NEWS
OVH Data Center Fire Darkens Popular Sites Worldwide via @martinibuster
OVH Datacenter in France was engulfed in flames, taking down thousands of sites and businesses including popular plugins WP Rocket and Imagify. A multitude of businesses are tweeting updates to their clients.
Screenshot of OVH Data Center Fire Video
A fire engulfed an OVH cloud data center that is located in Strasbourg, France. The fire was initially reported to be uncontrolled but was subsequently controlled by firefighters, who remained on the scene to make sure the building cools down.
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OVH issued a status announcement on their cloud server support page:
“We are currently facing a major incident in our DataCenter of Strasbourg with a fire declared in the building SBG2.
Firefighters were immediately on the scene but could not control the fire in SBG2.The whole site has been isolated, which impacts all our services on SBG1, SBG2, SBG3 and SBG4. If your production is in Strasbourg, we recommend to activate your Disaster Recovery Plan. All our teams are fully mobilized along with the firefighters.”
OVH tweeted that while the fire is over, firefighters remain on the scene cooling down the building. They also tweeted that many of the servers will not be restarted soon.
“Fire is over. Firefighters continue to cool the buildings with the water.
We don’t have the access to the site. That is why SBG1, SBG3, SBG4 won’t be restarted today.”
WP Rocket Site is Down
Popular WordPress plugin WP Rocket tweeted that their website is down.
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⚠️Our hosting provider faced a major incident a few hours ago: a fire was declared in one of their DataCenter. Our website is impacted and we’re currently working on a solution. We’ll keep you informed.
— WP Rocket ™ (@wp_rocket) March 10, 2021
Although the WP Rocket website is down, the plugin is mostly still working.
Following the incident at the DataCenter, our website is currently down but our plugin is NOT. 🎉
You can continue using WP Rocket ﹡nearly﹡ as usual.
CPCSS generation will not work: we’re on it and the feature should be back up soon.🤞— WP Rocket ™ (@wp_rocket) March 10, 2021
WordPress Image Optimization Site Imagify
Imagify, with over 400,000 users also experienced downtime because of the fire. Their website was down.
⚠️Our hosting provider faced a major incident a few hours ago: a fire was declared in one of their DataCenter. Unfortunately our Imagify servers were destroyed in the incident. We’re currently working on a solution and will keep you informed.
— Imagify (@imagify) March 10, 2021
An Imagify plugin user tweeted that they had trouble connecting.
“No wonder I had a server timeout error…”
There were also images of the building on fire that were posted on Twitter:
We have a thought for you… 🙁 pic.twitter.com/hwYxCyXn55
— Info Trafic Alsace (@ITA6768) March 10, 2021
And a YouTube Video of the fire surfaced:
[embedded content]
OVH Cloud Fire Takes Down Many Sites
Many sites are reporting having lost their web presence, with one gaming site anticipating major data loss:
“We’re expecting a large amount of data loss across the affected servers.”
Rust Multiplayer Video Game Site Down
Update:
25 of our EU servers remain offline due to a fire at OVH Datacenter in the early hours of this morning. Unfortunately, the fire destroyed SBG-2 building. We’re expecting a large amount of data loss across the affected servers.We’ll share more news when we can.
— Rust (@playrust) March 10, 2021
Rust later confirmed that all data was lost and would not be able to be restored.
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Update:
We’ve confirmed a total loss of the affected EU servers during the OVH data centre fire. We’re now exploring replacing the affected servers.Data will be unable to be restored.
— Rust (@playrust) March 10, 2021
Truck Simulator site down
Due to a fire at our service provider our European servers are running at reduced capacity. You can follow the current status of the incident here: https://t.co/othIqFWKsv
— TruckersMPSupport (@tmp_support) March 10, 2021
Digital Asset Management Library Piwigo.com down
[https://t.co/dJqoQnRH9Q] Our hosting provider OVH is facing a fire in a datacenter. One of our server has certainly burnt :-/ We’re currently going in rescue mode.
— Piwigo (@piwigo) March 10, 2021
Backups and Emergency Site Restoration
Those who did not backup their data may find themselves in a difficult position. It’s unclear at this time if OVH will be able to restore the data lost on the cloud servers.
Sites that do have a backup should be able to change their DNS to point at another server and upload a new site immediately. But it can take several days for the new DNS settings to propagate. So it’s possible that some sites may take a few days to return.
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Thankfully there were no injuries.
Citation
OVH Cloud Announcement
Major Incident Impacting Strasbourg DataCenter
NEWS
OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models
OpenAI has today announced the release of fine-tuning capabilities for its flagship GPT-4 large language model, marking a significant milestone in the AI landscape. This new functionality empowers developers to create tailored versions of GPT-4 to suit specialized use cases, enhancing the model’s utility across various industries.
