Mirroring an existing eFiction site

What do you mean by "mirroring"? If you think what I think you mean, which is, you want your site to have the same content as the other site, you're going about it the wrong way.

The first question I have for you is do you own both sites, and if not, does the other site owner know of and support your plans? If the answer to this question is no, then you shouldn't do it.

What do you mean by "mirroring"? If you think what I think you mean, which is, you want your site to have the same content as the other site, you're going about it the wrong way.

Okay. So... what is the right way?

The first question I have for you is do you own both sites, and if not, does the other site owner know of and support your plans? If the answer to this question is no, then you shouldn't do it.

Yep, of course they know. I may be clueless about technology, but I do know how to behave. 😉 If you want to make sure I'm telling the truth - the site owner of the primary site is Janni, who posted this thread here: https://efiction.org/forums/index.php?topic=5843.0 (ETA: You can also see me (or at least my name) in the members list of the - still unfinished - archive here: http://kerfuffle.org/collatorsden/eFiction331/authors.php?action=list)

I'm an admin there. We're just getting started, and we (well, mostly I, really) are a bit OCD about archiving, so we figured a bit of redundancy would be nice. Y'know... so that even if one site went down for some reason, there'd still be another one around. Probably isn't strictly *necessary* if you also backup the main site regularly, but hey. Can't ever have too many backups, right? Plus, I have all this unused webspace sitting around - why not use it for the good of the fandom? Etc.

If I'm thinking correctly, too, then your visitors will have to keep updating to both archives?

What I'd do, well, let's pretend you asked hehe, is to mirror the files, and set up a cron job so databases are sent regularly to you (I have one sent to me every day at 6am and 6pm--although my archive isn't large at all, a gmail account proves to be wonderful) and if you ever do suffer downtime, import the latest database.

Otherwise, it's extra work for the users, unless you mod it so it updates to two archives on two separate hosts which might get tricky. 😛

If I'm thinking correctly, too, then your visitors will have to keep updating to both archives?

Well, I thought I'd just backup the other archive regularly - I have ftp access there - and put what's new up on the 'mirror' site, too. As soon as I find out how to do that, anyway. And *if* that is even possible. But since backing up stories seems to be possible, I kind of assumed that uploading them somewhere else should be possible, too.

The 'mirror' archive wouldn't really be for public use (except in case of emergency), so it should be okay if it was not *completely* up to date all the time. Basically I thought I should update it once a month or so. (It's a small fandom, so I don't expect massive amounts of new fic to turn up in the main archive in the space of a month.)

What I'd do, well, let's pretend you asked hehe, is to mirror the files, and set up a cron job

What's that?

so databases are sent regularly to you (I have one sent to me every day at 6am and 6pm--although my archive isn't large at all, a gmail account proves to be wonderful) and if you ever do suffer downtime, import the latest database.

Heeeeh. It's time like these I really wonder if we shouldn't have more web-savy people do the archive... 😉 That is to say: I'm afraid I didn't understand what you were trying to tell me. I *am* a newbie to most of this - all I know about the technical side of creating and maintaining websites is some very outdated html. So... translation for the newbie, please? I'm willing to learn - hopefully also able to...

Otherwise, it's extra work for the users, unless you mod it so it updates to two archives on two separate hosts which might get tricky. 😛

I don't think any of us are experienced enough with PHP, MySQL etc. to do that, no. Janni knows more than I do, but not that much, I think.

Ah, I do apologise.

There is one large crucial point that kind of ruins my idea however, and that is: how are you storing your stories? By folder or by database?

My idea works for a database driven site, but not by stories stored by folder.

A cron job is basically a command that does something "automatically". I can't really explain it, but say if you want to backup a database every Monday at 3am--and let's face it, a tedious feat to do manually--then you'd just set up a command for it to do that automatically.

You can do more advanced things with it that just backing up databases, but as that was my point to make, I don't want to confuse you much more. 😛

Ooookay. I've done some googling and am now vaguely terrified because it seems I'll have to learn some UNIX? 😉 That said, a cron job does sound very handy. Do you think it would be possible to explain to a Clueless Newbie(tm) how to set up a cron job without actually going into the whole UNIX thing too deeply?

And how much work is it to back up the archive 'by hand'?

Oh, and re: your question:

There is one large crucial point that kind of ruins my idea however, and that is: how are you storing your stories? By folder or by database?

Err... I have no idea? I didn't know there was a choice? I'm confused now? 😉

We don't have any stories yet, really (just a few test files). We just installed the software as instructed... where *does* it usually put the stories? I do know we have a 'stories' folder...

http://www.maratz.com/blog/archives/2005/06/05/send-database-backup-to-your-mailbox-with-backup2mail/

There's a simple enough one to use--you have the option of sending it to your email or a private folder (if you have lots and lots of space, this is good, too). I've used it before but it only saved to my website. :9

As for storing stories, you can store them in either a database or by folder. The option should be in the admin settings, under "submissions settings". :3

Right. Further questions:

1.) If we store the stories in the database, will the stories folder be unnecessary?

2.) If we store the stories in the database - won't that take up loads of space in the database? I know my database is limited to 100 MB, and the provider has restrictions against using the database for traffic-intensive applications. I suppose that would rule out using my webspace for a mirror site.

3.) Generally speaking, what are the advantages and disadvantages of storing the stories in one place or the other?

4.) What exactly is the database doing if we're not using it to store stories in? I thought it was somehow central to the functioning of eFiction?

5.) How do I get 'my' archive to replicate not just the contents but also settings, look etc. of the main archive?

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Stories stored in files can be longer than stories stored in the database. It also puts less strain on your database.
4. The database stores story information, like title, genres, author info, all the reviews, and it connects chapters to stories. It keeps all the information that is displayed on your site - like shoutbox, info block, news, welcome, ect.
5. Copy the database, and upload that to your mirror site's mysql database. It will have all your settings. You just have to connect it to that copy's eFiction and have all the same skins, and if you store stories as files, all the text files too. Basically, if you have the files and the database of an eFiction site, you can recreate it anywhere that has the right equipment (php mysql). You have to make sure that things like the database connection information, and the site url are correct in settings though.

Thanks, Jan_AQ.

I still don't know how to actually configure 'my' archive so as to replicate the other one, though. Can anyone explain that to me, perhaps? Currently I only have the eFiction files uploaded, but I haven't completed the installation/configuration sequence yet, because I'm not sure if there are any details of the configuration of the main archive that I have to know before I can do this.

(Sorry for the late reply, RL and writing got in the way.)

If you are talking about the new miroir site, and you uploaded the exact same files of efiction to it, then import the old database to the new mirror's mysql database. Then change the settings for connection between the two to have the correct usernames and passwords. Change the site url in the site's settings.

So... I don't have to 'configure' anything, basically? Just upload the files and copy the database? (Not that I even know how to do *that*, lol! But I'm sure I'll find out.)

You'll have to "configure" the information to connect your files to your database, and vice versa. And you will have to "configure" your settings by replacing the url with the new site's url.