Wiki pages

resources

Fri, 11 May 2012 13:16:50 +0100

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Agile/SCRUM

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Scrum Cheat Sheet

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Redmine-Scrumbler Excellent Redmine plugin for sprint management

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developer_documentation

Sat, 05 May 2012 11:01:06 +0100

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How to manage de~~velopment~~, read : http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/

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How to manage hg/git branches, read : http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/

using_redmine

Sat, 05 May 2012 10:59:32 +0100

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Help Desk Plugin

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using_skype

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:09:00 +0100

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Skype usage

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Like IRC, you can use Skype to create public or private chat-rooms for both internal and external communication (see Skype help).

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You will see a list of useful commands by typing '/help' in the chat field.

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Skype should only be used for non critical communication. When important things need to be signed-off, you may prefer another way.

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Open Source alternatives include BigBlueButton and Jitsi.

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HomePage

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:28:02 +0100

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It's unfortunately not uncommon in new IT companies to see a huge lack of project management even though process solutions like Prince2 or Agile exist among many others. According to the The Standish Group~~(external link)~~, 65% of the IT projects are over time or budget or fail! But learning from those processes takes time as they aren't IT specific, are abstract and don't give a 'ready to go' solution. Using them for small and medium projects like website might be too much. The idea of Hera emerged from this statement as an attempt of a very simple 'ready to go' framework for processes.

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It's unfortunately not uncommon in new IT companies to see a huge lack of project management even though process solutions like Prince2 or Agile exist among many others. According to the The Standish Group, 65% of the IT projects are over time or budget or fail! But learning from those processes takes time as they aren't IT specific, are abstract and don't give a 'ready to go' solution. Using them for small and medium projects like website might be too much. The idea of Hera emerged from this statement as an attempt of a very simple 'ready to go' framework for processes.

Starting development

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:13:14 +0100

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Use SCRUM as much as possible: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCRUM

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2">

Actions

Publish the specifications.

Set up development environment and include project documentation.

Create & assign the cases in your bugtracker.

Actions
Publish the specifications.
Set up development environment and include project documentation.
Create & assign the cases in your bugtracker.

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1">

Actions

Publish the specifications.

Set up development environment and include project documentation.

Create & assign the cases in your bugtracker.

Actions
Publish the specifications.
Set up development environment and include project documentation.
Create & assign the cases in your bugtracker.

requirement

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 04:47:58 +0100

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_for_to_the_specifications">Use a case tracker to get client sign-off ~~for~~ to the specifications

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Use a case tracker to get client sign-off to the specifications

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4">

Actions

Involve the client in your CRM with this email and put the client documentation inside.

Conduct workshops and/or interviews with clients to get the requirements for specifications gathering

Fill the specifications template document

If needed, involve web designer and client

For CMS system, identify roles and permissions with permissions template

Create a live chatroom for client communication

Actions
Involve the client in your CRM with this email and put the client documentation inside.
Conduct workshops and/or interviews with clients to get the requirements for specifications gathering
Fill the specifications template document
If needed, involve web designer and client
For CMS system, identify roles and permissions with permissions template
Create a live chatroom for client communication

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3">

Actions

Involve the client in your CRM with this email and put the client documentation inside.

Conduct workshops and/or interviews with clients to get the requirements for specifications gathering

Fill the specifications template document

If needed, involve web designer and client

For CMS system, identify roles and permissions with permissions template

Create a live chatroom for client communication

Actions
Involve the client in your CRM with this email and put the client documentation inside.
Conduct workshops and/or interviews with clients to get the requirements for specifications gathering
Fill the specifications template document
If needed, involve web designer and client
For CMS system, identify roles and permissions with permissions template
Create a live chatroom for client communication

install_redmine_on_debian

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:25:14 +0100

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Install Redmine on Debian 5 Lenny

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+ apt-get install ruby1.8 rails gem ruby1.8-dev ruby1.8 ri1.8 rdoc1.8 irb1.8 /

+ libreadline-ruby1.8 libruby1.8 libopenssl-ruby subversion imagemagick /

+ librmagick-ruby1.8 librmagick-ruby-doc libfreetype6-dev xml-core build-essential /

+ libmysqlclient15-dev -y

+ cd ~

+ gem install rubygems-update -v=1.3.4

+ gem install rails -v=2.3.5

+ mkdir sources

+ cd sources

+ wget http://rubyforge.org/frs/download.php/70696/rubygems-1.3.7.tgz

+ tar zxvf rubygems-1.3.7.tgz

+ cd rubygems-1.3.7

+ ruby setup.rb

+ ln -s /usr/bin/gem1.8 /usr/bin/gem

+ gem install -v=2.3.5 rails

+ gem install mysql

+ cd /var/www/

+ svn co http://redmine.rubyforge.org/svn/branches/1.0-stable redmine

+ echo 'CREATE DATABASE redmine CHARACTER SET utf8' | mysql -uroot

+ cd /var/www/redmine/

+ cp config/database.yml.example config/database.yml

+ cp config/email.yml.example config/email.yml

+ gem install -v=0.4.2 i18n

+ rake generate_session_store

+ RAILS_ENV=production rake db:migrate

+ RAILS_ENV=production rake redmine:load_default_data

+ ruby script/server webrick -d -e production

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Vhost (active rewrite and proxy module):

