From test environment to secure commercial use.

[rogerzebra]

Hi all,
I'm relatively new in the database administration field. Uptil now I've only tried MySQL together with PHP in a test environment. I would appreciate if someone could answer a couple of question, I have regarding commercial use and a secure professional configuration.
Uptil now I've used XAMPP as my installation on my own computer on localhost. Now we'll install the same software package on a server. I guess XAMPP and PHPmyAdmin is not a professional setup right?

Questions:
1. What is the best recommended and professional setup for commercial use?
2. What is the best GUI for the database?
3. What is Frontend and Backend?
4. Backup setup? Just if anyone have some recomendation.
I've built a web based dynamic Content Management System in PHP and MySQL for internal use. Using the localhost as the developer platform. I've never before built something like this for commercial use.
5. How do best implement this system on our companys server, so we all can use the system?

As I've understood MySQL for commercial use is still free if you not making money on it, right?
Thanks in advance for any guidance on this subject.
/rz

 

[Bastien]

XAMP is not good. Use a linux box and tighten the box down to prevent hacking. PHPMyAdmin is ok, used by many hosting services, it can be password protected and you can also htaccess the folder its in to make it more secure.

Set-up depends on many things not the least of which is budget, ideally you have db servers that are replicated with at least on webapp server to purely host the web pages, this spreads the load out along the network.

A front end is the visible application elements, ie web pages, which talk to the back end the db server.

backups are again strategy dependant, but should be taken nightly at least, a cron job is a nice way to automatically do this. A nice read is High Performance MySQL and the companion book.



Bastien

I wish my computer would do what I want it to do,
instead of what I tell it to do...

 

[rogerzebra]

Bastien,
thannks again for sharing your knowledge. I need to go with a windows platform though even though I'm interested in a linux system. The other in the office wanted it a windows environment. I have been using PHPMyAdmin all along and which is a part of the xampp package so that was a big relief. I still have this probably a stupid question on how to share this cms system though? It will be installed on our local server. What is the best method to share this application whith several users in the office? Is it any better way to go than share the index.htm file as alias on their desktops? I really don't know what's best. Any suggestions?

 

[azzazzello]

another thing I would suggest you look into replication.

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/replication.html

What this does is have the slave server duplicate information from the master, which gives you instant backup. FURTHERMORE, if you have, say, reporting tools AND users, you can have users run against the master database, and your reporting tools run against the slave. That way, reporting tools will not be hitting your main database.

 

[rogerzebra]

that is a good piece of information azzazzello.
I'll look in to that, thank so much
/rz

 

[Bastien]

The other in the office wanted it a windows environment.

How sad. But ok. I will assume that you are still going to keep the apache server as the webserver and not move to IIS. If this is a stictly local app running on servers inside your firewall you can config the apache to only accept local connections. Get yourself a book on how to admin apache, its pretty easy since most of it is through a text file.

I have been using PHPMyAdmin all along and which is a part of the xampp package so that was a big relief.

Ah, the true beauty of PHP, this same application and the one you are working on will run the same on any platform that supports PHP (most *nix systems, windows etc).

I still have this probably a stupid question on how to share this cms system though? It will be installed on our local server. What is the best method to share this application whith several users in the office? Is it any better way to go than share the index.htm file as alias on their desktops? I really don't know what's best. Any suggestions?

Once its on the webserver, you can simply set the default home page on the clients to your application, or add it to the favorites or drag an icon onto the desktop...


Bastien

I wish my computer would do what I want it to do,
instead of what I tell it to do...

 

[rogerzebra]

Bastien,
I'll definately have the system running on apache.

config the apache to only accept local connections

I take your valuable information onboard that is exactly what I was looking for when I post this issue.
thanks again.