[support] multiple sites on same install was: Re: Upgrade to Drupal 5?

[Anton]

On 16/10/2007, Ivan Sergio Borgonovo <mail at webthatworks.it> wrote:
> Is there any good documentation about sharing modules and codebase
> for several sites?
>
> I see some pros and cons but I wonder if it is worth the effort:
> pros:
> - you can share tables

You don't need to share a codebase (multisite) for that. The settings
that are used for mixing up tables, table prefixes and multiple
databases don't need a multisite set up to work.

> - you fix/tune stuff in one place

Or more accurately: you can fix/tune a small fraction of stuff in one
place. Most fixing/tuning seems to be driven out of the database/admin
screens rather than the codebase.

> - you upgrade in one place

You still need to upgrade each sites database individually.

> - you save some space

A very minor benefit with the current cost of disk space. The Drupal
codebase is pretty small, and could quickly get dwarfed by the
database size or uploaded files/images.

> cons:
> - less tedious but more complex/risky install/upgrade process

Yep. You also need to upgrade every site at the same time - which
could be a pain if each site has different clients or module
requirements.

>
> any hands-on experience? comments?

Multisite makes the easy stuff (eg uploading files) easier at the
expense of making the harder stuff harder and reducing flexibility.
The codebase management is the easily scriptable and version
controllable part. It is the database management that is the harder
part of managing multiple Drupal sites.

Multisite still has its uses though. I use it to manage different
instances (eg dev, test, production) of the same site so that each
instances unique settings.php stuff can be version controlled along
with the other instances in the same codebase. That way I can check
out the codebase onto any of our servers or virtual hosts and it will
pick up the appropriate database connection and other settings.

My (personal) opinion is that if you don't fully understand how
multisite works and why you need it, then you probably don't need it.
Others might feel differently though.

-- 
Cheers
Anton