Maintenances, updates and server backups Info - 2019-12-11 10:30

Server maintenance is usually scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m. CET (DOFUS Time) and ends between 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.; occasionally, it can last longer, past 12:00 p.m., if complications occur.

Maintenance allows for the following activities:

• Various log files are recovered and retrieved.
• Database maintenance – Certain tables can only be optimized when players no longer have read or write access to the database.
• Game server maintenance – Shutting down and then restarting the game servers allows us to avoid certain game latency problems that accumulate if the servers aren't restarted regularly.
• Complete backup of game server data – We have a system for backing up all game data while the servers are up and running (without disrupting the game), but we also perform backups when the game servers are offline.
• Server operation updates – The server program and game data are sometimes updated and replaced by a more recent version.
• Character transfers between servers.
• Deployment of patches available in the changelog.
• During maintenance, our testing team verifies that additions and patches are working correctly.

Even when these maintenance operations don't provide new in-game content or fixes visible to players, they allow us to ensure that our databases and servers are functioning correctly.
 

Why is maintenance done on Tuesday mornings?

As you can see, maintenance requires the involvement of several different teams; it is, therefore, preferable to perform maintenance during working hours so that as many people as possible are available to respond to any issues that may arise.

So, why Tuesday in particular? 

Simply because if a problem occurs after an update or maintenance operation, our teams can intervene over the next few days. This also partly explains why, except in rare cases, we avoid performing server maintenance on Friday. It should also be noted that Tuesday morning (French time) is when there is the least amount of activity in terms of players:

• There is more activity in the evenings and weekends than in the early morning (French time).
• DOFUS being an international game, there are players connected at any time of the day or night. 

Some specific cases:

Exceptional maintenance

In some cases (updates, fixes for technical problems, etc.), we may be required to conduct unscheduled maintenance on the game servers.
These maintenance operations are announced on Twitter and on the forums, as a top announcement on the main page. The "Server status" section allows you to have a follow-up on possible compensations or more information such as rollback for example.

Sometimes we can't announce it in advance because it's a fix on a critical bug that requires immediate intervention. We apologize in advance for any fights cancelled or playtime missed during these procedures, but this kind of maintenance is crucial for the game to run properly.

DOFUS Retro

Like Dofus, DOFUS Retro requires weekly maintenance for its servers to remain in good condition, given the activity of these servers.

However, this maintenance doesn't take nearly as long as that done for the classic servers, for several reasons:

• There are very few patches deployed on these servers.
• There is no new gameplay content added.
• They're new, so there are fewer things to verify and back up.
• Character transfers don't occur.
• Testing is rarely, if ever, done.

This explains why maintenance for Retro usually ends within 15 minutes of the servers going offline.

Automatic backups

Several times a day, access to the game servers is blocked (players that are already logged in don't experience any disruption and can continue playing) for about 10 minutes so to backup their databases.
These backups don't happen at set times; they are conducted 4 times a day, within the following time frames (CET/French/DOFUS time)

• 12:00 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
• 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
• 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.