2 Instances of Same App on IIS (Prod'n & Test)

[The Mighty Chaffinch]

I want to have 2 completely separate instances of my ASP/Access application
running on the same web server. One will be a live production application,
and the other part of a system test environment to check out code/database
changes etc prior to deploying them on the live system.

The appln code is in a virtual directory so the name of this is hard coded
in most of the ASP pages where I do the #includes and elsewhere. It seemed
like a good idea at the time, to make the application more portable. Now I'm
not so sure... I seem to need 2 virtual directories with the same name.
Maybe I'm going off in the wrong direction altogether with these virtual
directories.

I'm trying to understand the IIS concept of Web site Vs. virtual direcory: I
can't find anything that gives a conceptual description: just which boxes to
tick in which Windows screens, or what to do when it goes wrong. I need an
overview to help me understand what the options are, and the pros and cons
of each option.

(The appln uses an Access database but that's no problem as I store the DB
filename in an Application variable. It can easily be changed by editing the
respective global.asa files.)

I've Googled and searched MSN all day and I just can't get a handle on how
to do this. Can somebody point me in the right direction?

MightyC

It it's relevant I'm using IIS 5 / Windows XP Pro

(Previously posted on microsoft.public.inetserver.iis.activeserverpages but
no answer.)

 

[Chris Barber]

A website (or subweb) is a folder that exists locally and in the case of a
subweb is a subfolder of the current site. A virtual folder is just that, it
appears (at least from within IIS) as a local subfolder but is in fact
located elsewhere (can be another machine). In terms of functionality they
are practically identical (may be a few minor differences - not sure).

Using explicit root-relative or virtual paths to reference stuff like Access
DB's is fine but you should always ensure that common terms (such as the
path to the DB) are defined only once so that changing them becomes easy.
Alternatively, consider locating your Access DB outside of the web structure
and use a normal filepath to access it.

Chris.

I want to have 2 completely separate instances of my ASP/Access application
running on the same web server. One will be a live production application,
and the other part of a system test environment to check out code/database
changes etc prior to deploying them on the live system.

The appln code is in a virtual directory so the name of this is hard coded
in most of the ASP pages where I do the #includes and elsewhere. It seemed
like a good idea at the time, to make the application more portable. Now I'm
not so sure... I seem to need 2 virtual directories with the same name.
Maybe I'm going off in the wrong direction altogether with these virtual
directories.

I'm trying to understand the IIS concept of Web site Vs. virtual direcory: I
can't find anything that gives a conceptual description: just which boxes to
tick in which Windows screens, or what to do when it goes wrong. I need an
overview to help me understand what the options are, and the pros and cons
of each option.

(The appln uses an Access database but that's no problem as I store the DB
filename in an Application variable. It can easily be changed by editing the
respective global.asa files.)

I've Googled and searched MSN all day and I just can't get a handle on how
to do this. Can somebody point me in the right direction?

MightyC

It it's relevant I'm using IIS 5 / Windows XP Pro

(Previously posted on microsoft.public.inetserver.iis.activeserverpages but
no answer.)

 

[Mark Schupp]

You will have to change your includes to use relative paths.

If you can get a copy of window 2000 server you could set up separate web
sites for development and production and have the same virtual directory
name in each.

What is in your include files?

 

[The Mighty Chaffinch]

You will have to change your includes to use relative paths.

I was afraid of that, it gets messy if there's more than a single directory
level.

If you can get a copy of window 2000 server you could set up separate web
sites for development and production and have the same virtual directory
name in each.

I believe I can do this in Windowws XP Pro. I had already wondered if this
was a possible solution. It's certainly worth experimenting with.

What is in your include files?

I have a number of JScript classes that I use for form handling: mand
fields, updateable grids, etc. Also on the server side I use JScript classes
to handle the DB and SQL which makes the .asp files cleaner/simpler

Thanks for the info.

MightyC

 

[The Mighty Chaffinch]

A website (or subweb) is a folder that exists locally and in the case of a

subweb is a subfolder of the current site. A virtual folder is just that, it
appears (at least from within IIS) as a local subfolder but is in fact
located elsewhere (can be another machine). In terms of functionality they
are practically identical (may be a few minor differences - not sure).

Using explicit root-relative or virtual paths to reference stuff like Access
DB's is fine but you should always ensure that common terms (such as the
path to the DB) are defined only once so that changing them becomes easy.
Alternatively, consider locating your Access DB outside of the web structure
and use a normal filepath to access it.

Thanks for the info.

MightyC

 

[Chris Barber]

Be aware that when using Interdev in local mode, all root relative paths
will become invalid. This is why I *only* ever use paths relative to the
directory that I'm working in. Since all my code is modularised I have no
issues with maintaining multiple location paths and in a lot of cases, I can
even do it programmatically so that my GIF image references remain valid.

Regards,

Chris.

You will have to change your includes to use relative paths.

I was afraid of that, it gets messy if there's more than a single directory
level.

If you can get a copy of window 2000 server you could set up separate web
sites for development and production and have the same virtual directory
name in each.

I believe I can do this in Windowws XP Pro. I had already wondered if this
was a possible solution. It's certainly worth experimenting with.

What is in your include files?

I have a number of JScript classes that I use for form handling: mand
fields, updateable grids, etc. Also on the server side I use JScript classes
to handle the DB and SQL which makes the .asp files cleaner/simpler

Thanks for the info.

MightyC