Hi,

I am trying to figure out what would be the best architecture to build a series of sites sharing the same users/Community Builder, and re-using a few customized Joomla templates.

I spent days watching the tutorials and reading this forum but I am still unsure of what to do.

Is the following architecture correct?

- Master site contains JMS multisite and all my extensions in DB-0 and directory ../master.com

- Slave1, my main site, contains the Community Builder and user data and settings *

- Slave1_a is a hidden site built on Slave1 that features Joomla template A
- Slave1_b is a hidden site built on Slave1 that features Joomla template B
- Slave1_c is a hidden site built on Slave1 that features Joomla template C

- Share1_a is a template built on Slave1_a that features Joomla template A **
- Share1_b is a template built on Slave1_b that features Joomla template B
- Share1_c is a template built on Slave1_c that features Joomla template C

- Slave1_a1 is a secondary site sharing data with community builder and using theme A ***
- Slave1_a2 is a secondary site sharing data with community builder and using theme A
- Slave1_b is a secondary site sharing data with community builder and using theme B

This seems very complicated!

If this is correct I am asking myself the following questions:

* Are the Community builder tables copied from the master to Slave1 when slave1 is created (so the master tables always remain empty of data)?
* Will all my CB directories be links pointing to the master site?
* If the CB tables are copied from master to slave, will the community builder tables be upgraded in slave1 when I upgrade them in the master? If so, how can this happen without erasing the data?
* Will the community builder directories be upgraded in slave1 when I upgrade them in the master? or should I overwrite them in "tools".

** Can I directly attach a Joomla theme/template to a JMS template via a rule (so that I don't have to create the 3 hidden sites)?
** Or should I create sub-slaves identical to slave1 but with different templates?
** If yes, will my sites be upgraded when I upgrade the joomla theme in Slave1_a or in JMS template Share_a?

*** Can my secondary site share everything with Slave1 except the look, menus and articles?
*** How can I do that? What exact procedure should I follow. I am lost in the ocean of documents available and the seemingly infinite possibility offered by JMS.

Thanks

*) If you replicate the master then yes slave1 CB contain a copy of the master CB
If you create a fresh slave site and re-install CB from the slave1 back-end then NO
If you create a fresh slave site and use the JMS tool to install CB then yes you will copy the master.

*) The symbolic link is done with master to build slave 1.

*) JMS does not perform any synchronization.
Therefore, if there is an upgrade of an extension that modify the tables structure, you have to re-install the extension in the slave site to let the extension perform the upgrade. With JMS 1.3, there is a "maintenance" menu that help identifying the DB structure modification and apply the changes to a set of website.
When an extension perform an update, you just need to do the update on the master.
See the user manual that describe the different scenario and explain the difference between an update and an upgrade.

When you share the content of an extension, you just have to remove the sharing and rebuild it to let MySQL be informed of the upgrade of DB table structure

*) JMS does NOT perform any synchronization.
Therefore, if you copy some directories rather than to use the symbolic links, up to you to perform the synchronization.

**) You can create "layout" in JMS and therefore create your specific look for the question. See for example the www.mywebsite2win.com that is a portal that propose different kind of websites template.

**) If you want that the slave site are updated when you change something you need to share it (with symbolic link in case of directory).

***) When you share the whole content of a website, you share everything.
You can not say share whole except.
With JMS you can "share whole" or share nothing with explicit sharing of a limited number of extension.

It is true that with JMS you have a lot of possiblities.
If you want that we help you setup your environment, this is possible with our billable support that you can order at www.jms2win.com/en/joomla-multisite?page...35&category_id=1

Thanks Edwin,

(1) So what is the best "architecture" for what I want to do? (a), (b), or (c)?

(a)replicate the master where slave1 CB contain a copy of the master CB
(b) create a fresh slave site and re-install CB from the slave1 back-end or
(c) create a fresh slave site and use the JMS tool to install CB then yes you will copy the master.

(2) Wouldn't it be simpler and reliable to put everything in the master (extensions, settings, data - database and files) - What I call case (d) in my chart?

(3) Where are the CB settings stored in cases (a), (b), or (c)?

Since I am never sure if you are referring to Files or database tables, I did a little chart to help:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

What would you recommend I use (if my chart makes any sense to you)?

Thanks

John

0) The box master / case(c) / database empty is impossible. You can not have a master website without DB.

1) All the scenario are possible.

2) For security reason, I suggest to consider the master as a repository or a library where you just install the extension without any data.
After that, you start creating slave sites with whatever architecture than you want.
You can create several fresh slave site that you will later derive to build "children" sub slave sites.

3) The settings of the extension are saved in different places depending on the extension. Old Joomla 1.0 extension generally save their settings into a file on the disk. Newer Joomla 1.5 extension have the possibility to save their settings in the DB.
In the specific case of the CB extensison, I think (not sure at 100%) that it saves its configuration in a file on the disk. This is the reason why we have a patch to allow using as many config files ad there are websites.

All the scenario that does not use the master (share the DB) should be OK.

Thanks,

By "empty database", I meant "empty tables" or rather "database without CB user data" (in case "c").

(1) So this is in essence the case you recommend: case "c", where master is the "repository" for the code that is shared through links/shortcuts, and slave 1 is the "repository" for all the Community builder and CBsubs data that is shared with the sub-sites through database views. Is this correct?

(2) In case "c" here, the database is first simply copied from the master into slave 1, and whenever there is a CB upgrade, the upgrade must be applied in both the master and slave 1, and then, the CB folders and files are erased in slave1 and re-linked to the master via links/shortcuts using the jms "tools". Is this correct?

(3) But if this scenario is the best for security, wouldn't case "d", where the master also contains all the CB data, be simpler and more 'error proof" since CB and CBsubs themselves have tens of extensions which can be very complex and which sometimes use different tables prefixes?

I am concerned that things may brake if a Community Builder upgrade is incompatible with the way JMS multisites works. This could mean that my sites are down until you find a fix for JMS multisites.

(4) Also, in case "c", I do not see the benefit of replacing the CB folders installed in Slave 1 (i.e.: by an upgrade) with a link to the same folders in the Master. It seems to be double the work for no reason.

It also seems that case "d" is what forum-visitor phleum is doing:

www.jms2win.com/en/forum/25-extensions-c...s-sites?lang=en#6205

From what I read in this post, he puts the data in the master/repository and creates views that point to it in the slaves.

Thanks.

John

1) The you decide to share the extension content, this is effectivelly the structure that we presented in the tutorial video 16 (sharing of the content of an extesion / users).

2) The JMS tool does NOT manage the symbolic Links. It just manage the DB content and install, shared, uninstall the extension. It is assumed that the symbolic links are already created.
The Symbolic Links are created when you save the definition of a slave site.
When a directory or a file is missing in the "deploy directory", JMS use the template rule and the "folder/file sharing" to know the action to perform in aim to build the directory. (Symbolic Link, Copy, Ignore, ....)
So NO, this is not correct. JMS tools does not manage the symbolic links.

3) NO.
You can create another website like in (1) that contain the data and that is not necessary public.

If you want to publish the master and put contain in it, this is your right but this is not my recommandation. You can do it if you prefer.

4) Using Symbolic Link allow keeping the PHP code identical for all and avoid problem of "synchronization" when you duplicate folders.
As soon as you decide to copy a directory, you need to maintain it yourself without JMS.

The way that we recommand to use JMS does not mean that you can not use it in another way. When you have correctly understood how JMS is working, you can see that you can do plenty of things.