Fine-tuning has long been a desired feature for developers who require more control over AI behavior, and with this update, OpenAI delivers on that demand. The ability to fine-tune GPT-4 allows businesses and developers to refine the model’s responses to better align with specific requirements, whether for customer service, content generation, technical support, or other unique applications.
Why Fine-Tuning Matters
GPT-4 is a very flexible model that can handle many different tasks. However, some businesses and developers need more specialized AI that matches their specific language, style, and needs. Fine-tuning helps with this by letting them adjust GPT-4 using custom data. For example, companies can train a fine-tuned model to keep a consistent brand tone or focus on industry-specific language.
Fine-tuning also offers improvements in areas like response accuracy and context comprehension. For use cases where nuanced understanding or specialized knowledge is crucial, this can be a game-changer. Models can be taught to better grasp intricate details, improving their effectiveness in sectors such as legal analysis, medical advice, or technical writing.
Key Features of GPT-4 Fine-Tuning
The fine-tuning process leverages OpenAI’s established tools, but now it is optimized for GPT-4’s advanced architecture. Notable features include:
- Enhanced Customization: Developers can precisely influence the model’s behavior and knowledge base.
- Consistency in Output: Fine-tuned models can be made to maintain consistent formatting, tone, or responses, essential for professional applications.
- Higher Efficiency: Compared to training models from scratch, fine-tuning GPT-4 allows organizations to deploy sophisticated AI with reduced time and computational cost.
Additionally, OpenAI has emphasized ease of use with this feature. The fine-tuning workflow is designed to be accessible even to teams with limited AI experience, reducing barriers to customization. For more advanced users, OpenAI provides granular control options to achieve highly specialized outputs.
Implications for the Future
The launch of fine-tuning capabilities for GPT-4 signals a broader shift toward more user-centric AI development. As businesses increasingly adopt AI, the demand for models that can cater to specific business needs, without compromising on performance, will continue to grow. OpenAI’s move positions GPT-4 as a flexible and adaptable tool that can be refined to deliver optimal value in any given scenario.
By offering fine-tuning, OpenAI not only enhances GPT-4’s appeal but also reinforces the model’s role as a leading AI solution across diverse sectors. From startups seeking to automate niche tasks to large enterprises looking to scale intelligent systems, GPT-4’s fine-tuning capability provides a powerful resource for driving innovation.
OpenAI announced that fine-tuning GPT-4o will cost $25 for every million tokens used during training. After the model is set up, it will cost $3.75 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens. To help developers get started, OpenAI is offering 1 million free training tokens per day for GPT-4o and 2 million free tokens per day for GPT-4o mini until September 23. This makes it easier for developers to try out the fine-tuning service.
As AI continues to evolve, OpenAI’s focus on customization and adaptability with GPT-4 represents a critical step in making advanced AI accessible, scalable, and more aligned with real-world applications. This new capability is expected to accelerate the adoption of AI across industries, creating a new wave of AI-driven solutions tailored to specific challenges and opportunities.
This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update
Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:
1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update
Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.
2. Changes to Google Search Interface
Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.
3. New Features and Tests
- Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
- Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
- Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.
4. Search Rankings and Quality
- Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
- Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.
5. Advice for Content Creators
- Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
- Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.
6. New Search Features in Google Chrome
Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.
7. New Tests and Features in Google Search
- Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
- Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.
8. Bing’s New Feature
Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.
9. Local Search Ranking Factors
Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.
10. Google Ads Updates
- Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
- Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
- tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
- WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.
These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.
Facebook Faces Yet Another Outage: Platform Encounters Technical Issues Again
Uppdated: It seems that today’s issues with Facebook haven’t affected as many users as the last time. A smaller group of people appears to be impacted this time around, which is a relief compared to the larger incident before. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating for those affected, and hopefully, the issues will be resolved soon by the Facebook team.
Facebook had another problem today (March 20, 2024). According to Downdetector, a website that shows when other websites are not working, many people had trouble using Facebook.
This isn’t the first time Facebook has had issues. Just a little while ago, there was another problem that stopped people from using the site. Today, when people tried to use Facebook, it didn’t work like it should. People couldn’t see their friends’ posts, and sometimes the website wouldn’t even load.
Downdetector, which watches out for problems on websites, showed that lots of people were having trouble with Facebook. People from all over the world said they couldn’t use the site, and they were not happy about it.
When websites like Facebook have problems, it affects a lot of people. It’s not just about not being able to see posts or chat with friends. It can also impact businesses that use Facebook to reach customers.
Since Facebook owns Messenger and Instagram, the problems with Facebook also meant that people had trouble using these apps. It made the situation even more frustrating for many users, who rely on these apps to stay connected with others.
During this recent problem, one thing is obvious: the internet is always changing, and even big websites like Facebook can have problems. While people wait for Facebook to fix the issue, it shows us how easily things online can go wrong. It’s a good reminder that we should have backup plans for staying connected online, just in case something like this happens again.
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