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+ ServerAdmin tech@test.net

+ DocumentRoot /var/www/redmine

+ ServerName redmine.domain.tld

+ ServerAlias www.redmine.domain.tld

+ #AddDefaultCharset UTF-8

+ RewriteEngine On

+ RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://redmine.domain.tld:3000$1 [proxy,last]

+ ProxyRequests On

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+ Allow from all

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setup_internal_multitasks_server

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:24:59 +0100

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Install Redmine on Debian 5 Lenny

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- apt-get install ruby1.8 rails gem ruby1.8-dev ruby1.8 ri1.8 rdoc1.8 irb1.8 /

- libreadline-ruby1.8 libruby1.8 libopenssl-ruby subversion imagemagick /

- librmagick-ruby1.8 librmagick-ruby-doc libfreetype6-dev xml-core build-essential /

- libmysqlclient15-dev -y

- cd ~

- gem install rubygems-update -v=1.3.4

- gem install rails -v=2.3.5

- mkdir sources

- cd sources

- wget http://rubyforge.org/frs/download.php/70696/rubygems-1.3.7.tgz

- tar zxvf rubygems-1.3.7.tgz

- cd rubygems-1.3.7

- ruby setup.rb

- ln -s /usr/bin/gem1.8 /usr/bin/gem

- gem install -v=2.3.5 rails

- gem install mysql

- cd /var/www/

- svn co http://redmine.rubyforge.org/svn/branches/1.0-stable redmine

- echo 'CREATE DATABASE redmine CHARACTER SET utf8' | mysql -uroot

- cd /var/www/redmine/

- cp config/database.yml.example config/database.yml

- cp config/email.yml.example config/email.yml

- gem install -v=0.4.2 i18n

- rake generate_session_store

- RAILS_ENV=production rake db:migrate

- RAILS_ENV=production rake redmine:load_default_data

- ruby script/server webrick -d -e production

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Vhost (active rewrite and proxy module):

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- ServerAdmin tech@test.net

- DocumentRoot /var/www/redmine

- ServerName redmine.domain.tld

- ServerAlias www.redmine.domain.tld

- #AddDefaultCharset UTF-8

- RewriteEngine On

- RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://redmine.domain.tld:3000$1 [proxy,last]

- ProxyRequests On

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- Allow from all

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rolling_out_on_a_clients_host

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:01:25 +0100

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Rolling out on a clients host

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Drupal requirements:

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* DNS hostname/ip

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* Email

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* Mysql

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* Apache

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Timeline

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As soon as the client 'ok's the project (even before development starts) you can start organising:

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* PRE-rollout: DNS hostname/ip

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* PRE-rollout: Email

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* PRE-rollout: access to the server

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* PRE-rollout: mysql

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* PRE-rollout: apache access

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* PRE-rollout: system tweaks

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* PRE-rollout: setup a dev site

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As soon as there is any kind of development site

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* PRE-rollout: test rollouts

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Then:

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* PRE-rollout: dev site is working?

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* PRE-rollout: test rollout!!

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* Actual rollout!!

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PRE-rollout: DNS hostname/ip

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Timetable: immediately after client agrees to contract

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A drupal site needs a host (with an IP address) and a site name (DNS entry).

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Tickoff:

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* can you 'ping sitename'

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PRE-rollout: Email

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Timetable: immediately after client agrees to contract

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Drupal needs to send email notifications. You want to avoid issues covered in [Email_Bounce_Issues]]

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There might be issues with the DNS MX records too.

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This might also include playing with the drupal mailer module.

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Tickoff:

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* you can send an email as your drupal user (apache@site or no-reply@site)

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* you can send an email to the client's domain (to check for issues in [Email_Bounce_Issues]]

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* you can send an email to cf.com's support address (sysadmin)

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* what happens when you reply to the drupal user

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PRE-rollout: access to the server

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Timetable: After client agrees to contract (way before rollout date, atleast 2-4 weeks before rollout)

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As the rollout approaches we need 'shell' access to the server to install the files and load the database. (This is usually done with an ssh key and probably requires some intervention by the remote site admin.)

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(It can be done via ftp, but it is like trying to operate a puppet in boxing gloves.)

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Tickoff:

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* Can we log into the server? Are marcus and cam happy?

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PRE-rollout: mysql

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Timetable: After client agrees to contract (way before rollout date, atleast 2-4 weeks before rollout)

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Drupal stores it's nodes in mysql, so we need to load the site into the msysql database. To do this we need the remote site admin to create a database in mysql.

