Multiple sites using the same instance of CF?

[richardELeach]

Hi Gang-
I have a client who recently upgraded from CF Pro to Enterprise and they're using it in a relatively straightforward manner as an intranet. They'd like me to help them setup a second instance for purposes of a staging server, but I noticed after they upgraded they don't have the Enterprise Manager link in their CF Admin screen.

Do they need to reinstall CF using the multiserver version of the install to be able to deploy a second instance of CF? Do they need to uninstall and reinstall? Ugh....

Can't they just set up a second site under their web server, using a different port and not worry about the second instance of CF? Best practices aside for a moment, remember, they're not necessarily developing against this server, it's intended to be a staging server.

Any ideas to the best and or quickest way to handle this?

Many thanks in advance,
Rich

[Charlie Arehart · Accepted solution]

Many questions, many answers. :-)

Yes, Rich, they would need to install the multiserver version for you to see that Enterprise Manager option in the CF Admin. But no, they would not need to uninstall the Server deployment (what you did) to add the Multiserver deployment. They can co-exist (though it's not something most would typically do).

The best news for you is that, yes, they can indeed just setup a second site on their web server, and have that also point to the one CF Server deployment you have installed. That is, of course, assuming they run a web server that supports multiple sites. If it's Apache, you're good. If it's Windows, then as long as its Windows Server 2003 (or 2008, or Vista), you're good, too. (Just for completeness, for other readers, XP does not let you run more than one site at a time.)

If during the installation of CF you told it to have ALL sites in the web server run with CF, you need do nothing more than create the new site. It should immediately be able to run CF pages. If instead you told it to only link CF to one site, then you'll need to run the web server configuration tool again. You can do that manually, even after the installation. See the CF Admin and Config docs for more on that, as well as on this very question. (I realize many like to just run stuff and hope that the interface is clear enough, but as this question shows, for some things anyone installing CF will be well-served by looking over that often-missed manual.)

Hope that helps, Rich. It's not an RTFM answer. 🙂 Just saying that if you need more than what I've said, it is in the manual. Still, I'll be happy to answer follow ups if I can.

[richardELeach]

Many thanks Charlie, you helped tremendously!

Rich

[Charlie Arehart]

Great to hear, and glad to help. If you don't mind, could you mark the question as answered? That could help future readers and other helpers. Thanks.