[Web4lib] looking for

[Mark Sandford]

Virtualization can be a good place to start, but the downside can be a
hit on performance, especially if you're running it on a machine you
do other work on.  I've run a virtualized Ubuntu on my PC at work, but
due to RAM issues, it's painful.

Linux can typically run on very old machines, so if you have an old PC
laying around, you can scrap the virtualization approach entirely and
install directly.  Current versions of Linux are easy to install and
don't require much technical experience, especially if you're using a
dedication machine (versus dual booting). I'd say if you're looking to
start with desktop PC hardware (instead of server hardware) only go
with virtualization if you don't want to/can't overwrite the existing
operating system (probably Windows).

As for OSes, I'm a fan of Ubuntu.  It's simple to set up and there's
good community support.  They have a server distribution, but if
you're hesitant about using the command line, you can just install the
desktop option and install the server stuff later.  It's not that
complicated.

Additionally, there's no reason that a Windows machine can't be your
server.  It probably won't be as fast as a Linux installation, but you
can download Apache, PHP, MySQL, etc and set them up on Windows XP.
Just be aware that some (most? all?) open source CMS systems assume a
Linux or Unix environment and may require some tweaking.  The two
areas I've had issues with here have been getting Java integrated into
the server and getting drivers to talk to our library's Oracle
database.  These can be overcome, but they required more of me than
double clicking on the installation program.

Mark Sandford
Special Formats Cataloger
William Paterson University
(973)270-2437
sandfordm1 at wpunj.edu



On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 3:04 PM, Bill Hudson
<bhudson at lancasterlibraries.org> wrote:
> Take a look at http://www.jumpbox.com/app/lampd It's a virtual appliance you
> can download and have running in less than 45 minutes, including the time
> required to install the free VMware server software (longer if you have a
> slow connection ;-). Downside is it cost $300 but you get support with that
> as well as some other cool VMs to play with.
>
> If money is an object, check out VMware's Appliances link, they have a
> number of LAMP servers you can download for free. With the Jumpbox option
> you can have a tad more confidence you aren't getting a compromised machine.
> With the free VM's, well, buyer beware!
> BH
>
> ****************************************************************************
> *
> Bill Hudson
> Deputy Administrator/Manager, Information Technology
> 1866 Colonial Village Lane, Ste. 107
> Lancaster, PA  17601
> 717-207-0500 ext. 1269
> http://www.lancasterlibraries.org
> AIM: billhudson2008
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
>> [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Lin Light
>> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 2:31 PM
>> To: web4lib at webjunction.org
>> Subject: [Web4lib] looking for
>>
>> Looking for a cheap setup to learn and practice on.
>> Looking to bring myself up to speed on OS webhosting. We
>> currently host our page remote and let them manage it. But
>> current events lead me to think, bring it in-house for better
>> managment.
>> Want to set something up the will work off our network for
>> ihhouse only for testing and practice.
>>
>> Lin
>>
>>
>> Lin Light
>> Head of Computer
>>  & Technical Services
>> Herrick District Library
>> 300 South River Ave.
>> Holland, MI 49423
>> Voice 616-355-3727
>> Fax   616-355-1426
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Web4lib mailing list
>> Web4lib at webjunction.org
>> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
>>
>>
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