looked in the help, but still have not found an explanation.

The white arrow in a green box pointing down in the File/Folder column. What does it mean? All the files and folder I am having most problems with do not have this lit up, they are faintly hashed out like they are not available. If I open the folders the contents have the green box okay. Just can't find an explanation of it. Lots of pics with it, but no name for it or explanation of its purpose can I find. Can someone please explain?

spook1958

Anonymous said...

Okay, I am stupid. I thought what the hell, why not just click on it, how could things be worse :) It is a download button. Not remotely mentioned or described as such in the help files, but a download button nevertheless. So why are so many of my files and folders indicating they are not available for download? Yet the contents of the same folders are? Is this the same problem where the contents of folders bursting to capacity are shown as (0)

I was having so much trouble moving files around that someone recommended using MediaMax explorer, a great program, would be greater with dual display, but far better than mediamax itself. But it doesn't have the arrows in the green box and so I can't avoid the general system errors that the arrows are associated with. Sorry does that make sense?

spook1958

Anonymous said...

Mediamax has a mind of it's own that hates humans. Thats the only way I've ever been able to explain the whole mess to myself.

HernĂ¡n Emilio Seivane said...

Hello,

MediaMax endeavors to maintain customer's files but there can be issues
with equipment or maintenance procedures that may affect uploaded files.
Your unavailable files can mean that the server has temporarily lost or misplaced the file or data, and it cannot currently locate it. However this also means that it will be found, it is just a matter of time.
Secondly it can mean that the file is corrupt or invalid somehow, and has been removed from our servers. If a file has been unavailable for a long time, this is the most likely situation. This also can happen when people "Email" you invalid files or corrupt files, and while the link appears
good, it is really a link to a bad file. Re-Emailing the same corrupt or missing file again will not make the file available. If you need files that are unavailable you will need to re-upload another copy of the files.
In order for the newly uploaded file to be accessible it has to be
different in some way to the previous file. Our system's method of handling uploaded files compares the file being uploaded to files that have been previously uploaded to your account. If the file is the same in composition as the old file it attempts to speed the upload process by just creating a new reference to the already existing file in your account
that is unavailable at the moment. For example if I have a picture that I had uploaded but cannot access at this time, I will need to upload a replacement. In order for the replacement picture to be recognized as new, I need to change something about the picture, like change the compression size of the picture or change the picture from its present
image format (jpg) to another format (e.g.gif) .
When customers agree to use a MediaMax account, they agree to have read the terms of the account which includes are recommendation that files stored in your MediaMax account are also backed up independently.
"MediaMax shall have no responsibility for and does not guarantee the integrity of Private Content or Public Content residing on MediaMax's equipment. You are responsible for independent backup of Private Content and Public Content stored using MediaMax's services. You agree to assume
all risk of loss of such data. You agree to hold MediaMax harmless for any
loss of data, whether on Your equipment or through MediaMax's services,
arising out of or resulting from use of MediaMax's services, including use
of software provided by MediaMax if any. MediaMax may, but shall not be
required to, delete Your Public Content, files and/or Private Content
after the termination of this Agreement."
We apologize for any loss of files that you have experienced.

Judd
MediaMax Support
http://www.mediamax.com

Anonymous said...

Judd,

That is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever read.

Mediamax hasn't worked for fast approaching two years now.

I am amazed there are people still here actually using your abhorrent facility.

As a company you have done nothing but lie, cheat and deceive people for years as well as cause nothing but upset and problems with the data YOU have lost.

"MediaMax endeavours to maintain customer's files but there can be issues."

Damn right there are issues Judd, like loosing X millions of paying customers files.

CHARGING FOR A SERVICE THAT DOES NOT WORK.

Rolling out a system that was doomed to fail and inflicting it upon paying customers.

Customer service that is of no use at all and insists on treating people like idiots.

"You agree to assume all risk of loss of such data.
You agree to hold MediaMax harmless for any loss of data, whether on Your equipment or through MediaMax's services, arising out of or resulting from use of MediaMax's services, including use
of software provided by MediaMax if any. MediaMax may, but shall not be required to, delete Your Public Content, files and/or Private Content
after the termination of this Agreement.
We apologize for any loss of files that you have experienced."

Judd this is hilarious, you guys are just funny beyond belief, so just out of interest how do you plan to compensate people who's files MEDIAMAX lost?

MEDIAMAX ARE THE SCUM OF THE EARTH AND I PRAY FOR THE DAY YOU ARE WIPED OF THE THE INTERNET - YOU ARE NOTHING BUT THIEVES!

