The ramblings of a geek

I’m currently working on a website project where we will be uploading large MP3 files to a Joomla site. Smaller MP3 files would load fine, but larger files just refused to upload. I checked all the obvious settings within Joomla, all of which were fine and set for 100MB max upload.

I then thought to check my php.ini settings, and sure enough upload_max_filesize variable=2M (maximum of 2MB), I changed this, restarted Apache and it still didn’t work!

Eventually I found out that PHP uses the POST method to upload files and an additional variable post_max_size was set too low. I upped the size, restarted Apache and ihey presto, upload of large files now worked fine.

Most of my client websites are designed using the Joomla Content Management System. This software requires several back-end server applications including Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. A lot of people still develop websites using a traditonal web-hosting provider, however this relies on someone elses server architecture, and the requirement that you have an Internet connection. When developing a site from scratch and you are constantly changing things, and trying out new ideas the slower speed can stifle your creativity, which is bad!

So, what to do? Well we could invest in a separate PC or server to run our website server applications. There is nothing wrong with this solution, especially if you have some unused and suitable hardware lying around that you can install Linux onto, however most of us don’t have that luxury.

Another option would be to use software that enables you to run your webserver application(s) concurrently with your existing desktop OS. This means utilising some from of virtualisation software.

This is my preferred way of working, and means I can take all my web development and server applications with me on the road, and can beaver away quite happily designing websites, even without an Internet connection. Another big advantage of this method of working is response times. Having your webserver sitting locally on your laptop means you are faster, and more productive. The whole website development cycle is simply more snappy.

There are a lot of different ways to implement a virtualised solution and I am a big fan of VMware’s products, having used them for more than six years. As an aside, I use their ESXi product for server consolidation, and VMware has a lot to recommend it. For website design,  I had previously used VMware Player, another free product from VMware that sits on top of Windows and provides support for running multiple operating systems on your PC. Recently however I have started using Virtual Box (now owned by Sun) and have found it very easy to use, very stable, and modest in hardware requirements. It seems slightly less heavy then VMware player, and I prefer their way of assigning network interfaces. There is even an OS  X version for you Mac afficionados!!

I have a Sony Dual Core laptop (Intel P8400 2.26Ghz) with 3GB of memory, and with this configuration I can comfortably run Windows 7 as my primary operating system, with Virtual Box handling my Linux server applications for my website design requirements. You can run virtualisation software on older machine, but I would recommend a fairly modern system, as running multiple operating system puts more strain on the processor/memory/storage subsystems.

Try and get a system that supports Intels VT-x or AMD’s AMD-V.  These are hardware features built into your CPU that will assist virtualisation software. It’s a nice to have (if you want to run a virtualised 64-bit operating system on a 32-bit host system it is a must) and will provide some performance improvements. For further info on this subject see here – hardware assisted virtualisation . Be warned it’s not light reading!

Just completed my latest website project, a caravan booking website for a colleague. Although it looks simple there is a lot of back-end logic to control caravan bookings and financial reporting. A good example of  a site with quite a lot of functionality that can be developed quickly and inexpensively in Joomla.

To visit the site visit – www.caravanspinewoods.co.uk.

I recently came across a problem with Joomla and MySQL databases when I was working on a clients website. I generally use a test server to develop Joomla websites, and then upload the final website to my web hosting provider. However, for reasons now forgotten I decided to develop this clients website as a subdomain under my main business website.

I almost always use JoomlaPack (http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/access-a-security/backup/1606) to backup and restore Joomla websites. If you dont know this utility, go and check it out as it really is a time saver. I used Joomlapack to backup the Joomla site from my business website subdomain and restored it the newly created clients hosting account.

I then noticed that although the Joomlapack restore had worked the database had not copied for some reason and it was referencing the original location. As both of these locations use the same hosting provider, it worked, but obviously was not ideal as my clients website was now tied to my account.

I made a copy of the MySQL database and moved it across to the clients new hosting account, and changing the username and database name within Joomla administration backend. This did not work and I got the following error:

Database Error: Unable to connect to the database:Could not connect to MySQL

As the MySQL user password is different from the original MySQL user password then it can’t log in. Unfortunately Joomla only asks you for the database details including the password when you install Joomla. It is not available (unless i’ve missed it) within the Joomla administration back end. I could have reinstalled Joomla. but at this point I had my heels dug in.

Anyway – For anyone who has any issues like this then here is how I resolved it.

1. I used phpMyAdmin to make a export a copy of the clients Joomla MySQL database.

2. I imported the clients MySQL database in to their hosting account, again using phpMyAdmin.

3 I created a new MySQL database user and associated it with the clients MySQL database (make sure you set the correct user priveleges).

4. I edited the Joomla configuration.php file and changed the following entries to enable Joomla to point to the new database:

• var $user = ‘database user’;
• var $db = ‘database name’;
• var $password = ‘user password’;

I was surprised that $password is stored unencrypted.

