Support community for TTG plugins and products.
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The Turning Gate's Community has moved to a new home, at https://discourse.theturninggate.net.
This forum is now closed, and exists here as a read-only archive.
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I am guilty of not backing up The Turning Gate frequently enough. I wish databases were less a pain in the ass. Probably something I should do this week while it's on my mind, though.
Scratch that; Rod's got backups and I think he's going to post that and the FAQ.
Nice, Rich. I've added it to the Announcements and Info section. Thanks.
And the FAQ ... that's a bad loss. I'm hoping Rod has a backup, as he wrote most of it. I was hoping to find a copy in my mailbox, but no such luck.
Seems so, unless I can get an installation of Vanilla to access the database again, which the currently available version is failing to do. There are no tools that I've found for converting Vanilla databases to other formats. And I hold little hope for getting support on Vanilla; they seem to have abandoned the open source project in favor of pushing users to their hosted platform, which -- after going through this crap -- I refuse even to consider.
I like that I can easily add links to the menu -- Blog, Docs and Shop are now accessible from the forum. Vanilla didn't allow me to do that without hacking it.
Ha! Perhaps a blessing in disguise in ways. I do wish we might have kept the user accounts and posts, though.
Of late there have been several issues surrounding TTG CE2 Auto Index and Microsoft Windows/IIS Servers. I hope this sticky will help you understand why Windows based IIS servers are not recommended.
The issue
In order to support multiple web servers on any physical server setup web host providers must establish a security environment that 1) provides protection to the host operating system from any web server, and 2) protects one web server from another web server. While these same considerations apply to a Linux/Apache environment the very structure of the Windows/IIS file system introduces a disparity that cannot easily be allowed for and still offer a secure, protected environment.
Microsoft’s Integrated Information Service or IIS. IIS runs underneath Microsoft operating systems that support NTFS (New Technology File System) disks such as it’s desktop products (Windows XP, Vista, …) and it’s server products (Server 2000, 2003, …). As such, all Windows/NTFS file system references include a disk specification (for example, C: or E:) before any file paths are specified.
However, all Unix based systems like Linux contain one or more file systems. Each file system does not have to exist on a single hard disk. One hard disk may contain several file systems or a single file system may be spread across multiple hard disks. As such, Linux file system references do not include a disk specification but rather only include a file path specification. Typical Unix file path specifications look like ‘/usr/bin’ or ‘/home/websitename/public_html’.
One of the requirements for TTG CE2 Auto Index is the correct operation of the PHP function realpath(). One of the requirements for realpath() is the user id running your web server must have execute privileges to all segments of the file path specification. Under Windows, this will include the hard disk specification (ie. C: or E:). And therein lays the rub for TTG CE2 Auto Index.
The standard tool provided by Microsoft to manage IIS services cannot grant privileges outside of the file path structure defined for a web server; it is deemed outside of that tools domain and (correctly) resides with the host operating system. And the root path of any hard disks (ie. C:\ or E:\) fall into that category.
Due to the very nature of Windows/IIS/NTFS systems, the classic definition for the correct implementation of the PHP realpath() function can never be accomplished under this environment; it will always fail. As such TTG CE2 Auto Index will never operate correctly.
Such is life when you try to implement a software systems architecture on top of an operating system file architecture that it was not designed for in the first place. PHP was designed to run underneath Unix based systems like Linux and not underneath Windows/NTFS based systems. The phrase “Making a silk purse out of a sows ear” comes to mind!
The solution
Linux based Apache/PHP systems have been an open-based standard offering for many years. They provide a highly functional environment that serves up excellent web based experiences. TTG has decided that, in order to provide users with the best possible product, one that offers significant flexibility and extendibility, PHP was the way to go.
If you want to be able to run PHP, choose a web host provider that offers a Linux based Apache implementation. We further recommend that your host at least offer PHP version 5.2.6 or greater.
Recommendations
Take a long hard look at your web host before you sign up to any host provider. There are many out there who simply don't come up to the mark of a standard, reliable offering. Many web host providers offer minimal function yet with just a little shopping around you can find some very reliable exceedingly high function Linux/Apache/PHP servers out there – and they don’t cost a whole bunch either in terms of dollars or in terms of poor support of poorly structured offerings.
If you intend on growing your web business, you should also consider one that offers services ranging from entry level virtual based hosting through on up to dedicated hosting and possibly even content delivery services.
My own web experience with Bluehost has been stellar. They offer many value add services and scale well from small, low cost virtual hosts to edge computing content delivery networks. The Turning Gate runs on Media Temple; Media Temple offer highly scalable services and offer reasonable functionality.
References
Linux file systems: http://www.computing.net/answers/linux/ … 25618.html
PHP realpath() definition: http://php.net/manual/en/function.realpath.php
PHP realpath() problem: http://forums.iis.net/p/1153823/1887716.aspx
So I couldn't leave well enough alone, and now we have a brand new, sadly empty community support forum.
The community was running on Vanilla 2.18.1. There were a few things about it that were bothering me, so I checked in for updates and saw that 2.18.4 was available. And so I decided to upgrade. I actually couldn't find release notes for the .2, .3 or .4 updates -- just a vague forum post saying the latest fixed a security vulnerability and "bugs" -- which annoyed me, but I figured .4 must surely be better than .1, so I started downloading.
While that was happening, I tried to find upgrade procedures so that I could make sure to do things right. I didn't find anything at first, and then I found ... something. Vague, it was. But seriously, how hard could this be? So I unpacked the download, uploaded the files, ran the update script, and ... FATAL ERROR. Completely unable to access my database.
I checked the Vanilla support forum for help, found nothing. I posted a new discussion to ask for help, but as I write this it still sits in my Drafts awaiting moderation. No one has seen my plea for help, and maybe no one ever will.
I cleaned out the server, uploaded a fresh set of files and went at it again, but to no avail.
I searched the forums again, found several reports of problems with no satisfactory answers. Feeling utterly spent and completely alone, I began flailing aimlessly at Google. No love. And despairing, I have turned to alternatives.
There were things I liked about Vanilla, but also things I didn't like. I'm not so bothered at letting it go. What bothers me is having lost the wealth of valuable support information we had managed to accumulate in the forum over the past nine months since the CE2 refresh.
We're now setup on PunBB. It's lightweight, but mature and with a good reputation. The installation was quick and easy, and my first impressions are good. I am sorry that I must ask users to register anew yet again, but it couldn't be helped this time around.
So, what I had expected to be an easy, five-minute upgrade has turned into a hours-long nightmare. Not how I had wanted to finish my day, and a long day it has been.
Onward and upward, my friends ...