FSDreamTeam forum

Products Support => GSX Support MSFS => Topic started by: Pirateinparadise on November 06, 2023, 02:08:06 pm

Title: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: Pirateinparadise on November 06, 2023, 02:08:06 pm
Most GSX updates take no longer than a couple of minutes. 2.8.3 has been running for over 30 minutes and the progress bar is only at 23%.

Is 2.8.3 a gigantic update or am I just connected to a slow Cloudfare node? 
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: mwyatt on November 06, 2023, 02:11:58 pm
I have to agree, painfully slow at this time, updating for over an hour, and a long way to go.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: virtuali on November 06, 2023, 02:14:37 pm
As already discussed, other times, each time there's an update, we use the Release Notes as signal to users it's safe to update. If you don't see the Release Notes yet, it means it's not safe to update, because we are still uploading and, if you do that, you'll end up with a mix-match of old and new files, causing all sort of issues, and you'll have to update again.

So, always wait for the Release notes before updating.

The reason why it's taking a long time, is precisely because you started the update before it was safe to do so.

It's quite complex to explain but, in brief, it's caused by the fact in order to speed up the update of many small files, those are grouped into .ZIP files, but they must match the small files they are related to, which can only happen after the upload is completed so, what is taking so long in your case, is not the update itself, but the small files being "downgraded" to the previous version, because they are not coherent with their grouped and ZIPed version, because the upload is not completed.

It's not a matter of "just" uploading, all updated files must be individually purged from the Cloudflare cache as well.

And if you do it in the middle of an upload, not even all of them would be downgraded so, I really can't tell you which problems you might have, most likely missing textures and/or pink objects, but I guess stopping now or waiting won't make much difference.

Just wait for the release notes to come out, and then update again, that's the only thing that is really safe to do.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: Pirateinparadise on November 06, 2023, 02:32:24 pm
I never knew that.

I fire up the installer before I fly every time. If I see a higher version as "the latest", I click update. THEN I read the release notes...

Now I know better.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: SuperSixBravo on November 06, 2023, 03:11:53 pm
I'm sorry but that isn't really a good thing!

How about your software not show a later version until it is ready go! Why on earth should we be hunting down Release notes when the software says there is an update! What kind of madness is this? Yes but no but.... Come on! Do better than this. Its not right. Imagine if Windows Update did this!

You must be able to tell your updater not to show updates until it is ready to download?
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: f.skywalker on November 06, 2023, 03:23:42 pm
Every release i read before the changelog.
Today i press update before read the changlog.
After some time i stop the installation. the installation was not ready.
is now my gsx chrashed or is a start from the installer help me
 to repair all bad things. The version 2.8.3 is shown in the top of gsx. the installation is stopt by me.  :'(

Thanks Frank
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: WebMaximus on November 06, 2023, 04:55:39 pm
I was just about to post about the same thing but realize I'm late to the party.

Like someone else suggested, having FSDT Live Update announce there's a new version and offer you to update before the update is ready...seriously...

Have that madness addressed sooner rather than later and luckily I have a proper system image backup I'll be able to restore. Since I like others did the "mistake" to trust the update notification I was given.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: aljina on November 06, 2023, 04:58:24 pm
Why is there no OFFLINE installer for the latest updates - 06 Nov 2.8.3
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: luigipsi on November 06, 2023, 05:30:51 pm
too long update also for me...seems it can't download some files
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: timothyj6767 on November 06, 2023, 05:34:23 pm
well, its 8:33 am PT 11/6/2023 and its still very slow to update . I keep getting timeouts . And the whole website is very slow.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: WebMaximus on November 06, 2023, 06:19:44 pm
I noticed the same thing, how also this website is very slow responding.

I just went back to my last backup before I messed up my GSX by trying to apply the latest version and will stay on this version until we have a green light in here from Umberto.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: Pirateinparadise on November 06, 2023, 06:42:08 pm
Why is there no OFFLINE installer for the latest updates - 06 Nov 2.8.3

I tried to uninstall and use the install the offline version from 10/23 to get back to where I started but it did not work. I somehow ended up with version 2.7.6 installed. No idea why...

I'm gonna uninstall again and wait for the release notes to change. 
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: badwulf on November 06, 2023, 06:59:06 pm
Mine has been running for 6 hours and still hasn't finished. I'm re-running it. Brutal slow. It's extremely irritating as now GSX is broken as some files aren't on the server or the mirror. 🙄
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: Wothan on November 06, 2023, 08:37:05 pm
Yeah and now server is closed down due to service.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: virtuali on November 06, 2023, 08:41:56 pm
Why are you still reporting the server being slow? I already explained why it is like that, I'll repeat it again:

As already discussed, other times, each time there's an update, we use the Release Notes as signal to users it's safe to update. If you don't see the Release Notes yet, it means it's not safe to update, because we are still uploading and, if you do that, you'll end up with a mix-match of old and new files, causing all sort of issues, and you'll have to update again.

So, always wait for the Release notes before updating.

The reason it's taking a long time is precisely because you started the update before it was safe to do so.

