Re: [uml-user] 1 box or 2?

[<jur...@ph...>]

Grant <ema...@ya...>
Sent by: 
use...@li...
2004-08-27 05:08 AM

 
        To:     use...@li...
        cc:     (bcc: Jurgen Defurne/BRG/CE/PHILIPS)
        Subject:        [uml-user] 1 box or 2?
        Classification: 




continuing from a another thread...


> If UML (or VMware) is the right tool for the job, I
> will take the time to learn it.  I'm thinking it just
> won't be sufficient though.  With a single-server
> setup I could use the host installation for production
> and a virtual installation for testing, but the
> virtual installation can't be identical to the host
> installation, and so won't be suitable for the task of
> testing out production updates and changes.  The other
> option is one virtual installation for production and
> one for testing.  These would be nice and identical (I
> think), but there wouldn't be any way to test changes
> or updates to the host installation.

Why can't the virtual installation be identical to
your host installation ? I do not know what you are
running of course, but I have been in somewhat same
circumstances seven years ago. The hardware was
different (WANG VS), but we had a production system
and a development system. The development system
was a very old version of the production system,
but they had their tools in common and I could move
data between the two machines using tapes.

My experience comes down to this. Your testing
system should operationally be the same as your
production system, but it does not need the same
power.

I am now running since a month or six several UML
instances on my system, and if your system consists
of a web server, a database, middleware and a
programming language, then you should be able to 
have exactly the same configuration on your UML
instance as on your host system. You can install
multiple NIC's, you can add a firewall.

The only thing that I can see differing between
both systems is their IP address. Setup local DNS
for your domain and create a name for your host
and for your UML test system. Make sure they use
the same version of the kernel if you really want
to go that far. Simulate your external storage if
that's what it needs.

In the end, what you want is that if you connect to
both systems, that you have the same functionality.
This functionality will always be copied from your
test and development system to your production
system.

I am now running Zope inside an UML, together with
postgreSQL on another UML, and my performance is
good enough for development, and would probably
even be good enough for a small company.

I hope I given you some food for thought.

Regards,

Jurgen