hey,,,Can I get multiple DNN's running on the same IIS server using same SQL Server?

Do I have to duplicate the IIS folder, its currently:  c:\dotnetnuke
Do I have to duplicate the database in SQL Server? (its currently dotnetuke)

Any documents on how to do this?

You can setup virtual directories in IIS and make as many DDNs as you want, by installing the files as you did in c:\dotnentnuke. Then in each installation, just adjust the database settings in web.config. You can use separate SQL Server databases, or using your exisiting database or by changing the objectQualifier in web.config. The objectQualifier prefixes your database and stored procedures with whatever value you use. Just don't modify it after installing DotNetNuke.

Example changes in web.config for separate databases:

<add key="SiteSqlServer" value="Server=(local);Database=DotNetNuke;uid=dnn;pwd=dnn;" />

Database=DotNetNuke2
Database=DotNetNuke3

Example changes in web.config for multiple sites in one database:

<add name="SqlDataProvider" type="DotNetNuke.Data.SqlDataProvider, DotNetNuke.SqlDataProvider" connectionStringName="SiteSqlServer" upgradeConnectionString="" providerPath="~\Providers\DataProviders\SqlDataProvider\" objectQualifier=”” databaseOwner="dbo" />

objectQualifier=”dnnsite2”
objectQualifier=”dnnsite3”

Also you can simply add parent portals to a single DNN installation using a single database.

I hope this is of some help to you.

This brings up some other interesting questions centering around hosting multiple DNN sites (providing hosting for others):

1. Assuming you might be hosting hundreds or even more dnn sites, which approach is the most efficient?  You could host all as parent portals under one, or I guess create multiple installs broken out across multiplle databases and limit the number of portals in any one app to a certain number for performance reasons, right?

2. If you created multiple dnn installs, then adding core modules for everyone would require installing it in each install which might not be too fun.

3. Can you easily change a child portal to a parent portal?  For example, you might give someone a "test" site available only as a child portal under another domain, then when they decide to go live with it and point a real domain at it, you would need to make it a parent portal is this correct?

4. Any clustering/webfarm issues as it relates to one versus multiple dnn installs on a given server?

Thanks!

Kevin

 

1) That would depend on the actual activity of each portal not the number of portals. You could have 1-2 portals with hundreds of requests per second, or hundreds of portals with 1 or 2 requests per second, or any combination inbetween. Ideally the web applications can be isolated and throttled for maximum efficiency, but it would be difficult to move portals/users around.

2) You could use the install templates to add the extra components automatically when you first install DNN.

3) A child portal (a url and directory) can be converted to parent portal (url) simply by adding a portal alias. There may be issues with users and roles shared by child portals.

4) I don't know, never tried that.
 

Ok....so what do I do to install multiple DNN's (with separate domain names), independent of each other..

Do I install mutiple virtual directories, each with a parent portal?
or
Do I keep my 1 portal and install child portals for each separate domain?

please advise..

What do you want to do?

You can have multiple DNNs with separate domains independent of each other, or multiple domains to a single IP handled by a single DNN - talking to a single database in a single SQL server, multiple database in a single SQL server, or multiple SQL servers.
You can install multiple virtual directories each with a parent portal if you wish.
You can have one installation of DNN with child portals for each domain or parent portals for each domain.
You can have a catch all (wildcard) CNAME dns entry to point to a specific dnn parent portal or multiple parent portals using a portal alias.
You can use multiple portal aliases to point to the same parent DNN portal.

It pretty difficult to read your mind from here. :)

hi,

you can do both, or an combination of these, your choice :-)

A. Two Web sites (as described in: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;190008). But short:
1. start the Internet Information Services and make New Web Site (two ?) (right click on the top node and select New -> Web Site)
2. change the Host Header Name in both Web sites to your needs (in Properties -> Wen Site -> Advanced ...)
3. you may stop the other web site when you intall DNN

B. Multiple virtual directories:
1: start the Internet Information Services and make New Virtual Directory (right click on the Web Site and select: New -> Virtual Directory
2. install DNN in both directories (do not use http://localhost/... when installing. Use the ip address: http://10.0.0.1/....

Combination of A and B:
1. do as described in B (when you configure the DNN stes, use the sub-web-notation, like: http://default_web/subweb1)
2. do as described in A, but do not install DNN here (that is you have tre Web Sites insted of two)
3. make two/tree default.asp pages like:
    <% @Language = "VBScript" %>
    <% Response.buffer = true %>
    <%
    Option Explicit
    dim mH      '' Host Header Name
    dim mR      '' Our frame src goes here
    mH= Request.QueryString("Host") '' I'll thing this will return the Host Header Name
    if mH = "web1" or mH="web2" then   '' is is on of two host headers
            if rh = "web1" then   '' subweb 1
                mR = "http://default_web/subweb1"
            else   '' subweb 2
                mR = "http://default_web/subweb2"
    else   '' go to the default site (the third ?)
        mR = "http://default_web/"
    end if
%>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>My title</title>
    </head>
    <frameset rows="*" framespacing="0" border="0" frameborder="0">
        <frame name="def" scrolling="Auto" noresize target="contents" src="<%=mR%>">
        <noframes><body>
        <%response.redirect "<%=mR%>"%>
        </body></noframes>
    </frameset>
</html>

PS Remember to change/check the default document to accept both "default.asp" and "default.aspx"

Hope this helps,

Regards

JKL

Dwayne, thanks for the reply that helped.

Any other input on running DNN portals in a clustering/webfarm environment and how this might affect the decision on how many portals to run?

Thanks,
Kevin

While DotNetNuke and the Membership Provider are designed for scalability and web farms, I don't have any performance data or test results.

There is some talk about performance in these forums and hopefully others will conbtribute more information in the future.

http://forums.asp.net/ShowPost.aspx?PageIndex=2&PostID=1079627#1079627

For more infomration on web farm configurations, read the Web Farm Support document that is in the DNN Documentation archive at http://www.dotnetnuke.com/tabid/125/default.aspx 

I still have never beena ble ot get this to work....

i registered a domain name:  www.nitnoid.com, that points to an IIS virual direction i named "nitnoid".

how come when I type www.nitnoid.com my website doesn't come up,,, when it works when I am on the server using :  http://localhost/nitnoid

???

Login as host to http://localhost/nitnoid

Under Admin|Site Settings at the bottom of the page, add a new portal alias called www.nitnoid.com

I hope this is of some help to you.

I did this earlier...it still doesn't work....

you see a "hello world"...which is the default.htm,, its not the website in the folder /nitnoid, which is DNN 4.0.1 and has a default.aspx to kick off..

help!

 

 

Using IIS Manager (Admin Tools), right click on your website, and select properties. Under the dcouments tabs, make sure default.aspx is in the list, and moved to the top. While you are there, click on the ASP.NET tab and make sure 2.0 is selected.

I hope this fixes your troubles.

yes...they are all set  properly..

asp.net is set to 2.050xxxx.

default.aspx is at the top..

i tried to attach screen shots..but can't...

In IIS should my nitnoid virtual directory be under the branch Default Web Site??

what else is there??

do you want to login to the portal and look at the alises yourself?

if so, lets take this off-line and i'll give you a userid......email me:  dlykins@cinci.rr.com

or call: 513-722-4924 (cincinnati, oh)