Cloning a Drupal Multisite Subsite

If you have a Drupal multisite configuration, you will sometimes want to clone one of your Drupal subsites so that you can use it as the basis of a new subsite. This is particularly useful when it becomes clear that you are mixing two sets of content in one Drupal subsite and want to split that content between two subsites. By cloning the existing subsite, you end up with two Drupal subsites each of which is free to develop in its own unique direction.

 

This advice applies to Drupal 6.x, on shared hosting, with a single database, and no direct server access. I works for me at One.com. If you are with a different hosting company, make sure you do some research before attempting this.

1. Back everything up (your Drupal files and your database).
2. Clear all the Drupal caches.
3. Create a new subsite folder (e.g. /sites/mysite.com.mynewsubsite) on you local machine and copy the entire of contents (including hidden files) of /sites/mysite.com.myexistingsubsite) into it.
4. Search across all files in /sites/mysite.com.mynewsubsite) and replace the "myexistingsubsite" string wherever you find it. (I do this on a local copy of the folder, using Windows Explorer's search tool for this, then I load all the found files in Notepad++ to do the Find and Replace.)
5. In the settings.php file in the /sites/mysite.com.mynewsubsite directory make sure that the database prefix is now correct for your subsite, for example:

   $db_prefix = 'mynewsubsite_';
    

6. Upload the whole /mysite.com.mynewsubsite directory (or whatever you have called it) to the Drupal webserver's /sites directory. You should now have a directory structure on your webserver that looks like this:

   www.mysite.com/sites/default/
   www.mysite.com/sites/mysite.com.myexistingsubsite/
   www.mysite.com/sites/mysite.com.mynewsubsite/

7. Using a simple text editor like Notepad, create a text file called makesymlink.php containing this text:

   <?php
symlink(".", "newsubsite");
print "Done";
?>

8. Upload makesymlink.php to the root directory of your webserver.
9. Run makesymlink.php by going to http://www.mysite.com/makesymlink.php in your browser. The script will run and "Done" should be displayed in your browser.
10. Delete makesymlink.php from your webserver.
11. Using Drupal's Backup and Migrate module, take a backup of your database in uncompressed form, and download it to your local machine.
12. Open the backup file and search for the statements that begin with your existing subsite's prefix.
13. Create a new backup file that contains just those statements.
14. Search for the "myexistingsubsite" string in your new backup file and replace it with "mynewsubsite" wherever you find it.
15. Save the file. Get a little paranoid and double-check that the backup file contains only "mynewsubsite" string statements.
16. Use Drupal's Backup and Migrate module to "Restore" the new backup file. All the tables needed for your new subsite will be created.
17. Using phpMyAdmin or similar, check that the new database tables have been created with content.
18. Using phpMyAdmin, empty (truncate) all the tables that are called "mynewwebsite_cache_ " something-or-other. (If you fail to do this, you may not be able to see the new subsite, and will just get the Drupal WSOD.)
19. You should now be able to see your cloned Drupal subsite. If it still looks a bit odd, trying clearing your website's cache a few times.
20. Now thoroughly check the entire site looking for any kind of problems. If you find none, you are done!

 

 

Drupal Multisite Configuration via Subdirectories

If you have a basic Drupal web siteinstalled in the root directory on your webserver and you want to set up a new website in a subdirectory, with its own themes and module settings, here is how I do it.

 

Applies to Drupal 6.X:

1. Back-up everything: your database (e.g., using the Drupal Backup and Migrate module) and your Drupal files.
2. Create a folder on your local PC with a name something like /mysite.com.mynewsubsite. [note the weird syntax!]
3. Using FTP, download the entire contents of your webserver's /sites/default directory into the directory you just created.
4. In the settings.php file in the new directory, change the database prefix to something suitable for your subsite, for example:
   
   $db_prefix = 'mynewsubsite_';
    
5. Upload the whole /mysite.com.mynewsubsite directory (or whatever you have called it) to the webserver's /sites directory. You should now have a directory structure on your webserver that looks like this:
   
   www.mysite.com/sites/default/
   www.mysite.com/sites/mysite.com.mynewsubsite/
   
   
6. Create a text file called makesymlink.php containing this text:
   
   <?php
symlink(".", "newsubsite");
print "Done";
?>
7. Upload makesymlink.php to the root directory of your webserver.
8. Run makesymlink.php by going to http://www.mysite.com/makesymlink.php in your browser. The script will run and "Done" should be displayed in your browser.
9. Delete makesymlink.php from your webserver.
10. Go to www.mysite.com/newsubsite/install.php in your browser.
11. Now you can set up the new site.

