Difference between revisions of "Wikispooks:Site Backup"

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{{work|This is a draft page. Backup file to be made available asap}}
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{{HelpSection|image=SiteBackup.png}}
==Introduction==
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{{IframeFolder|path=/backups/?C=N;O=D}}
Wikispooks content renders it less than welcome to powerful interests which may put it at greater than average risk of disruption - legal or otherwise.
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<big>'''You are encouraged to download the <u class="plainlinks">[[image:compressed.gif|link={{server}}/backups/wikispooks-latest.zip]][{{server}}/backups/wikispooks-latest.zip &nbsp;wikispooks-latest]</u> backup ({{BackupSize}}) in case the site goes offline for any reason.'''<big/><hr/>
 +
Weekly backup snapshots for the last two months are listed on the right in the '''<font face="Serif">Backup files list</font>'''. The <u class="plainlinks">[[image:compressed.gif|link={{server}}/backups/wikispooks-latest.zip]][{{server}}/backups/wikispooks-latest.zip <code>&nbsp;wikispooks-latest.zip</code>]</u> file is a link to the most recent snapshot ({{t|{{BackupSize}}}}). As the site is [[Wikispooks:Copyrights|open licenced]] you are free to publish some or all of the content elsewhere, either as a mirror or as part of another website.
  
A full site backup is therefore available to ensure that, should the site - for whatever reason - become unavailable, a reasonably up to date version of it will be held by many people in multiple locations such that it can avoid the 'black-hole' fate that has overtaken other dissident sites - notably [[Joe Vialls]]. It should also demonstrate that the site is genuinely open, crowd sourced and free from proprietorial interest and control, other than to police its original editorial policy and project purposes (See [[WikiSpooks:Community portal|the project pages]] for full information).  
+
==Setting up and running a Copy Of The Site==
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:.4em; float:right"
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| style="max-width:375px; text-align:left; padding:.4em .4em .4em 1em; font-size:105%; background-color:#EEE" | [[File:Gnome-system-software-installer.svg|40px]] <span style="font-size:118%; margin-left:10px;">System requirements</span>
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|-
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| style="padding:0 .4em .24em; font-size:95%; max-width:375px" |
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* '''Disk space''' > 16Gb
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* '''Web server''' such as [http://httpd.apache.org Apache] or [http://www.microsoft.com/iis IIS] or [http://nginx.org/en/ NginX]
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* '''[http://www.php.net PHP]''' version 5.6 or later, including:
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** [http://php.net/spl Standard PHP Library]
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** [http://php.net/pcre pcre] - Perl Compatible Regular Expressions
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** [http://www.php.net//manual/en/book.json.php JSON]
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** [http://php.net/manual/en/book.image.php GD] - Thumbnailing graphics
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** [http://php.net/manual/en/book.xml.php XML]
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** [http://php.net/manual/en/book.mbstring.php mbstring] - Multibyte strings
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* '''Database Server'''
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** [http://www.mysql.com MySQL] version 5.5 or later, or
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** [https://mariadb.org/MariaDB MariaDB] version 10.0 or later
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|}
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''The [{{server}}/backups/wikispooks-latest.zip backup file] contains everything you need to run a mirror of this site on a suitably configured web server; Separate installation of Mediawiki is NOT required.''
  
With a modicum of technical know-how the backups can be restored to a local machine or simply archived as an insurance against its present iteration disappearing. Anyone setting up a local site can ask to have it configured to automatically synchronise with the main site so that the local copy is always current - email admin[at]wikispooks.org for the necessary credentials etc.
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The web server currently used by Wikispooks is '''[http://httpd.apache.org/ Apache]''' running on [https://www.centos.org/about/ Centos 7] Linux. These instructions assume Apache, though [http://nginx.org/en/ NginX], [http://www.microsoft.com/web/platform/server.aspx IIS] and other web servers may work just as well. The instructions have been slightly modified to try to suit other Linux distos as well.
  
