AgileApps Support Wiki

User:Aeric/Configuration

From AgileApps Support Wiki
< User:Aeric
Revision as of 18:48, 4 September 2013 by imported>Aeric (→‎How the Wiki Works)

How the Wiki Works

Mediawiki consists of a database and a bunch of PHP scripts and supporting files in the Wiki directory.

  • The actual Wiki content is contained in a database.
  • Together, the file set and the database make up the Wiki that user sees.
  • In addition to PHP scripts, the directory contains:
    LocalSettings.php
    The master control script where everything else is configured.
  • $wgDBname - The variable that names the database in the MySQL space,
accompanied by the login information and the mysql "secret key" for the space
  • $wgScriptPath - This variable is used to generate Wiki links. E.g. "/wiki".
The wiki will run if it's wrong, but all of the links it generates will point to here.
  • skins/
    The images and CSS files that create the "wrapper context" (headers, nav pane, etc.) for the wiki content.
    extensions/
    MediaWiki plug-ins that have been downloaded and "installed" by referencing them in LocalSettings.php. (Since pages are loaded dynamically, once the extension is present, it is automatically part of the Wiki. No restart needed.)
    images/
    A directory hierarchy that contains the image files after they have been uploaded. The Wiki stores them there when you upload an image, and keeps a pointer to them in the database.
Added directories
custom_images/
Header images and favicons used by the browser for bookmarks and tabs.
download/
A directory we added to hold files we want to reference in the wiki. Only image files can be loaded into the Wiki. But that's ok. Image loads are done painfully, one at a time. Files in the download/ folder can be easily updated en mass. (Image files need to be uploaded, so that "links" to them coded in the wiki cause the image to be displayed, rather than link text.)

How Links to the Wiki Work

(This is the email I sent to explain things for version 7.1.)

Current Version Links
As of today and going forward, these URLS will always point to the latest released version of the Support Wiki:
http://{subdomain}.platformatyourservice.com/wiki
Those are the best links to send to current customers, as they’ll always point to the latest pages. And they will always stay at the top of the Google search rankings, by virtue of being the most heavily accessed Wiki pages.
Versioned links in bookmarks and emails will also work:
http://{subdomain}.platformatyourservice.com/lj71
Those links will be automatically forwarded to the /wiki pages for as long as 7.1 is current.
But once 7.1 is no longer current, those links will go to the 7.1 version, not the latest version.
Pre-Release Links
Customers who need pre-release information can get it using links like these:
http://{subdomain}.platformatyourservice.com/lj72
When version 7.2 is released, those links will be automatically redirected to the /wiki pages.
When 7.3 goes live, those links will once again point to the (now old) 7.2 pages.
Old Version Links
Anyone who needs to reference prior-release information can use links like these:
http://{subdomain}.platformatyourservice.com/lj70

Wiki/Server Configuration Notes

  • The wiki is hosted at Racksace. The site name is "platformatyourservice.com".
  • Location is /usr/share/mediawiki/{wiki_name}
  • Multiple subdomains are set up using Apache, the DNS server, and LocalSettings.php.
  • The DNS server forwards platformatyourservice.com -> isv.platformatyourservice
  • The Wiki examines the server name (which includes the subdomain) to determine which logos to show and which platform name to use:
    • In {wiki_name}/LocalSettings.php, $wgSitename declares the name of the Wiki site.
    • That value is set conditionally, based on the subsomain used to access the PHP page.
    • So the same verison of the Wiki is launched in all three cases, but LocalSettings.php changes $wgSitename depending on the subdomain used to access it.
    • When that variable's value is "ISV Support Wiki", the unbranded, ISV version of the wiki pages are shown. Otherwise, a logo and platform name appears.

Accessing the Server

The server can be accessed with a VPN connection, using either FTP or SSH. FTP gives access to all of the Wiki files, which is generally sufficient. (Details in emails.)

Apache Modifications

To modify the Apache configuration in /etc/httpd/conf.d/mediawiki.conf, either:

  1. SSH to the server using PuTTY or the SSH shell, and use a line-oriented editor like nano.
  2. Set up TightVnc and use it to run a darn good editor like Nedit.

Apache References

Backup Notes

  • A MediaWiki site contains a number of wiki files and a database.
  • The Wiki content files are in the images/, extensions/, and download/ folders, plus some other files.
  • Each Wiki has its own database.
    The database contains page contents and edit history. It is created when the wiki is set up. Data is exported using mysqldump, and imported using mysql.
  • The backup script in the root user's home dir, is automysqlbackup.sh
  • The archive of database backups is at ??

Branching Notes

  • The sandbox is the new wiki you are creating. There is (or will be) a local copy on your system, as well as the remote copy on the server.
Retrieved from "https://agileappscloud.info/aawiki-src/index.php?title=User:Aeric/Configuration&oldid=13578"