 

Love It or Hate It, Drupal Works

Such has been the pace at which the Internet has invaded our lives that sooner or later we all wake up one morning and announce that it is time to set up a web site. By all, we truly do mean everyone from individuals to businesses to communities and clubs.

Of course, the bolt of enlightenment that leads to the need to have a site of our own doesn’t always hit us out of the blue. For many the move is gradual. We start with a facebook or twitter account. After that we might graduate to joining some chat rooms or business community forums. Whatever path we take, sooner or later the internet bug has migrated into our soul and nothing will satisfy us until we have a web site of our own.

Once the decision has been made, the next question is how; what do we need to do to set up a web site of our own. For some, this involves bringing in a web developer, telling them to set up a site and sitting back and hoping for the best. For others, it involves buying extremely heavy books full of words such as embedding, hypertextual and encryption and setting off full of enthusiasm and hope that persistence will be rewarded and one day a web site will emerge like magic from the chrysalis of the coding.

For those who have yet to set off on the path of discovery that leads to a web site, there is a third way, Drupal. To quote its web site, Drupal is a “leading edge open-source content management system that implements the latest thinking and best practices in community publishing, knowledge management, and software design.” For the layman this means that Drupal is free, lets you set up a web site and tries to continually improve.

So what can Drupal do? Drupal enables you to set up a flexible web site with information, articles, chat forums and even e-commerce. Drupal works by taking all the information that you throw at it (each piece of information is called a node) and storing the information in a central pool. It then uses various applications (modules) to take the information and display it in the way that you want. Whilst the basic Drupal system is fairly simple, there are thousand of different modules to choose from so your choice of how your site works is virtually infinite.

To fully understand how Drupal can work, let us take a case study. For this, although we are looking at a typical small village anywhere in the world, the solutions can apply for any business. At first the people of the village want a simple notice board so that details of all the village events can be shown. A Drupal web site is set up and the villagers have a basic one page site announcing the flower festival and the annual village picnic. Next, some people complain that they can see the announcements but that they get confused about the dates. Simple, a calendar module is added.

One of the villagers thinks it would be a good idea to be able to add more information about the events so additional pages are added to cover each event. To help with arranging for volunteers, a discussion module is added. Now on each page, the villagers can see the events and can make comments and ask for help. To try and attract more visitors to the events a map and a how to find us module is added.

One day, one of the villagers decides to sell some old toys that their children no longer need. A page is added to allow villagers to post pictures and descriptions of the items they want to sell. Finally, the village shop decides to sell its goods via the site so a full e-commerce module is added.

Now the village has a thriving web site with information, chat, sales and visitors being attracted to the village. To see what part of the site is used most a module is added to track hits and comments and the village thrives.

This same pattern can be used for any business. There are over 400,000 Drupal web sites worldwide being used by everyone from individuals to government departments. Any business wanting a web site which sells, informs and allows the exchange of ideas can use Drupal.

Of course, like any system there are some pitfalls. In common with any other system that allows web site chat, it is very important that the level of security is controlled. An organisation will be judged on its entire web site. If inappropriate comments are shown on the site, the organisation will be held to account and may lose clients. It is therefore important that for fully open sites a moderator regularly reviews the site and removes inappropriate comments. Alternatively, comment can be restricted to certain individuals and security permissions can be withdrawn if the chat forum is misused.

The comment “love it or hate it” was chosen for this article in recognition of the fact that Drupal does have its critics. Whilst the basic system is fast, adding modules will slow it down so it is important to choose your modules carefully. Drupal itself admits that anyone facing the system for the first time will be on a steep learning curve and having “modularity, extensibility and maintainability in our code” as one of their aims can be enough to put the novice off.

