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Author Topic: A good idea for web designers and site admins - Mirror your Site  (Read 8726 times)

mouser

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There's one thing i've done on donationcoder.com that has made life 100x easier and safer, and i think it's worth posting about, and that is to have a mirror site for testing.

That is, have a copy of your website/forum/services/etc., installed on another account or server.

Use this copy to test any changes before you try them out on the real site.  For things like forum modifications and new services, it offers a safe and easy way to develop things without worrying about mucking about with the real site.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2006, 04:39 AM by mouser »

Rover

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Re: A good idea for web designers and site admins
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2006, 10:32 AM »
That's excellent advice.   :Thmbsup:

Did you just save your bacon?  That sounded a little like "Man I'm glad I did this, otherwise I'd be totally screwed right now."   :P
Insert Brilliant Sig line here
« Last Edit: July 08, 2006, 10:51 AM by Rover »

mouser

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Re: A good idea for web designers and site admins
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2006, 10:34 AM »
no, but i've just been thinking about how useful it has been.  it's obvious when you think about it, but i think it's one of those things you might not normally think of until it's too late, so i thought i should share it.

the other nice side benefit is that it acts like a backup.

housetier

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Re: A good idea for web designers and site admins
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2006, 08:03 PM »
I have done this myself too with my site. As some of you might remember I had it up first on http://housetier.kicks-ass.net/, but I also kept a separate installation with the same data at http://housetier.ath.cx/. That way I could play around with one site, without running the risk to loose any data. It was a little bit of trouble time-wise to keep the (valid) data in sync, but it also SAVED MY ASS when I moved it to the new location.

I will spare you the details. I vehemently support mouser's idea of keeping a (one-way) synchronized mirror site! Do take your time to set things up, and test that the synchronization works. Then test that the rollback works. If need be you can quickly switch from mirror site to life site, and quickly is good.

Make Backups!

eschen

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Seems to me that you have a lot of complicate tasks to get both databases in sync, or do you have a tool that helps to get the diffs out of the first to get these into the second database without trouble?

housetier

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I use phpmyadmin and full dumps.

The databases do not need to be synched at all times, that is too risky. So I check "yes these should indeed be synched" or "hm no too much spam". Surely, a script that automates the task would help a lot, but I haven't written one yet.

jjc

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There is a hosting source for those of you who use Linux/APACHE/MYSQL/PHP that is really affordable.

You can bid on it on eBay(TM). Here is the link.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZgoohostwebhostingQQhtZ-1

I was able to pick up a year of unlimited hosting for $2.11 US. (You might be able to do better if you are patient.)

The Control Panel is minimalistic, but the system does work.

I picked an extra domain name, and I am learning how to use Mambo(TM).

I was even able to get Moodle(TM) to run on this site, and I am not a programmer.

This seems like a cheap way to learn. I have learned a lot in the past three days from playing with this.

I purchased this hosting to use for hands-on workshops, so I wouldn't have participants trashing a real site.

How-to know, do, live, dream, teach...with insight and imagination.

Joseph Chmielewski, M.S., L.P.C.
Ctr. for Creative Learning and Therapy
210-885-8135

Originator/ Developer: Open Source for Educational Materials Project
http://www.classroomtoolkit.com
http://www.classroomtoolkit.net
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http://www.dreams-insight.com
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« Last Edit: July 20, 2006, 04:53 AM by jjc »

app103

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You could use what I use for hosting:

http://www.electedhosting.com

select Unix Shared Web Hosting on the page.

Unlimited Hosting Plan:

  • Space: Unlimited MB
  • Monthly Transfer: Unlimited MB
  • Ads Displayed: None
  • Email Accounts: Unlimited
  • Sub Domains: Unlimited
  • FTP Accounts: Unlimited
  • Add-On Domains: Unlimited
  • MySQL Databases: Unlimited
  • Fantastico: Yes
  • cPanel: Yes
  • Site Stats: Yes
  • Web Mail: Yes
  • CGI/Perl: Yes
  • PHP/MySQL: Yes
  • Flash Support: Yes
  • FrontPage Extensions: Yes
  • Price: $18.00/Year or $1.50/month
  • Payment method: Paypal

I have been very happy with them. I haven't had a problem with them since I started using them back in February of this year.

One thing though...if you are going to put any .mp3 files on your site (like podcasts) it won't work out very well...you have to zip .mp3 files or they are automatically deleted.

jjc

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The Elected Hosting looks like a great resource for backing up a few sites. And the interface is much fancier than the GooHost solution.

Of course, the Elected Hosting solution costs 853% more for the first year than what I paid using the eBay(TM) auction. And, you should be able to get one of these GooHost accounts for much less than the $2.11 US that I paid for the entire year. I was in a hurry to test, and wasn't worried about saving a dollar.

This Elected Hosting solution has the following limits:

Subdomains - 10
Parked Domains - 1
Addon Domains - 5
MySQL Databases - 5

The GooHost solution has the following:

Subdomains  - Unlimited
Parked Domains N/A
Addon Domains - Unlimited
MySQL Databases - Unlimited

However, each Moodle(TM) workshop that runs at the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) Convention, I will need at least 17 subdomains, each running its own instance of Moodle(TM), each with its own MYSQL database.

The only catch? After the first year, if you don't win another auction, the cost would jump to about $100 US.

But, the TCEA Convention is next February, so a second year doesn't matter to me. I am going to kill all the subdomains after the classes, anyway.

"Cheap" was the most important consideration, but, this solution may be better lif ong-term stability is more important.

"EasY" was also important. This unlimted domain, unlimited subdomain account saved me from having to build a server and carry it to the class.
How-to know, do, live, dream, teach...with insight and imagination.

Joseph Chmielewski, M.S., L.P.C.
Ctr. for Creative Learning and Therapy
210-885-8135

Originator/ Developer: Open Source for Educational Materials Project
http://www.classroomtoolkit.com
http://www.classroomtoolkit.net
[email protected]

http://www.dreams-insight.com
[email protected]

app103

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I don't have any limits with Elected Hosting. I posted the terms of my account in my post. That is what I pay...and that is what I get...just as I posted it.

jjc

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Re: A good idea for web designers and site admins - Mirror your Site
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2006, 11:48 AM »
I apologize for any misunderstanding.

I just copied the items I found on the link to Extended Hosting, and pasted these items into my post.

I don't have any affiliation with GooHost (except being a $2 customer). I just wanted to let folks know about a way to get a year's worth of hosting for a dollar or two.

If I were interested in something stable and long-term, I might be interested in Extended Hosting.

Like I said, I was interested in "Cheap," and a temporary solution for pocket change is a fine option.

Of course, GooHost needs to still be in business next February.  :-)

Again, I apologize for any misunderstanding.
How-to know, do, live, dream, teach...with insight and imagination.

Joseph Chmielewski, M.S., L.P.C.
Ctr. for Creative Learning and Therapy
210-885-8135

Originator/ Developer: Open Source for Educational Materials Project
http://www.classroomtoolkit.com
http://www.classroomtoolkit.net
[email protected]

http://www.dreams-insight.com
[email protected]