sync server down?

brphilli
I cannot get my medium-sized library to sync. When sync was super-slow on a computer I use only occasionally, I uninstalled zotero on that machine, deleted the zotero folder on the hard drive, and re-installed, then tried to sync. Still no luck.

I am teaching zotero this pm and this is the teacher's machine in our computer lab. I do not sync automatically because if the server is down or slow, it holds up the whole class. But I wanted to sync before the class begins.
  • brphilli
    Still nothing happening -- the machine has been in "syncing" mode for about an hour now, but nothing is showing up on the local machine. Any help?
  • brphilli
    So next I tried "restore from server," but everything just ground for an hour. Then I tried turning on automatic sync & rebooting my computer , and it's been grinding for about 10 minutes now.

    I know trying again is not recommended, but I just can't believe the sync queue is over an hour long. It's very frustrating not to be able to determine where the problem even is.

    The page says http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/sync_reset_options "Full Sync is for troubleshooting only and should generally be used only if a Zotero developer recommends its use." If I might be so bold, how do I get in touch with a developer to recommend ANYTHING???
  • dstillman
    If I might be so bold, how do I get in touch with a developer to recommend ANYTHING???
    You posted about this for the first time an hour ago...

    By resetting you just delayed the sync. You have a queued download from 15 minutes ago. It will finish if you don't interrupt it.

    The sync server is very busy with increased traffic this week. We're in the process (over the next week) of switching to a new sync architecture that should speed up syncing dramatically.
  • brphilli
    Thank you, Dan. The problem is that when you have lots of traffic there is never anything posted on your website, so when an hour passes with nothing seeming to happen, it's hard to know what to do, especially under the pressure of trying to prepare to teach a class. I really want to be able to recommend Zotero to students, so I'm very happy that you'll soon have the syncing time improved.

    BTW, I just now synced from a different machine and the whole thing took about 2 minutes (not many changes), so that also leaves me really confused about how sync queueing works. Are simpler syncing operations jumping the queue, or what?

    If there were a "chat with us" link on your website, I would of course use that. And yes, I know you're open source & have a different model, but there are times when being able to contact someone directly would be a tremendous help.
  • dstillman
    Are simpler syncing operations jumping the queue, or what?
    Yes.
    If there were a "chat with us" link on your website, I would of course use that. And yes, I know you're open source & have a different model, but there are times when being able to contact someone directly would be a tremendous help.
    Many posts in these forums are answered within seconds, and I responded to you within an hour.
  • brphilli
    Properly chastened (and I mean that sincerely), I did not check the "problem" zotero installation for 90 minutes. I guess that's the time at which I went to the back of the line again. But still nothing has happened, & it is still in spinning arrow mode. After how long should I assume that the problem is something other than a very slow server? I'm on a university network with very good speed.

    Thanks
  • dstillman
    After how long should I assume that the problem is something other than a very slow server?
    That's it. There's nothing else to assume.

    Zotero is just waiting, so this has nothing to do with network speed.

    If all goes well, this will be much less of a problem in a week or two.
  • brphilli
    Ah well -- I had to give up after 3 hours & 45 minutes -- time for class, so I'll just use offline services
  • emlopezucd
    @brphilli,
    You're not alone. I'm having the same issue here with our research group, and as a result, I have very concerned student assistant researchers asking me why zotero isn't syncing their work from a couple of days ago, let alone today. :) Hopefully it will get better when the new server architecture is in place. It really NEEDS to get better.
    I'm betting that open access week has something to do with it, since Zotero is one of the main research tools promoted by open access advocates. Lots of interest, which is good, but it needs to perform to live up to the hype if it wants to attract new users.
  • brphilli
    Class went well, so I re-started sync at 5 pm. Maybe there will be a slow time on the server overnight??

    Thanks for the idea about open access week. That might just be it, in combination with the creaky server. I'm really looking forward to the upgrade, too. The software itself is just amazing, so it's disappointing when one important aspect performs so poorly.
  • phillip pasteris
    Hi all. I am having problems with syncing to a new group I just created at 3 pm PDT 10/20. Not sure why. This has worked well before.
  • emlopezucd
    To follow up, the sync function is lightning fast now, which leads me to believe that the architecture upgrade was completed, and went without a hitch. Thank you much, devs and admins. Everything is running great. Please know your hard work is VERY much appreciated.
    -EML
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