Hello,
Have been shadowing this project for three+ years, but this is the first time I have written in. First let me say I like what I have seen going on with it and how the community responds to help/pointer(s) requests from those not as savvy with Virtualmin/Webmin etc. And second, I hope I am posting this in the correct section of the forum. If not, please feel free to move this to the proper section within the forum.
I have been tasked with developing a web site for my VFW Post (non-profit 503(3) organization), and currently in set up stage of a web development server system with git repository. This will allow me to test various CMS packages to identify the best package for the post’s needs. I had planned to start with Drupal7 to begin the task, but ran into a bit of a snag, and in need of advice/guidance/pointers on how best to install Drupal 7.xx or higher on a fresh, bare metal, Debian 8 (Jessie) AMD-64 (x86-64) server.
Private lan server with fresh bare metal install done with only SSH Server and Std Tools enabled during OS install. Repo’s pointed to main, contrib, and non-free jessie; static IP, updated/upgraded. Downloaded/installed Virtualmin 4.18.gpl, using the automated install.sh script (from Virtualmin.com servers). All went smoothly, with no errors reported; Configuration check passed muster.
This is my second attempt to get started with Drupal7 install. Previous install had issue with a fresh Ubuntu 14.04.x 64-bit server, with virtualmin 4.18.gpl also installed. I am using the same hardware now, as earlier. Post install of Virtualmin checked clean.
In searching for a solution to install latest WordPress and Drupal 7.39, google search turned up installer scripts on a third-party site for both (Perl-based). Both were found, on a third-party site The WordPress Installer worked flawlessly, and seems to be functioning correctly with media and content entries. Whereas the Drupal 7.39 installer worked fine (local hosted Virtualmin virtual server).
Where I run into a problem was post install of Drupal and a new theme (Marinelli). Drupal refused to show graphics media - namely .jpg’s, .ico, and .png logo. But, the odd part is slide show, and associated text, functioned as designed. You could tell where graphics were suppose to be, yet still the images for favicon, logo and slideshow photos, could not be viewed.
To ensure it was not the theme causing the problem, I set up a temporary windows 10 pro, XAMPP system, installed Drupal 7.39 (using XMAPP one-click Drupal 7.39 installer), and downloaded and installed the same Marinelli theme from Drupal repositories. In XAMPP, the images behaved as expected, and could be viewed as they should have been, including the thumbnails for the slide show. the only difference is I was viewing the server version in FF, wile I was viewing the XAMPP version on my local desktop, not across the network.
Verified all settings between the two - nothing out of sorts between the two installs, except that I was using two difference applications Virtualmin .pl script installed version of Drupal7, on server, and XAMPP one-click installer version on the windows 10 desktop unit.
To ensure I run into no further problems (though that still could happen, as Murphy is everywhere), I felt it best to come to all you to ask for community input/recommendations as to correct method to 1) obtain, 2) install, and 3) run Drupal 7.xx dev environment.
Current plan is to set up the web dev environment as stated above in the second paragraph. I found several how-to’s available on how to set up Drupal, with Virtualmin, but all mainly are for Ubuntu-based servers and/or desktop development systems. I just need to ensure I go down the right path to develop the site for the post. In my research I also discovered that Debian 8 apt repositories have a Drupal 7.32 download available (drupal7_7.32-1+deb8u5.debian.tar.xz).
What I am concerned about is that once downloaded, and installed through Webmin’s Software Packages module, Debian 7 will install it for use in the standard Apache2 location, /var/www/html, instead of using Virtualmin’s /home/domainname/public_html/drupal location. So with that said, need advise on the following points, please.
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if Debian 8 apt repository can be used to do the install for Drupal 7.32 (which will be updated to 7.39 after install); and, if it is possible to use it, how do I ensure it is installed to the default Virtualmin home/domainname/public_html/drupal directory?
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if doing the above step, what changes/adjustments do I need to make?
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if it will install to /var/www/html, will this then be available to be used in a multi-site Drupal environment where I can symlink to the Virtualmin /home directory, and then setup/install for the appropriate domain?
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if multi-site/symlink is not viable, then once the apt d/l and install is finished (via Virtualmin), can the Drupal 7 be moved before running the web site installer, from the d/l location to Virtualmin’s default domain name /home directory?
if none of the above is feasible, or not the recommended path to take, then please be so kind as to help point me in the right direction.
Sorry for the long dissertation. Please know I am not looking for help with Drupal itself, rather the correct method of installation for the installer package, via Virtualmin. Also, I would much rather do web dev work in a local, private-network, home office Linux environment; one which provides as near replication which closely matches the web host set up which is Debian Linux based, as well as trying to stay Open Source-based entirely instead of feed a MS Shark.
Thanks in advance.