As indicated in our alert messages, the Scalar server recently experienced a hardware failure that has affected some aspects of Scalar books. Below, we’d like to offer a detailed overview of the problem, what works, where we’re presently experiencing issues, and how to continue authoring.


The Hardware Failure

The Scalar server incorporates a RAID array (a series of hard drives that store data redundantly to reduce the likelihood of loss). Two weeks ago one of the drives failed. By design, the other drives continued to work normally and the problem drive was successfully brought back online.

Then last weekend the RAID failed again, and this time all of the drives were impacted—suggesting hardware problems related to the mechanisms that control the drives themselves. Coincidentally, the RAID failure occurred during the same weekend as a planned maintenance shutdown. We were able to move Scalar to a temporary server and bring it online by Monday afternoon.

We’re working with specialists to fix the RAID hardware and bring the standalone Scalar server back online. In the meantime, Scalar’s temporary server is fully operational and being backed up on a daily basis. In many cases, authors and readers won’t notice any changes, but some functions have been impacted as described below.

What’s Working

Our databases store all book text and relationship content, including page titles and paragraphs, links to media, paths, tags, annotations, etc. These databases were being backed up nightly on a separate system than the RAID array, and were therefore unaffected by the hardware problem. This means that all of your book content is 100% up-to-date.

Furthermore, any media that was imported through our affiliated archive network is also unaffected. For example, videos or other media from Critical Commons, Internet Archive, YouTube, Vimeo, etc., that were brought into Scalar are also 100% functional. Annotations on media, links to the media in your pages, or any other relationships are also fully intact.

What’s Not Working

The hardware failure only affects media stored locally on the Scalar server, i.e., any media uploaded directly to Scalar during the past year using the “Local Media Files” import option. For example, if you uploaded a JPEG image from your computer directly to Scalar to use as a thumbnail, background, or inline image, this content was stored on the RAID hard drives and is not currently available. Unfortunately the RAID hardware failure also cascaded to a separate backup system that is meant to recover from this kind of fault. We rebuilt the server from a hard disk image from December 2012, therefore any content uploaded to the server before this date is available and present in Scalar books.

Since we are presently unable to access the content on the RAID drives from the past year, your Scalar book won’t be able to display media that was uploaded in this way. Rather, the media box will display “Loading Content” indefinitely. We’re working with data recovery specialists to ascertain the status of the data on the RAID drives and are hoping for a resolution very soon.

How to Continue Authoring

Apart from media uploaded directly to Scalar, all aspects of your Scalar book are fully operational. We encourage you to continue authoring in your Scalar book, and to share links to your projects. If we are able to recover the media from the RAID drives, we’ll make sure to safely merge it with any updates you may have made during this time.

Regarding uploaded media (i.e., using the “Local Media Files” import option), we are recommending that authors “stand by” while we work towards a resolution. For example, while media uploaded directly to the server can be re-uploaded, this process takes time (and requires re-linking the media to pages in a Scalar book), whereas given a successful resolution we’ll be able to place the media back online without additional actions required by authors. Of course, you should feel free to upload, import, or otherwise create new content at any time.

Due to the hardware problems on the Scalar server we migrated to a temporary server. The temporary server currently hosting Scalar is slower than our normal system. You may notice that Scalar responds a bit slower than usual or that pages take longer to load. We ask for your patience during this time.

We take very seriously all of the time and effort you put into your Scalar projects, and we apologize for any disruption to your work. Thank you for your patience, and please check back here for updates as they occur.

The ANVC Scalar Team