this is an age-old drupal question, and there are many different solutions. The main problem is that site configuration is stored in the db alongside site content. 

Option A:
Use modules like Features and Strongarm to get as much of your configuration into code as possible. This can then be versioned and pushed to new servers without touching the db.

Option B:
Use something like Backup and Migrate to only overwrite certain tables.

Option C:
Use Pantheon hosting and their slick UI tools. ;)

There are probably other options I haven't thought of. Option A is my personal preference. I only pull the db backwards from live -> dev. Code obviously goes the other direction. A custom module with hook_update_N() functions can help a lot.

-Benj (benjf)


On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 2:12 PM, prothero <prothero@geol.ucsb.edu> wrote:
Folks:
Hi. I am pondering the best way to modify and test my site without corrupting my live site. Currently, I ftp all of the files and db tables to my local computer and use MAMP to run my development site. But, since my live site is changing every day from users creating accounts, etc, how should I set this up so that when I upload my development site to the live one, it stays current?

I'm sure this problem has been solved, but ....
Regards,
Bill

William A. Prothero

http://earthednet.org/


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