==Backup files==
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'''N.B.''' ''[http://www.wampserver.com/en/ WampServer] or [http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html‎ Xampp] provide all the Apache web-server software required (except for Xcache) to run the Wikispooks site locally on either a Linux or Windows machine.''. If you do not install either [http://xcache.lighttpd.net/ Xcache] or [http://pecl.php.net/package/APC APC] separately, then you must change <code>$wgMainCacheType = CACHE_ACCEL;</code> to <code>$wgMainCacheType = CACHE_DB;</code> in <Code>/w/LocalSettings.php</code>.
The backups consist of the following four files (click to download):
 
#'''readme.txt''' (@ 5Kb) - Instructions (containing much the same information as this page)
 
#'''ConfigParams.txt''' (@ 10Kb) - Configuration parameters for appending to the 'LocalSetting.php' file  generated by the Mediawiki install procedure.  
 
#'''ws.sql''' (@ 630Mb)- The Wikispooks MySQL database dump
 
#'''wsdirs.zip''' (@ 2.8Gb) - The entire directory structure and files on the Wikispooks web server. This file is updated on an ad-hoc basis - hopefully at least one per month.
 
  
===General===
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===Overview===
*The '''ws.sql''' file will restore the database used by the Mediawiki software. It does not include any of the program, extension, pdf, image or other files needed for a properly working version of the site.
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Set up your web server; create a blank MySQL database; download <u class="plainlinks">[[image:compressed.gif|link={{server}}/backups/wikispooks-latest.zip]][{{server}}/backups/wikispooks-latest.zip <code>wikispooks-latest.zip</code>]</u>  to your server root and unpack it; import file <code>''path-to-server-root''/backups/ws.sql</code> into your blank MySQL database; edit <code>''path-to-server-root''/w/LocalSettings.php</code> and enter your database name and user credentials; navigate to your web-server root from your web browser to browse your local copy of Wikispooks.
*The '''wsdirs.zip''' file contains everything needed to reconstitute the Wikispooks site on any web server running both php and MySQL. The main Wikispooks machine runs the Apache web server. There will be a number of Apache config parameters that need setting in order for 'pretty urls' to work properly. Full details can be found on the Mediawiki web site. It should be possible to run the site using other web servers but it has only been tested with Apache 2.2.15
 
  
==Overview of the Wikispooks 'Mediawiki' software configuration==
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===Web server directives===
* Current installed version 1.16.3
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*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Short_URL Pretty urls] are required for full site functionality. Add the following to the bottom of your server or virtual server config file:<br/>
* There are many Mediawiki extensions in use on the site. In particular 'Widgets', 'Semantic MediaWiki', 'Semantic Forms', 'News', 'DynamicPageList' and 'Category Tree' are fundamental to the proper display and operation of the site. All the software extensions are included in this backup suite.
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:<code>Alias /wiki ''path-to-server-root''/w/index.php</code>.<br/>
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:''Apache'' config files are usually located at <code>/etc/httpd/</code>.
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*for correct display of the [[Project:Site Backup|Site backups list]] box. Add the following to your server config file:<br/>
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:<poem><Code><Directory "''path-to-server-root''/backups">
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::Options +Indexes
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::IndexIgnore  .. header.html
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::HeaderName header.html
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::IndexOptions FancyIndexing SuppressDescription SuppressLastModified NameWidth=*
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</Directory></code></poem>
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*'''Linux only''': you may have to tweek a few directory permission for the site to run smoothly. In particular the following require user (Usually <code>Apache</code>) write permissions:<br/>
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:<code>''path-to-server-root''/w/cache/</code>
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:<code>''path-to-server-root''/w/images/</code>
  
==System requirements for local site operation==
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===The MySQL database===
* A smokey machine running a web server (The main Wikispooks site runs Apache v2.2.15)
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The database must be created manually (see [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:MySQL MySQL manual]).<br/> This site uses database name "<code>wikispooks</code>" and user "<code>WSuser</code>", so using these is simplest. If you change them, make sure to [[#Database settings|adjust '''{{t|LocalSettings.php}}''' accordingly]].
* php v 5.0 +
 
* MySQL v 5.0 +
 
* at least 5 Gb of free disk space
 
'''Note:''' both WampServer and  Xampp (Google them) provide all the server software needed to run the Wikispooks site  locally.
 
