Make Multiple Drupal Websites Management Simple with Aegir
Anyone who is trying to manage multiple Drupal CMS-based websites can attest that even the most basic administrative tasks can quickly become overwhelming. Fortunately, Aegir offers an easy solution to this problem. It makes it possible to manage all of your Drupal websites from one place. To decide whether or not Aegir would be a good fit for your needs, it is important to have a basic understanding of what it is and how it operates.
What Is Aegir?
Aegir is known as a distributed instance management system. This means that users can administrate multiple Drupal sites that span one or more servers. It was designed to address the common problems that arise for administrators involved with mass hosting solutions. It is meant to provide turn-key deployment, management, and related services for Drupal websites.
Aegir stays on the LAMP server and will set up the apache configuration files and MySQL databases that are necessary when setting up a new Drupal website. While this is done automatically for new sites, it is important to note that existing sites can be easily imported as well.
Currently, Aegir is still being developed, however it is stable enough to be used on live production sites.
What Does Aegir Require?
Aegir requires three basic things. The first thing required is a system that can run Drupal. It is also important that Aegir is used only on a Unix-based operating system. Some features required by Aegir are not currently available to Windows users. It is also important to note that root access is necessary in order to configure everything correctly.
There are also some Drupal modules necessary for Aegir to operate correctly. It is important to install them before you install Aegir.
- Drush Script - Drush is a command line shell and Unix scripting interface for Drupal.
- Provision Script - Provision was specifically created for Aegir and provides the back-end that is used for system level tasks. This can include creating configuration files, backing up files, and database management.
- Hosting Module - Just as Provision deals with the back end, the hosting module deals with the front end. It creates and maintains that actual Drupal websites. It also deals with queuing tasks that are sent to the back end as well as configuring your hosting system.
- Hostmaster - Hostmaster ties together the front end and back end and makes them work together effectively. It is the glue that holds the provision script and hosting module together.
- Eldir Theme - Eldir is an administrative theme created to be used with Aegir. It is focused on the components that are being provided by the hosting module and creates a simple, clean user interface for administrators.
What Are the Goals/Purpose of the Aegir Project?
The Aegir project was created because many different developers were creating their own scripts and tools for managing multiple websites, however there was no singly, unifying open framework to allow for a single community developed utility. The Aegir project has identified 6 goals that are the focal purpose of this tool.
1. Easy
Aegir can be easily by used by both developers and users. For developers, this means that the implementation will be simple and use as few additional requirements outside of the Drupal core as possible. For users, this means that installation and operation is easy and straightforward.
2. Useful
Aegir is designed to make maintaining Drupal websites throughout the entire lifetime of the sites. This includes installing new website, re-deploying existing sites with new domain names, manage updates, and ensure cron processes run on all sites.
3. Secure
Aegir will ensure that all of the file permissions will be set as strict as possible, while still allowing the site function properly.
4. Distributed
Aegir will function completely using Unix Pipes for inter-process communication. System functions will take place only on the command line.
5. Diagnostics
Aegir will compile logs that are accurate and complete, including feature complete errors.
6. Flexible
Aegir will become as flexible as Drupal is. This includes complete sets of hooks (front and back end) for module developers. This also means that integrating additional Drupal contributor modules directly into the hosting front end.
Aegir is still a work in progress, however a stable version is already available and upcoming releases will only make Aegir stronger. Aegir is the first and only unified project that will make maintaining multiple Drupal websites a simple task, instead of a time-consuming and overwhelming one.