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Note: we dont need remote mysql access (no phpmyadmin or remote ports), we do it all via the shell access.

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Tickoff:

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* What are the mysql username, password and database details?

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PRE-rollout: apache access

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Timetable: After client agrees to contract (way before rollout date, atleast 2-4 weeks before rollout)

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Apache serves drupal's php out from its directories. So we need apache configured for the site to serve our from a directory on the host.

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We need access to that directory to install the drupal files into.

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Tickoff:

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* Can we chuck an index.html file in and view it on the site?

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PRE-rollout: system tweaks

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Timetable: atleast 2-4 weeks before rollout

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XXX: Patch php.ini for more memory.

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XXX: Patch my.php memory limits.

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Tickoff:

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* Are the dev's happy with the settings?

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PRE-rollout: setup a dev site

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Timetable: As soon as the client says 'make me a site'!

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Tickoff:

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* Do the sysadmins have accounts with admin?

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PRE-rollout: test rollout

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Timetable: As soon as there is any kind of dev site, way before rollout time.

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Build a rollout plan from doing a test rollout and documenting the process.

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Rough steps to migrate the site:

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* copy the mysql database from the dev to the server

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* copy the files from dev over to the apache directory

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* fix the mysql in settings.php (mysql username, password and tablename)

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* test drupal

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* set drupal hostname in config, set email address

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* test email notifications work as expected

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NOTE: This is a test rollout, everything can be nuked as it will be overwritten when the site is finally rolled out.

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We should have a process to take the dev site and clone it over to the live site.

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Tickoff:

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* The site is up and looks like the dev site?

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* Can you add / delete content and do everything else?

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PRE-rollout: dev site is working?

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Timetable: before test rollout

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Is the dev site done? Dont roll out before the dev site is done.

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Tickoff:

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* cf devs have signed off on it? (shouldnt get to here if they are not)

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* cf admins are happy?

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* cf managers signed off?

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* client signed off?

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PRE-rollout: test rollout

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Timetable: 1 week before rollout

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We should already have done a couple of test rollouts, so we should have an idea of how the process will go.

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NOTE: This is a test rollout, everything can be nuked as it will be overwritten when the site is finally rolled out.

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With the test rollout working, everyone should test the site and see that everything works as expected. This is a finfal

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Tickoff:

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* cf admins are happy? (shouldnt get to here if they are not)

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* cf devs have signed off on it? (shouldnt get to here if they are not)

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* cf managers signed off?

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* client signed off?

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Actual rollout

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At this stage:

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* we agree the dev site is 100% working

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* we agree the test rollout worked too

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* we have a plan/script for migrating from dev to live

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So we run through the plan that we developed in the test migration.

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Notes

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mysql setup details

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This is for our own reference....

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We create it with:

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+ # Create the database....

+ echo "creating $SITE_MYSQL_DATABASE"

+ cat << CREATEDB_INSTRUCTIONS | mysql

+ CREATE DATABASE $SITE_MYSQL_DATABASE;

+ ALTER DATABASE $SITE_MYSQL_DATABASE DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci;

+ FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

+ quit

+ CREATEDB_INSTRUCTIONS

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+ /usr/bin/mysqladmin -u root reload

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+ # TO allow user access to the database (sets the default password to munkies)

+ cat << CREATEDB_INSTRUCTIONS | mysql

+ use mysql;

+ GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON $SITE_MYSQL_DATABASE.* TO '$SITE_MYSQL_DATABASE'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY "munkies";

+ FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

+ quit

+ CREATEDB_INSTRUCTIONS

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+ # TO set the password to a human string ($PASSWORD) then do...

+ cat << CREATEDB_INSTRUCTIONS | mysql

+ use mysql;

+ update user set password=PASSWORD("$PASSWORD") where User="$SITE_MYSQL_DATABASE";

+ FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

+ quit

+ CREATEDB_INSTRUCTIONS

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Wiki pages

resources

Agile/SCRUM

developer_documentation

using_redmine

using_skype

Skype usage

HomePage

Starting development

requirement

_for_to_the_specifications">Use a case tracker to get client sign-off for to the specifications

Use a case tracker to get client sign-off to the specifications

install_redmine_on_debian

Install Redmine on Debian 5 Lenny

setup_internal_multitasks_server

Install Redmine on Debian 5 Lenny

rolling_out_on_a_clients_host

Rolling out on a clients host

Timeline

PRE-rollout: DNS hostname/ip

PRE-rollout: Email

PRE-rollout: access to the server

PRE-rollout: mysql

PRE-rollout: apache access

PRE-rollout: system tweaks

PRE-rollout: setup a dev site

PRE-rollout: test rollout

PRE-rollout: dev site is working?

PRE-rollout: test rollout

Actual rollout

Notes

mysql setup details