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Yahoo! Hosting Movable Type Woes Reported

Those who are considering the MT hosting option on Yahoo! will be interested in this post made on the ProNet mailing list by user Edward Hasbrouck.

I've been experimenting with trying to migrate an existing domain including an MT installation to Yahoo Web hosting.

It would be premature to draw any conclusions, but here are a few notes for others who may be considering or attempting MT migration to Yahoo:

The Yahoo installation and configuration process seems to be set up for a newly-registered domain name and a new MT installation to contain a new blog. There is as yet no *migration* guide from Yahoo or SixApart.

As soon as you sign up for *Web* hosting for a domain with Yahoo, Yahoo will add the domain to its DNS servers, including a locked CNAME entry assigning mail.domain.tld to Yahoo's mail servers. You can't use other DNS servers. You can change the MX records to use any mail server(s), but you can't put it at mail.yourdomain.tld. (Why? I don't know.) Yahoo also requires a wildcard CNAME record for any subdomains you haven't explicitly defined, mapping *.domain.tld to Yahoo's servers.

Since Yahoo's DNS is immediately active, and can't be disabled (unlike Plesk or most other Web hosting control panels that have switches to enable/diable DNS and mail services), mail from within Yahoo will immediately start being blackholed by Yahoo's mail servers until you either set up addresses on Yahoo's mail servers or change the MX records.

The current general MT release is MT 3.20010; the Yahoo MT customization is MT version 3.20011. So don't be alarmed that Yahoo MT runs the MT version upgrade script if you import a new MT blog database from anywhere other than Yahoo. (This adds some extra Yahoo tables to the database.)

Yahoo's Web hosting control panel (but not any of the advertising by SixApart or Yahoo) identifies MT on Yahoo as beta. MT on Yahoo is *not* yet reliable. It's sometimes *very* fast, sometimes excruciatingly slow, and sometimes doesn't respond at all. Rebuilds sometimes fail silently; I haven'yt yet been able to complete a rebuild of my largest blog.

I have support tickets open with both SixApart and Yahoo, and they seem to be trying hard to resolve the migratiuon and deployment issues. I remain hopeful that once Yahoo MT it is out of beta, it will be faster and more reliable and scaleable than other MT platforms. But it's still in beta.

Existing MT support licenses are not valid for MT on Yahoo, as below (although thus far SixApart has been trying hard to help me anyway). Be aware that if you migrate your MT installation to Yahoo, you will give up your entitlement to SixApart support under any existing license:

------- Forwarded message follows -------

Subject:        	Response to Movable Type support ticket 'migration to Yahoo'
From:           	Movable Type Support 
Date sent:      	Wed, 11 Jan 2006 08:59:55 -0800 (PST)

    This bug [rebuilds fail silently] was identified and fixed prior to
    the Yahoo launch, but a code freeze had to be enforced at a certain
    point prior to launch, so that fix was not there when that
    freeze was enforced. We're working with them on a timetable
    for when they plan to implement the updated code, but
    ultimately, it is under their control as to when that will
    happen.

    On behalf of both Six Apart and Yahoo, I'd like to
    apologize for the frustration you've experienced due to
    this issue, and assure you that we are working with Yahoo
    to get the updates implemented as soon as possible. 

    I also do need to let you know that your current Movable
    Type license does not include support for your Yahoo hosted
    installation, as they are separately licensed products. We
    will be offering a support package specifically for
    Yahoo!MT clients who wish to receive personal support from
    Six Apart for that version. (We do have it available for
    purchase now if you're interested in adding it to your
    account, it's just that the purchase process is a little
    rough around the edges currently - so if you are interested
    in that, please do let us know and we'll work with you to
    make the purchase.)

------- End of forwarded message -------

This is really disappointing to read as I know many were excited by this partnership and its potential to provide a new level of MT hosting options. Hopefully this all gets worked out to meet expectations. Until then, proceed with caution if at all.

Yahoo! is not Six Apart's only hosting partner. We can personally recommend Pair Networks from experience. Their service has been exceptional which, like Yahoo, includes a Movable Type option were the software will be installed and maintained on their servers for you. You are not required to purchase an additional license. This option is especially nice if you are looking at an expensive license. It can be less expensive and more importantly spread over time.

The one thing I really wished Pair offered was FastCGI support, however I can overlook that for now. My hope is that in Yahoo! raising the bar to offer its customers FastCGI support that other hosting partners like Pair follow suit. FastCGI is becoming a more desirable feature that beginning to border on necessity as the girth of MT continues to grow. We shall see.

Have these issues been resolved? I am looking at putting a client on Yahoo!'s MT service -