It's quite complex to explain but, in brief, it's caused by the fact in order to speed up the update of many small files, those are grouped into .ZIP files, but they must match the small files they are related to, which can only happen after the upload is completed so, what is taking so long in your case, is not the update itself, but the small files being "downgraded" to the previous version, because they are not coherent with their grouped and ZIPed version, because the upload is not completed.

It's not a matter of "just" uploading, all updated files must be individually purged from the Cloudflare cache as well.

And if you do it in the middle of an upload, not even all of them would be downgraded so, I really can't tell you which problems you might have, missing textures and/or pink objects, but I guess stopping now or waiting won't make much difference.

In addition to that, if you start the Update now, a new Updater is online, which will prevent updates if an update is still being deployed, with a clear message alerting that and suggesting coming back later, so it won't happen again that you could start an update before it's ready, with no need to know you had to check the Release Notes first.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: topcat_1952 on November 06, 2023, 10:27:34 pm
Been running the update since 7 AM EDT. Just saw this and now understand why its taking a long time. So, I stopped the update. The release notes still indicate the .2 as the latest so, thanks to your explaination, I'll check tomorrow and see if the .3 is ready.
I have a morning routine where I run all my MSFS add-on apps (PMDG, iniBuilds, Contrail, ORBX, FBW, Aerosoft, etc. as well as FSDT installer) so I was not aware of this process. I'll know better now so thanks for the enlightenment.  :)
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: downscc on November 06, 2023, 11:17:37 pm
This is unexpected.  I get a message that says the server is down for maintenance please check later.  Doesn't make sense that an update 2.8.3 appears as available AND the UPDATE button is active if there is neither an update nor a server to deliver it.  It's 06/2215Z and I've been checking back later every couple of hours since maybe 1600Z.

Nah... it's broke.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: pete_auau on November 07, 2023, 12:42:28 am
This is unexpected.  I get a message that says the server is down for maintenance please check later.  Doesn't make sense that an update 2.8.3 appears as available AND the UPDATE button is active if there is neither an update nor a server to deliver it.  It's 06/2215Z and I've been checking back later every couple of hours since maybe 1600Z.

Nah... it's broke.
nah iit ant  broke  no issues  at my end
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: virtuali on November 07, 2023, 01:16:50 am
This is unexpected.  I get a message that says the server is down for maintenance please check later.  Doesn't make sense that an update 2.8.3 appears as available AND the UPDATE button is active if there is neither an update nor a server to deliver it.  It's 06/2215Z and I've been checking back later every couple of hours since maybe 1600Z.

Nah... it's broke.

Nothing is "broke", of course and, the message is there precisely to indicate that.

The reason for the message is to prevent users from starting an update when it's not safe to do so (while a new one is still being uploaded), which is an obvious improvement to the previous version, where you were supposed to check the release notes and don't update until you see the updated ones.

NOW, the updater itself is taking care of that, so you are no longer supposed to know that, and you won't risk starting an update when it's not safe to do it.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: WebMaximus on November 07, 2023, 01:31:39 am
Great you took care of this so quickly!
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: virtuali on November 07, 2023, 10:11:37 am
2.8.3 is out now.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: WebMaximus on November 07, 2023, 10:51:32 am
Worked like a charm 👍
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: PleasemakeanillegalUturn on November 07, 2023, 01:07:17 pm
Seems like a pretty backward updating system if you release updates in the installer and then we have to go and manually check the release notes (wherever they are) before we can update without breaking GSX.

This is not made very clear in the purchase/install process. Perhaps adding a note to the installer with a link to the release notes to make it clearer would be better as it seems to have affected a lot of others.

Never come across an installer that makes patches available before they're "safe" to download.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: rhys1573 on November 07, 2023, 01:10:32 pm
2.8.3 is out now.

In future, I think your customer base will appreciate a more streamlined update service. When the Installer says there is an update, the vast majority are going to update the software there and then, and then maybe go and look at the release notes. I've have never seen an update release on software in which you need to refer to the changelog to see if its stable before actually downloading the update. However, it's nice to see that users will now be informed that the update is meant to be downloaded at this time!
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: WebMaximus on November 07, 2023, 01:45:24 pm
My understanding is Umberto already addressed this odd behavior so shouldn't be a problem going forward.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: virtuali on November 07, 2023, 01:59:55 pm
Quote
Seems like a pretty backward updating system if you release updates in the installer and then we have to go and manually check the release notes

Quote
the vast majority are going to update the software there and then, and then maybe go and look at the release notes.

None of these comments applies to the current version because, quoting from the 2.8.3 release notes:

https://www.fsdreamteam.com/couatl_liveupdate_notes.html

Quote
FSDT Installer/Updater Change: When the update server is in maintenance, updates won't be performed, and a message will alert users about this, suggesting to come back later when the update has been completely deployed.

And from my last post as well:

Quote
NOW, the updater itself is taking care of that, so you are no longer supposed to know that, and you won't risk starting an update when it's not safe to do it.
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: timothyj6767 on November 07, 2023, 03:15:00 pm
well..the website is faster...:)
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: WebMaximus on November 07, 2023, 03:21:15 pm
well..the website is faster...:)

Noticed this too 🙂
Title: Re: 2.8.3 update is really slow
Post by: timothyj6767 on November 09, 2023, 05:42:16 pm
It works...now....