In the coming days, SimosNap will begin the gradual migration of its IRC infrastructure from InspIRCd 3 to InspIRCd 4, the new generation of the server software on which the network is based.

This will not be a switch carried out all at once. The migration will be performed gradually, working on the different servers in the network and checking their behavior each time before moving on to the next ones. This approach allows us to keep the network operational during much of the work and, above all, to identify any issues without involving the entire infrastructure at the same time.

Why we waited before moving to InspIRCd 4

InspIRCd 4 has been available for some time, and the decision not to upgrade immediately was intentional.

Over the years, SimosNap has built a highly customized infrastructure around InspIRCd 3. Many of the features users rely on every day do not simply come from the standard IRC server installation, but from modules, configurations, changes, and integrations gradually introduced to adapt the software to the needs of the network.

Moving to the new version therefore meant much more than installing InspIRCd 4 in place of InspIRCd 3.

Before starting the migration, we wanted to be reasonably sure that we could preserve the features and customizations that over time have become an integral part of SimosNap, preventing a technical upgrade from becoming, from the users’ point of view, the loss of functions they were used to.

The verification and porting work took time. Some features changed directly in InspIRCd 4, others required adjustments to the modules used by the network, while others still needed compatibility and behavior checks within our infrastructure.

We preferred to wait rather than upgrade simply because a new version was available. For us, the migration could only begin when InspIRCd 4 was ready to take the place of the previous version without forcing us to give up what we have built over the years.

A gradual migration

Now that this work has reached a point where we can begin the transition, we will still proceed with caution.

The servers will not be updated at the same time. InspIRCd 3 and InspIRCd 4 will temporarily coexist within the network while we proceed with the migration and perform real-world checks.

This will allow us to monitor the behavior of the new version under real conditions and take action if any issues arise that could not be identified during testing.

What could happen during the migration

During the work, there may be brief service interruptions, disconnections, temporary problems connecting to some servers, or other minor disruptions. At certain stages, it may be necessary to restart a server, temporarily remove it from the network, or revert to the previous configuration for further checks.

The distributed structure of IRC allows us to carry out much of this work while limiting its impact, but during a migration of this kind it would not be right to guarantee that everything will always remain completely transparent to users.

There may therefore also be short periods of downtime or unusual behavior.

If something suddenly does not work as usual over the next few days, it is not necessarily a problem with your connection or IRC client: it may simply be one of the operations related to the migration.

An important upgrade, done without rushing

The same principle that led us to wait before starting the transition will continue to guide us during the migration: we are not interested in completing it as quickly as possible; we are interested in completing it properly.

SimosNap is a network active 24 hours a day, and many other components work around the IRC service: Services, webchat, authentication systems, bots, APIs, and integrations developed over the years. A change at the core of the infrastructure must therefore also be tested against everything that surrounds it.

The migration will begin in the coming days and will continue gradually until the network server upgrade is complete. We will try to minimize disruption and schedule the most delicate operations at times when they are likely to have the least possible impact on users.

Once the work is complete, we will publish a new update explaining in more detail what has changed with the move to InspIRCd 4 and what it means for the future of SimosNap’s IRC infrastructure.