Local support possible

[guido]

Finally I have convinced my department chef that a wiki, preferably Deki, is the way to go for us. Now we go for the next step: convincing the IT department. This is going to be even more difficult. My chef does not understand bits and bites but knows this from him self. The IT-dep. head doesn't understand much either, but he thinks he does and he loves power over his clients.

We definitely need a local machine within our firewall, and we do not have personnel that knows anything about linux. (Except for me, but I am just a hobbyist and professional Metallurgist) Updating and trouble shooting the VM may be problem since it runs in Debian. The source install on a Win-machine will also be difficult since they are not used to this type of install. (Where should we click?) And they do not know MySQL or Apache.

I already know about Deki's support plans since I asked about this in another thread. But you are over seas and we can not sit down behind a screen together or shake hands. Now we think we can convince him when we can offer support from a local vendor/software house. This should be a company preferably in the Netherlands, the North of Belgium or the west side of Germany. Is there a company in this area that is familiar with Deki, or even a reseller or what ever you would call this?

[SteveB]

guido,

Couple of things. First, there is now a Windows-native installer (MSI). It's currently in beta with a final release set for August. You can read about it here:
http://forums.developer.mindtouch.com/showthread.php?t=3327

Second, we have several partners in Europe who can assist you. Please send an email to sales@mindtouch.com and someone will direct you to a partner that is the best fit for you. Thanks.

[guido]

Thanks Steve,
I will do the latter. I did read a bit about the msi setup. There are several things I do not like so much about it. So that is probably the way our IT-department will go :eek: .

Putting apache, php, and MySQL to work on windows server is like putting a Ferrari motor in a fiat Panda. It will work, but thay were just not meant for each other. (I do not mean to say that the ferrari motor is better, just very different.
A native install misses the advantages of a VM. But this may be overcome by building a windows VM and installing the MSI file in there.
The (that is: our) IT-department works with anything that has the name Microsoft on it, but Apache, php and MySQL still don't. So if they still have to learn about these packages, lets let them learn about linux too. (ok, easy for me to say)
Small one: it's still in Beta.


Still I think you are doing good making Deki available on as many systems as you can, even if it is not the 'best' way to go for a customer. I think being open source should also cover being open. Hence: deliver multi platform software. I just hope it won't take up too much work that will cost on feature adding or bug fixing.

[SteveB]

Just to clarify

The MSI installs on IIS. Where did you see it was using Apache? SQL Server support will be added later. As for PHP, you know that MS is making a big fuss about IIS being (allegedly) the best host for PHP apps. More about it here. (http://www.iis.net/php/)
A native install is much more power efficient. Furthermore, both the UI and the API for Deki are running under IIS, making management a snap.
I think ONLY learning about PHP is a lot less than learning about Linux. Furthermore, PHP is now a natively supported technology for IIS. So, your IT folks better get used to seeing more of it. :)
By the sound of it, I'd say by the time your IT dept. moves on this, we'll be on v2! ;)


BTW, how is a Ferrari motor NOT better?!?! That's a terrible analogy! :D

[crb]

Warning: post contains translation from New Zealand English! :)

I once saw a Fiat Bambina (aka the Fiat 500 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_500)) that was owned by a panelbeater (aka body shop/collision repair center). They had put a V8 engine into it.

To do this, they had to take the firewall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_%28construction%29#Firewalls_outside_of_b uilding_construction) (yes, the word had a meaning before networks!) and dashboard, previously a straight line across the front of the car, and bend them in an inverse 'V' shape because otherwise the engine couldn't fit in the engine bay! (This may not technically be true because I believe the engine was mounted in the rear of the Bambi.)

Here's a pic of a Bambina so you can see just how audacious this may be.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/White_Fiat_500.jpg/250px-White_Fiat_500.jpg

A similar video on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSZLUwiQUIk) (in German, for our new forum) shows someone else who did this, but extended the engine bay a foot back into the car and moved the front seats into the back of the car!

[guido]

Hey Guys,
thanks for all your reactions. And I mean ALL of them. :)


Just to clarify


By the sound of it, I'd say by the time your IT dept. moves on this, we'll be on v2! ;)


BTW, how is a Ferrari motor NOT better?!?! That's a terrible analogy! :D

Steve, I am affraid you are right. But I am very sore your remarks will benefit to the process. Maybe I did not search good enough, but I can not find the constituents of the MSI. I did find a 'install from source' for windows that does indeed use Windows web server. If I understand right these are the options:


Linux Host

VmWare Server
VM Linux virtual host

Apache
MySQL
PHP
mono
Deki



or:

Windows Host

VmWare Server
VM Linux virtual host

Apache
MySQL
PHP
mono
Deki



or:

Windows Host

VmWare Server
VM Windows virtual host

IIS 6
MySQL (Windows SQL-Server coming soon)
PHP mono
Deki



or:

Linux Host

Apache
MySQL
PHP
Mono
Deki


or:

Windows Host (M$)

IIS 6 (M$)
MySQL ($500 licence; Windows SQL-Server coming soon)
FastCGI for IIS (M$)
PHP (like GPL)
.net (M$)
Deki (GPL)
Isapi from Helicon ($100 or can you use the free one?; Rewrite Engine for emulating Apache mod_rewrite)
ImageMagic (like GPL)
Acitive Perl (like GPL, what is Perl needed for?)
Ghostscript (GPL, what is ghostscript needed for?)
IFilters



If you install the MSI, is all the above (from the last list) installed and configured automatically? And do you have to deal with licenses? This is probably not the right place for this discussion, sorry for that.

[crb]

# MySQL ($500 licence; Windows SQL-Server coming soon)

Since when has MySQL not been Free on Windows also? You can buy support if you wish, but the product is still GPL...

[brigettek]

Hey Guys,

Windows Host (M$)

IIS 6 (M$)
MySQL ($500 licence; Windows SQL-Server coming soon)
FastCGI for IIS (M$)
PHP (like GPL)
.net (M$)
Deki (GPL)
Isapi from Helicon ($100 or can you use the free one?; Rewrite Engine for emulating Apache mod_rewrite)
ImageMagic (like GPL)
Acitive Perl (like GPL, what is Perl needed for?)
Ghostscript (GPL, what is ghostscript needed for?)
IFilters



If you install the MSI, is all the above (from the last list) installed and configured automatically? And do you have to deal with licenses? This is probably not the right place for this discussion, sorry for that.

The only things you need are IIS7 (IIS6 isn't supported yet) and a MySQL database; you will be prompted to enter the database connection information. The installer includes the rest of its requirements.