For this reason, whilst in theory anyone can build a Drupal system, in the same way that anyone in theory can produce a gourmet meal; sometimes it is better to leave it to the experts. Web developers who work with Drupal can quickly produce a flexible and user friendly system that is easy to administer. With version 7 in testing at the moment promising to be more user friendly we can see Drupal continuing to be used for some time to come.

One.Com Shoots Itself in the Drupals

Like a lot of people in Scandinavia, I’ve been using One.Com to host my Drupal 6 sites. It’s a very affordable service, and the support is normally excellent. However, there is one big drawback to One.Com, and it severely limits its usage for anyone with a serious Drupal website.

 

The problem lies in the 24MB memory limit on shared accounts. That memory limit applies across all the service packages the company offers, so you can’t even upgrade you way out of trouble (I know, I tried).

 

If you have a small Drupal 6 site, One.Com is a great place to experiment. However, as you site grows and you add more functionality and more modules, you are going to be fast eating into that memory limit. The first sign of trouble will be when you try to access your /admin/build/modules page to activate a new module and you see nothing at all. This “nothing at all” is the infamous Drupal White Screen of Death (WSOD). You have run out of memory for PHP.

If this happens to you, you are probably going to need to uninstall some of your modules. You may be able to temporarily fix the WSOD and see your /admin/build/modules page by switching to a simpler core template if you are not already using one. (If anyone knows of any other fixes for WSOD problem, please post them in the comments – we would all be most grateful to know them!)

Drupal modules that seem to eat a lot of memory include Views and Poormanscron. Most sites use Views, and Poormanscron (or another cron solution) is needed at One.Com because they won’t allow you to run cron automatically. I’m using Porterstemmer to expand my Search module, and I suspect that that is a memory hog too.

 

One.Com Live Help staff (for whom I usually have nothing but praise) say they cannot change the memory limit on the accounts. If you bother them enough they will tell you to contact technical support, who will also say they can do nothing. This then, becomes a nasty little trap for the unwary Drupal site owner: as your site grows in complexity it becomes more and more of a pain to move it to another web hosting service provider, yet eventually at One.Com, with anything more than a basic site, you are going to hit that memory limit.

 

If you want to get serious with Drupal, I can’t recommend One.Com. That’s a great pity because in all other ways they are a perfect hosting service. Someone at One.Com needs to take a look at the year-on-year growth of Drupal as a web content management solution, and consider upping that memory limit on shared accounts Real Soon Now.

 

Tip:

To get Drupal to run at One.Com, I had to comment-out two lines from my .htaccess file. (If you have a multisite installation, you may have several .htaccess files: look in your site root and in the /sites directory.) These were the lines that I commented out:

# Options –Indexes
# Options +FollowSymLinks

 

 

Who Won Sweden's CMS Battle?

One of the side benefits of our new job search tool is that it easy to use it to get a rough measure of the success of various content management systems in the competitive Swedish marketplace.

As an English technical writing and copywriting consultancy service, we at Straightforward AB are interested in the success of the big systems that are being used to manage content of various types, including web content, documents, user help, and marketing materials. Content management systems (CMSs) come in several flavours: some are more web-oriented, others are better at managing document content.

By feeding our job search tool with the product names, we can quickly get a "burgernomics" kind-of-feel for the success of some of the leading content management systems in the Swedish market, measured by the number of open positions requiring each product's skillset. This demand reflects, of course, both the success of the CMS vendor in penetrating the Swedish market and the success of the businesses that have adopted the technology.

Content Management System	Number of hits (Straightforward AB job search tool)
Drupal (open source web CMS)
Joomla (open source web CMS)
Escenic Wordpress (proprietary web CMS)
EpiServer (proprietary enterprise CMS)
SharePoint (proprietary enterprise CMS)
Tridion (proprietary enterprise CMS)
Polopoly (proprietary web CMS)
Senselogic Sitevision (proprietary web CMS)

Today's Swedish business market is dominated by high demand for people with EpiServer and Sharepoint skills, reflecting the local success of those two CMSs. Only Drupal and Polopoly CMSs are really showing any other sign of life in Sweden. No hits at all are currently found for Skribenta, Documentum, Interwoven TeamSite, or Wordpress.

If you want us to add data for more content management systems that you know are being used in the Swedish market, add a comment below.