  
==Basic installation instructions==
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===The backup file===
*Unpack '''ws.zip''' to a web server root directory.
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Place your downloaded <code>latest-site.zip</code> file in the server root directory and and unzip it. This will create a directory structure containing all application and associated site files. It will also place the database content file <code>ws.sql</code> in the <code>''path-to-server-root''/backups/</code> directory.
*Create a new blank MySQL database
 
*Create a dedicated database user with full privilages; note this user name and password.
 
*import the ws.sql database dump into the new database. Note: The file is too large for a default configuration of phpMyAdmin to handle. It is therefore recommended that the MySQL command line be used -  something like:
 
::<code>$ mysql -u username -p password -h localhost data-base-name < ws.sql </code>
 
  
==Important==
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===Import the Wikispooks content into your database===
In order to safeguard the main site database credentials, there is no 'LocalSettings.php' file included in the backup.  To get your system working, you will need to go through the standard Mediawiki setup procedure which should initiate when you access the /site-root/w/config' directory with a browser. Successful completion of this prodedure will create a '.../w/LocalSettings.php' file. This is a basic configuration file which will NOT include any of the required extension and other configuration parameters. To complete the configuration and install the required extensions proceed as follows:
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Import <code>''path-to-server-root/backups/''ws.sql</code> into the new database.  
  
#Open 'LocalSettings.php' in a text editor.
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'''N.B.''' The file is too large for a default configuration of phpMyAdmin to handle. Try a MySQL command for this, e.g.
#Copy and paste the entire contents of the 'configParams.txt' file to the end of the 'LocalSettings.php' file
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::<code>$ mysql -u username --password=''password'' --host=''localhost'' data-base-name < ws.sql </code>
#Save the modified file
 
  
==Notes==
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===LocalSettings.php===
* The Wikispooks installation is set up such that none of its media files (ie pdf's, doc's jpg's avi's etc) are held in the MySQL database. The database only contains pointers to these files. The files themselves are held in the directory structure below 'server root/w/images' (a bit counter-intuitive, but there you go)
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The file  at <code>''path-to-server-root''/w/LocalSettings.php</code> contains the local customisations of the default Mediawiki install. It needs editing as follows to match your install:
* The 'Piwik stats' and 'Cablegate mirror' sub menus will not work. Not included in the backup.
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* The 'Anon Uploads Form' option in the left-hand menu will not work. Not included in backup.
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====Domain settings====
* Many of the in-text links (especially on 'Category:IFrame' pages) will take you to the master Wikispooks site. This is because urls which ought to be coded as relative, have in fact been entered as absolute urls. It is easy to manually change any such url's in your browser address-bar at run time (simply replace 'https://wikispooks.com/' with 'localhost/your_root_dir_name/'. This issue will be addressed at source as and when.
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* Modify the below two lines to suit your install (For installation on your machine, set these to "http" and "localhost" respectively):
*'''Please post any suggestions, queries etc. to [[WikiSpooks talk:Site Backup|this discussion page]]'''
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<poem><code>$WSprotocol='https'; // For a local install, should be "http"
 +
$WSdomain='wikispooks.com'; // For a local install, should be "localhost"</code></poem>
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 +
====Database settings====
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* Enter your new database details in the below lines:
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<poem><code>$wgDBtype = "mysql";
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$wgDBserver = "localhost";
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$wgDBname = "wikispooks";
 +
$wgDBuser = "root";
 +
$wgDBpassword = "";</code></poem>
 +
 
 +
==Troubleshooting==
 +
If things don't go smoothly, the first thing you should do is go to the end of the file where you will see the following lines:
 +
::<code>#$wgShowExceptionDetails = true;</code>
 +
::<code>#$wgShowSQLErrors = 1;</code>
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Remove the <code>#</code> characters to get diagnostic output that may help you debug. It's recommended to replace them once things are working OK.
 +
 
