Which platform is most recommended as server bed

Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Angelo Abruzzese -
Number of replies: 14

I was wondering if I should switch from Windows Server  to UBUNTU in order to host Moodle in what seems like a more native mode.

I saw loads of discussions on a couple of threads talking about creating a .NET equivalent of Moodle.

I for one would find it interesting to use C# as opposed to PHP but then again this is Open Source and so it should remain.

Just asking if UBUNTU or SUSE or some other Linux Distro perhaps even a SPARC machine might be preferable to good old Windows and if so is there a specific reason?

Thanks to all in advance for any assistance.

Angelo A.

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In reply to Angelo Abruzzese

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Jon Witts -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers
Now there is a loaded question!

My personal opinion would be to go with a Linux server over a Windows server every time. I have experience of running Moodle on both platforms, and my experience has been greater speed, reliability and stability with Linux.
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In reply to Jon Witts

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Angelo Abruzzese -

Hi Jon,

I must thank you for your time and consideration, I have to admit that I am finding the Moodle family to be quite welcoming.

As for the whole Linux debate, which distro would you recommend?

I am getting more familiar with Ubuntu Server but I did also like Suse for a while.

Thanks
 Angelo A.

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In reply to Angelo Abruzzese

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by James McLean -
Hi Angelo,

I guess your choice of OS comes down to a number of factors as far as I can see.

If you're after a hosting platform with the lowest cost of ownership in the short term then you can't go far wrong with one of the 'free' distros (free as in cost) such as Debian, Ubuntu or even Gentoo if you like to get your hands dirty.

If you need commercial support and can handle the licencing fees then something like Red Hat Enterprise or SUSE may suit.

Regardless of the Distro you choose, any of the mainstream GNU/Linux distro's will be good. PHP itself has excellent support on a large number of Operating Systems and with a large array of web server software so you should have no issues there either.

I will mention this though, the default PHP package in Ubuntu (at least in the Desktop version) is not recent enough to run Moodle 2.0. It may not be an issue in your case, but worth mentioning. Debian has a history of being behind in it's packages also, so it may affect you there too. In either case, you can get past that issue by building PHP from source yourself should you choose to.

My personal feeling is that going to a system with a SPARC CPU is probably not going to yield a great enough performance increase for it to be worth the expense. I feel you're better off investing your time into installing and configuring APC or one of the many Opcode caches to speed up Moodle.

Hope that helps!

Cheers
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In reply to James McLean

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Jon Witts -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers
With regards to the PHP version in Ubuntu:

The next version of Ubuntu is going to ship with PHP 5.2.9, Moodle 2.0 requires 5.2.8. It is unlikely that Moodle 2.0 will be released long before this version of Ubuntu so it should not prove an issue.

http://packages.ubuntu.com/karmic/web/php5
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In reply to Jon Witts

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by James McLean -
It is an issue currently if you are doing any kind of development for Moodle 2.0 and wanted to use the Ubuntu supplied packages smile

I wasn't sure of his level of involvement, and I struck that problem recently myself and though he may benefit from the information. smile

Cheers
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In reply to James McLean

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Angelo Abruzzese -
Hi James,

Thanks for the helpful reply, I will look at the PHP5 package you mentioned, I was just wondering though is Moodle 2.0 a major re-architecture of the product or more of a major release?

Perhaps I should stick with Moodle 1.9X for now and wait for an upgrade path to open later on in time.

I am still new to this Moodle world so forgive my laymen questions, although I will admit that I like to adhere to the KISS principle.

For now I opted to wipe out my Windows Install and go with Ubuntu 9.04 which has a problem with older AGP video card drivers ATI and NVIDIA of course.

So I am stuck at 800X640 resolution until I figure out how to fix that, so now I am off to install moodle and see what kind of headaches I can get myself into.


Thanks
Angelo

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In reply to Angelo Abruzzese

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Tim Hunt -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers
I guess you could say that Moodle 2.0 is somewhere between a major re-architecture and a major release. Some parts are being re-architected.
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In reply to Tim Hunt

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Angelo Abruzzese -

Hi Tim,

Will there be a clean break between the 1.XX series and the 2.XX series or will there be an upgrade path available.

I am curious as I would like to think I will do a little tweaking and would hate to see it go to waste with a clean reinstall for the next generation.

Thanks
  Angelo A.

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In reply to Angelo Abruzzese

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Tim Hunt -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers
There is always an upgrade path from one version of Moodle to the next version. Read Upgrading. The upgrade procedure is always update the code, then hit the admin screen to let Moodle self-update. (In the real world, insert backup and testing steps.)

Also, we support restoring backups of courses from old versions of Moodle to newer versions.
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In reply to James McLean

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Jon Witts -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Testers
Fair point James wink

If you have a read of this post of mine, you will find out how to have the required PHP version on current Ubuntu boxes to test Moodle 2.0 (it works fine on the box I am typing from now smile )

Jon
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In reply to Angelo Abruzzese

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Translators
> if I should switch from Windows Server to UBUNTU in order to host Moodle

> if UBUNTU or SUSE or some other Linux Distro perhaps even a SPARC machine might be preferable to good old Windows and if so is there a specific reason?

These are recurring topics in the forum "Hardware and performance". http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=596 Do a search on that forum.

> I for one would find it interesting to use C# as opposed to PHP but then again this is Open Source and so it should remain

"No, never has and never will." See http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=75548
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In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Angelo Abruzzese -
That is quite the feisty thread there...

wide eyes

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In reply to Angelo Abruzzese

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Martín Langhoff -
big grin

MD once posted an April's Fools "moodle news" item announcing the Moodle C# rewrite. IIRC, enough people took it seriously that it got removed quickly to avoid confusion.

"Citation needed" => http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=42954
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In reply to Martín Langhoff

Re: Which platform is most recommended as server bed

by Angelo Abruzzese -

Hi Martin,

Well that was a funny thread, darn I was looking forward to learning to USE MONO on my Ubuntu box to work on a .net version of a native PHP application so it could run under WINE in a Linux distro running on my Turbo 4.77 PC which I still have.

I wonder if I could run it on my ATARI 800XL as well.

All joking aside, I am truly impressed with Moodle, it is quite the project and contributing even the smallest element would be very satisfying.

Thanks
  Angelo A.

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