I’m always going on about how fantastic Open Source applications are, so here is my top list of applications that I feel people should not be without. There are also a couple of applications here which are not Open Source, but are still free and are worthwhile considering.

All of these products are free, but consider donating either a little bit of time or money to enable these fantastic applications to continue to be supported.

1. UBUNTU SERVER – (http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/serveredition)
Linux, or in my particular case, Ubuntu Server is a fantastic product, is well supported, has a huge range of easy to install applications and is the foundation of many other Open Source applications.

2. PHP – (http://www.php.net)
PHP is the backbone of many web-applications, and although not really an application in itself, it is really a programming language that plays really well with HTML and has become the backbone of many web applications. Chances are if you use a web based application it probably utilises PHP somewhere.

3. MYSQL – (http://www.mysql.com)
The Open Source database for Linux, but also available for Windows, Solaris, FreeBSD, HPUX and others. Like PHP this is not a standalone application, but used to provide functionality to other applications.

4. APACHE – (http://www.apache.org)
Used by millions of organisations, companies and web-hosts the world over, the definitive Open Source webserver. A very powerful piece of software.

5. JOOMLA! – (http://www.joomla.org)
Joomla is a Content Management System, think of it as a design tool for people that do not like deisgning websites conventionally (i.e. HTML/CSS). It is extremely powerful, and although a little more involved that some other CMS’s it is worth the effort. Like most successful open source applications, Joomla is really well supported, has a very active community and the last time I looked, had 3000+ extensions to enhance its functionality.

I use this in my web design business for clients who want to control their own website content, but dont want to get involved in the technicalities of HTML . You can visit my website www.zimt.co.uk for more information.

6. ASTERISK/PBX IN A FLASH (http://www.asterisk.org and http://www.pbxinaflash.net)
One of my favourite applications. PBX in a Flash builds on the functionality of Asterisk, a leading open source IP Telephony PBX and enables you to build an enterprise telephone system on a shoestring. Hold music, call diversion, follow me, voice mail and conference calls barely scratch the surface of an incredible product. Incorporating the easy to use FreePBX web interface together with script based updates and extension installs makes incorporating features a breeze. If you have ever considered IP telephony this is the software to go for.

7. PFSENSE (http://www.pfsense.org)
An open source router and firewall with VPN, proxy and proxy content capabilities. It is powered by FreeBSD which makes it fast, reliable and it utilises few system resources. Although not as flashy as some it gets the job done quietly and without fuss.

8. WORDPRESS (http://www.wordpress.org)
Well, it had to be here didn’t it? Full of blogging goodness and everyones favourite blog software. WordPress is open source and is not just used for blogging but for increasingly capable websites, indeed some are now using it as a Content Management System. Whilst it doesn’t have the functionality of say Joomla! in this role, it is still a great solution and shows how flexible WordPress can be.

9. VMWARE ESXI (http://www.vmare.com)
Although not open source, this software is free, and is a cut down version of its big brother (now part of VMware vSphere). That said it has plenty to recommend it, and is plenty powerful by itself. Many companies and individuals utilise ESXi to consolidate their applications and servers and to provide a central repository to enable easy backup, migration and disaster recovery.

ESXi has a very small footprint, less than 32MB, making hardware utilisation much more efficient than say Microsofts Hyper-V technology or VMware server as it does not run on top of any operating system, instead it has its own small footprint loader which all your virtualised applications and servers run on.

VMware also have another free piece of software called VMware Player. This enables you to take a virtualised server (these are called Virtual Machines or VM for short and are just files) and take it with you on the road. I can therefore take development systems with me on my laptop when I am travelling, can still continue my work and can just copy my VM files back to my ESXi server when I get home. It is like taking a physical server with you on your travels, but with none of the hassle of a really long network cable!

If you really dont want to use a non open source product then Xen (http://www.xen.org) is another alternative.

10. Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2009 (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/accountingexpress/FX101729681033.aspx)
What is this? A Microsoft application in an open source list? Well, yes; although obviously not open source it is free, and in these tough economic times that matters to a lot of people. More importantly Microsoft Office Accounting Express is a good piece of accounting software, and does what it says on the tin. It doesnt have all the features of the Professional version, but you can upgrade if you really have to.

Microsoft are just doing what many open source vendors have been doing for a while, releasing a version of their product with the majority of the commercial features implemented, and leaving it up to the customer to decide if it is worthwhile paying the extra to upgrade.

The hook being that you have invested time and effort to get to know the software, so you are much more likely to upgrade than go to a competitive product. Relax, it’s only marketing!!

Hi and welcome to my new blog.

I’ve been involed in IT for 20+ years, and thought it was about time to start puitting down some of my thoughts and experience onto paper (okay pixels…).

I hope you enjoy my ramblings.

Dean Dunn