[Tfug] linux to windows web host

[Glen Pfeiffer]

On 29 Dec 2009, Nathan England wrote:
> So, I'm wondering. The rationale behind moving it to a windows 
> system is simply for backup purposes, so they say, regardless, 

Don't believe them. I am sure they are not lying, but there is 
probably more to the story. As a consultant I have learned that 
my first job is not to create what the client asks for, but to 
find out what they need. When they have specific requests like 
this, I first find out all their reasons for the request; this 
often requires digging deep and asking multiple times in many 
ways. Once I have the answers I may find that they have requested 
the best solution. But it is more likely that I will have better 
solutions to offer.

And if there isn't anything else behind their request, then it 
seems that the backup solution would be pretty straight forward. 
You setup the backup mechanism on the linux box that drops the 
backup files on the network somewhere so the windows backup 
routine can pick them up.


> (A) install VirtualBox on this machine, load my linux and 
> everything else onto that and go to town...

This is a pretty straight forward approach and probably has the 
best chances for getting it running under windows successfully.

However, application based virtualization can have serious 
performance issues. We use a VMWare ESX server which runs much 
closer to the metal and has very little overhead. But that would 
not be a windows solution so would not meet their request.


> (B) install cygwin and everything I need in that and fix 
> anything that gets borked....

I've heard of guys doing things like this, but I normally avoid 
it. Having another layer of things that can go wrong just makes 
my skin crawl. But, that is more of an emotional response, not a 
technical one. So in practice it may be a viable solution, but I 
do not have much experience in this area.


> (C) Install apache, mysql, perl, php and others? in windows 
> natively and hope for the best...

I addressed this in my other email, but I think this approach 
also has merit and deserves some research to assess its 
viability. Apache, PHP, and MySql are available for windows. But 
I'm not sure about openldap.

-- 
Glen