I’m in the process of evaluating Umbraco as a potential CMS
for building multiple “larger than brochure” websites.I seem to have come across a bit of a
stickler and was wondering if I could get some clarification.
It seems the recommended Umbraco way to host multiple sites on
one server is to create additional folders of pages under the Content node (http://our.umbraco.org/wiki/how-tos/running-multiple-websites-on-one-umbraco-installation).
This means all the websites will be sharing one database and I’m not very
comfortable with that.(It’s possible
that this isn’t the recommended way but it’s the only way on which I can find
any information)
If you were to install multiple installations (although how
to do this we’ve not quite worked out yet as it would only install at root) is
it simple to reuse some parts of other sites such as Document Types?I just looked into this a bit more and I
guess creating a package would be the best way to reuse such things?
We would also be looking to get one of the Pro packages.How would Courier work with multiple instances?Given that there would usually be Dev, Test,
Staging and Live environments.
I’d also appreciate some additional clarification on the Pro
products.I take it the prices given are
for annual subscriptions or does this only apply to the support?I saw somewhere a one off fee mentioned which
I thought may apply to the developer tools and the rebranding rights but I
couldn’t see a price.
Apologies if this is all clearly explained somewhere I’m
being searching around for a while and am unable to find the information I was looking
for.
I wouldn't recommend running multiple sites on a single umbraco installation. The only moment where I can see this is a plus, instead of installing a new umbraco site (with its own db etc.), is if the sites are connected with each other, like sharing the same Media, users etc.
Having that said, there shouldn't be a problem in actually doing it. :)
If you're going to have multiple sites on a single installation, I would recommend a structure like this.:
Site 1 (Frontpage)
- Page 1 (Textpage)
- Page 2 (Textpage)
Site 2 (Frontpage)
- Page 1 (Textpage)
- Page 2 (Textpage)
etc. etc.
A package is a good way to share documenttypes, xslts etc. on multiple installations. If you're on a single installation, there's no need for this.
All things considered, I would go for "1 site = 1 umbraco installation".
I don't know anything about the Pro License or Courier, sorry...
Thanks for your reply. That has cleared things up a bit - I was a bit concerned for a bit there.
I'll post my unanswered Pro query again below incase anyone can shed any light.
Thanks again,
Trish
We would also be looking to get one of the Pro packages.How would Courier work with multiple instances?Given that there would usually be Dev, Test,
Staging and Live environments.
I’d also appreciate some additional clarification on the Pro
products.I take it the prices given are
for annual subscriptions or does this only apply to the support?I saw somewhere a one off fee mentioned which
I thought may apply to the developer tools and the rebranding rights but I
couldn’t see a price.
I used the contact from for my query and got a prompt response from Niels himself. I'm going to copy the relevant bits in in case anyone else has the same issue.
Regards,
Trish
From Niels....
First of all the fee for PRO is a one-off fee unless you want to keep using the support - that can be cancelled at any time. Umbraco.tv is included in the PRO version and in the Premium version you get five accounts so it can be shared in your team.
Also, as Courier is meant to move between environments it's licensed to any subdomain. So if your license is associated with "mydomain.com" it'll work with "dev.mydomain.com", "staging.mydomain.com", "www.mydomain.com", etc in addition to "localhost".
Courier is needed because it transfers Umbraco objects (content and media currently - templates, document types etc coming in v2 later this year). It's integrated with Umbraco and is installed as an Umbraco package on each of the environments involved. From there, it'll use webservices to communicate between the servers, so no additional servers is needed.
If you need to have an additional domain added to the license, it's not a problem. We'll just have to do that manually (no extra costs involved).
Evaluating Umbraco - Multiple instances and Pro pricing
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; mso-themecolor:hyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} span.EmailStyle16 {mso-style-type:personal; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-ansi-font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; color:windowtext;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -->
I’m in the process of evaluating Umbraco as a potential CMS for building multiple “larger than brochure” websites. I seem to have come across a bit of a stickler and was wondering if I could get some clarification.
It seems the recommended Umbraco way to host multiple sites on one server is to create additional folders of pages under the Content node (http://our.umbraco.org/wiki/how-tos/running-multiple-websites-on-one-umbraco-installation). This means all the websites will be sharing one database and I’m not very comfortable with that. (It’s possible that this isn’t the recommended way but it’s the only way on which I can find any information)
If you were to install multiple installations (although how to do this we’ve not quite worked out yet as it would only install at root) is it simple to reuse some parts of other sites such as Document Types? I just looked into this a bit more and I guess creating a package would be the best way to reuse such things?
We would also be looking to get one of the Pro packages. How would Courier work with multiple instances? Given that there would usually be Dev, Test, Staging and Live environments.
I’d also appreciate some additional clarification on the Pro products. I take it the prices given are for annual subscriptions or does this only apply to the support? I saw somewhere a one off fee mentioned which I thought may apply to the developer tools and the rebranding rights but I couldn’t see a price.
Apologies if this is all clearly explained somewhere I’m being searching around for a while and am unable to find the information I was looking for.
Thanks in advance.
Trish
Note to self: Don't copy straight from Outlook.
I wouldn't recommend running multiple sites on a single umbraco installation. The only moment where I can see this is a plus, instead of installing a new umbraco site (with its own db etc.), is if the sites are connected with each other, like sharing the same Media, users etc.
Having that said, there shouldn't be a problem in actually doing it. :)
If you're going to have multiple sites on a single installation, I would recommend a structure like this.:
Site 1 (Frontpage)
- Page 1 (Textpage)
- Page 2 (Textpage)
Site 2 (Frontpage)
- Page 1 (Textpage)
- Page 2 (Textpage)
etc. etc.
A package is a good way to share documenttypes, xslts etc. on multiple installations. If you're on a single installation, there's no need for this.
All things considered, I would go for "1 site = 1 umbraco installation".
I don't know anything about the Pro License or Courier, sorry...
Thanks for your reply. That has cleared things up a bit - I was a bit concerned for a bit there.
I'll post my unanswered Pro query again below incase anyone can shed any light.
Thanks again,
Trish
We would also be looking to get one of the Pro packages. How would Courier work with multiple instances? Given that there would usually be Dev, Test, Staging and Live environments.
I’d also appreciate some additional clarification on the Pro products. I take it the prices given are for annual subscriptions or does this only apply to the support? I saw somewhere a one off fee mentioned which I thought may apply to the developer tools and the rebranding rights but I couldn’t see a price.
Hi.
I used the contact from for my query and got a prompt response from Niels himself. I'm going to copy the relevant bits in in case anyone else has the same issue.
Regards,
Trish
From Niels....
First of all the fee for PRO is a one-off fee unless you want to keep using the support - that can be cancelled at any time. Umbraco.tv is included in the PRO version and in the Premium version you get five accounts so it can be shared in your team.
Also, as Courier is meant to move between environments it's licensed to any subdomain. So if your license is associated with "mydomain.com" it'll work with "dev.mydomain.com", "staging.mydomain.com", "www.mydomain.com", etc in addition to "localhost".
Courier is needed because it transfers Umbraco objects (content and media currently - templates, document types etc coming in v2 later this year). It's integrated with Umbraco and is installed as an Umbraco package on each of the environments involved. From there, it'll use webservices to communicate between the servers, so no additional servers is needed.
If you need to have an additional domain added to the license, it's not a problem. We'll just have to do that manually (no extra costs involved).
is working on a reply...