[Close] Joomdle Installation using Moodle 2.0

I am doing an installation of Joomdle/Moodle into a localhost version of an active Joomla website. I will be using Akeeba backup to backup the completed site and re-install it on my servers.
How difficult will that be? Will Joomdle and Moodle remain connected or will I have to basically start all over again? If so, how do I backup the whole site so I can easily restore it in the event of a problem or a hack?

Ken

You have asked a difficult question - "how difficult will that be".

Have you configured Akeeba backup to backup the Moodle files? What about the Moodle database? What about the Moodle data directory?

Typically you will have Akeeba Backup configured to backup all of the Joomla files and databases. If Moodle is installed below your Joomla directory (ie joomla/moodle) then your Moodle files will be backed up. Similarly if your Moodledata directory is a subdirectory of Moodle (ie joomdle/moodle/moodledata) than your Moodledata directory will be backedup. If however you have installed your moodledata above your joomla directory, than you will need to do this manually.

For the database files, again you may need to backup your moodle database manually if Akeeback up has not been configured to do it. Refer to the Akeeba Backup documentation to learn how to backup non joomla databases.

When you restore,Akeeba backup should take care of the Joomla configuration. However, you will need to manually import the Moodle database (unless you configured Akeeba do backup them up)and change the Moodle configuration file to point to new local directories.

Once you have done all that you will need to re-configured Joomdle to point to the new Moodle url.

Also you will need to ensure that all the php requirements are still met. PHP XMLRPC, curl, etc. depending on your configuration choices. Finally, depending on your local OS (XP, Vista, Win7, Linux) you may need to edit your hosts file.

Thank you! That is what I needed to know. Now that I do know, I can setup the database underneath the Joomla installation. I had already setup the Moodle installation below the root directory for the site. And now I know where to look to backup the database as well.

Ken

Great. Let us know if you run into problems along the way. Do note in a production environment, IMO, I would not install the Moodle data directory below Moodle. IMO I would installed it above www making the data more secure and out of public view. For your local installation it is fine. In fact this is how I do it too

chris wrote:

For the database files, again you may need to backup your moodle database manually if Akeeback up has not been configured to do it. Refer to the Akeeba Backup documentation to learn how to backup non joomla databases.

Would it be useful to name the moodle database the same as the joomla database?

e.g.:

$CFG->dbhost = 'localhost';
$CFG->dbname = 'joomlasitedb';
$CFG->dbuser = 'adminuser';
$CFG->dbpass = 'adminpw';

Both Joomla and Moodle would write to the same database. Joomla data would be prefixed with _jos and Moodle data would be prefixed with mdl_.

Or is there some issue with doing it this way?


Ken

Naturally, there will be pro and cons of such as it relates to backup, restore, performance, database optimisation, upgrading, "safety", security, etc.

We are probably not the best ppl to recommend on such configurations in comparison to the many experts on database design. IMO, I would keep them separate just from a simplicity point of view. I do prefer the added operational procedures of backing up two environments in comparison to the complexity and risks of a one database for all.

As said, you may wish to seek feedback from the database guys over at mysql or even Joomla.org / Moodle.org for more experienced advise.

Sorry don't mean to shift the response, just do not wish to send you in the wrong direction for the wrong reasons.

Okay... I upgraded to Joomdle 0.41 and uploaded the daily release for Moodle 2.0 as of a few hours ago in my Xampp sandbox on my computer.
During installation, I attempted to place the moodledata directory where Akeeba can back it up. I attempted to place it in \xampp\htdocs\mysite.org\moodledata and it won't let me saying, "Dataroot location is not secure."

I created a simple php file I named "listpath.php" that contains the following code:

<?php
echo dirname(__FILE__);
?>

When I run it in this directory it responds:

Server error!

The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request. Either the server is overloaded or there was an error in a CGI script.

If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 500
localhost
11/11/10 18:50:41
Apache/2.2.14 (Win32) DAV/2 mod_ssl/2.2.14 OpenSSL/0.9.8l mod_autoindex_color PHP/5.3.1 mod_apreq2-20090110/2.7.1 mod_perl/2.0.4 Perl/v5.10.1

When I move it up one level to the root directory of my site the listpath.php file gives the following response:

\xampp\htdocs\mysite.org

I know it is probably something simple.

Hi there,

You are stretching my knowledge of such things. Personally, I would install using all the defaults and make changes once you have everything working. At least you will know what causes any errors that may come up.

Also, given this error is related to the Moodle installation, you may wish to see if such error has already been reported over at Moodle.org.

My Conclusion:
Moodle reports it not as an error but just the way it is. For security reasons they insist the moodledata directory must not be installed where Akeeba could back it up.
The moodledata directory will have to be backed up separately and then installed outside the "public_html" area according to everything I have read.
I tried a number of things, including uploading the moodledata directory to my server, changing the permissions and downloading it again. Nothing worked.
It won't be hard to do. I had just hoped to be able to allow Akeeba to do all the work.

Ken

Thanks for sharing your resolution.

I shall close this thread off now. Should you come across another issues, you can open up a new thread specific to that issue.