Unknown said...

I'm having a problem with MM that has nothing to do with upload speeds... but I would love to know if anyone else has noticed this. I have all but abandoned my MM account due to the problems so 100 GB of downloads goes to waste every month. That is why I was stunned to see that they had charged me FOUR times for this month. My account shows 0 mb of downloads in the history so there is no way additional download blocks were purchased. Further inspecting the payment history, I have found that they have also double and triple billed me in September and November.

All emails to the company have been ignored and a call to MM Headquarters gives me a nasty message saying that they don't do phone support and directs me to the blogs.

At this point I'm afraid that they are finally tanking... Any ideas?

Icy said...

Hi Heather,

John Hood reads (and writes) on this blog regularly, and is one of the senior MediaMax people.

I'm sure he'll investigate this for you next time he stops by.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who takes credit cards will tell you that double and triple billing does not happen accidentally. MM is involved in deliberate and and consistent theft. Cancel your card and report them to your credit card company immediately! And you are right, when their criminal behaviour becomes this flagrant you know they are going down very soon.

Anonymous said...

Yeah I have had a lot of trouble with the billing system, I was overbilled 7 or 8 times in 3 months. Support finally answered my email after about a month. They settled my balance and gave me 2 months free, oh boy.

You really have to keep track of that account history, I'm sure a lot of people have just not noticed they're being quadruple billed.

You'd think they would keep up on their billing support, but each time I have written them it always takes them at least 3 weeks to write back.

Anonymous said...

For such a high proportion of people to report double billing then there is something seriously amiss. This billing problem has gone way beyond what could be described as 'careless'.

WAKE EVERBODY! YOU ARE BEING DELIBERATELY FLEECED!.

Anonymous said...

Wow Judd, that was quite a mouthful. Unfortunately it never addressed or replied to what I actually said in my email. You must work in Mediamax support.

How can the arrows being hashed out indicate the files are corrupt or unavailable, when the contents of the dir are not hashed out or unavailable and they are THE files. I accept that that is what the hashed out arrows should mean, but in practice that isn't what is happening.

I have a silly theory about the issues I have with Mediamax. Most of the problems I have is because I was a streamloader and my files were moved across. That and the fact that I have a large account with many duplicate files (both of which I am trying to correct).

It probably is a faster, safer system for newer folks joining. But hey, I never asked for the streamload to mediamax fiasco. In hindsight I think it would have been better if you gave members 3 months to move our own files across.

But that isn't the issue. The files are still being lost and unavailable and it is impossible to sort through the files without constantly being bombarded with errors generated by mediamax. I am sorry but I have no faith in V6 fixing this. I am prepared to be pleasantly surprised, but I would never use mediamax for serious storage or backup. I have no faith in mediamax's ability to either protect the files or to be honest with me about why I have to keep bending over.

Ian

Anonymous said...

Mediamax - your silence is deafening!

Anonymous said...

We are currently down. Apparently there are some issues with connectivity to our databases. We are working on correcting the situation. I'll post again here at that time.

Anonymous said...

Heather- please post your username here and i'll post a refund for you.
Everyone- We are not trying to fleece people. First of all, I have mentioned this situation before on this blog. Secondly, both our bank, Wells Fargo, and Verisign are aware of the issue and are working with us to correct it. The issue originates with Verisign, not with us. Wells Fargo automatically reverses any bogus charges, but has missed some in the past. We handle these issues immediately once we are notified, but due to heavy support volume it can take as long as ten business days to refund to post the refund and respond to you.

Anonymous said...

An update from our hosting company:

The SSC has received multiple alerts for loss of connectivity to customer equipment in the NJ2, AT1, SC8, DC4, DC2, CH3 and HDC data center. Engineers are taking appropriate mitigation steps to recover client managed services. Engineers are investigating the configuration of the Intelligent Agent as a possible cause.

Currently all Blade Frames are being worked in parallel for recovery.

UPDATE: Engineers have identified a how to restore connectivity and are bringing clients back online now.

Anonymous said...

Quote from Jonh Hood - March 3rd 2008 as posted below -

"We are currently down. Apparently there are some issues with connectivity to our databases. We are working on correcting the situation. I'll post again here at that time."

John,

Shouldn't this be -

"We are always down. There are issues with our application, customer services, staff and company. We are working on billing your bank accounts. I'll post again here again when I can be arsed."

Call me an old cynic...but...!