 +
===<small>{{t|Warning: include(../../cgi-bin/WsDbInfo.php)}}...</small>===
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This occurs if you haven't [[#Database settings|fixed the database credentials]] as explained above.
 +
 
 +
===<small>{{t|CACHE_ACCEL requested but no suitable object cache is present. }}</small>===
 +
This means that the ACCEL cache is not available on your webserver. The first thing to try is to find the following lines:
 +
::<code>$wgMainCacheType = CACHE_ACCEL;</code>
 +
::<code>#$wgMainCacheType = CACHE_DB;</code>
 +
Try commenting the first of these out, and uncommenting the second. If this doesn't work, the easiest way to get it running is to comment them both out. This disables the cache, which will impact performance, but that problem can be tackled later if need arises.
 +
 
 +
===<small>{{t|Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties. }}</small>===
 +
The active part of this message is a couple of lines lower. If it says "Cannot contact the database server:" this means that [[#Insert correct Database credentials|the custom Database credentials]] you entered into Localsettings.php are not functioning properly.
 +
 
 +
===<small>{{t|Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 2}}</small>===
 +
===<small>{{t|Lua error: Internal error: Error reading from pipe.}}</small>===
 +
The above error messages indicate that Lua is hitting a memory limit problem.<ref>https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Topic:Sftr334fvttqt3qm</ref> In this case, the pages will appear mostly OK, but will lack infoboxes. In this case, you should raise the amount of memory available for Lua.<ref>https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Scribunto#Lua_error:_Internal_error:_The_interpreter_exited_with_status_2</ref> Find the following two lines and comment them in:
 +
::<code>#$wgScribuntoEngineConf['luastandalone']['memoryLimit'] = 209715200; # bytes</code>
 +
::<code>#$wgMaxShellMemory = 204800; # in KB</code>
 +
 
 +
==Running A Live Site Mirror==
 +
If you have interest and resources to set up a realtime site mirror on your server, you are encouraged to do so. We may also be able to provide you with some technical assistance if needed. Requests for help setting up realtime mirrors should be addressed to <code>admin[at]wikispooks.org</code> and encrypted with [[Wikispooks:PGP Public Key|'''this key''']].
 +
 
 +
===Known Issues===
 +
* [http://xdebug.org/ xdebug] is a php debugging tool which produces output similar (but considerably more verbose) to <code>$wgShowExceptionDetails</code> above. It is installed and enabled by default in both ''Wamp server'' and ''Xampp''. Wikispooks admins have found it useful in tracking down common installation problems but that a default setting results in ungraceful ''out of memory'' failures on some of the more common installation issues, rendering it useless in tracking them down. Either disable it by commenting out the ''[xdebug]'' block in ''php.ini'' or increase <code>max_nesting_level</code> from the default 100 with the following if you wish to use it: <code>xdebug.max_nesting_level=300</code>
 +
* The backups do not include the [{{server}}/anon/anon-ul.html Anon Uploads Form] or [{{server}}/piwik/index.php Piwik stats].
 +
* '''Suggestions, Queries etc? - Either Email the admin (non-Wikispooks members) or use [[Wikispooks talk:Site Backup|this discussion page]]''' (Wikispooks members)
 +
{{Wikispooks Footer/Technical}}
 +
[[Category:Wikispooks Technical]]

Latest revision as of 19:36, 24 May 2021

SiteBackup.png

You are encouraged to download the Compressed.gif wikispooks-latest backup (13 Gb) in case the site goes offline for any reason.


Weekly backup snapshots for the last two months are listed on the right in the Backup files list. The Compressed.gif wikispooks-latest.zip file is a link to the most recent snapshot (13 Gb). As the site is open licenced you are free to publish some or all of the content elsewhere, either as a mirror or as part of another website.

Setting up and running a Copy Of The Site

Gnome-system-software-installer.svg System requirements

The backup file contains everything you need to run a mirror of this site on a suitably configured web server; Separate installation of Mediawiki is NOT required.

The web server currently used by Wikispooks is Apache running on Centos 7 Linux. These instructions assume Apache, though NginX, IIS and other web servers may work just as well. The instructions have been slightly modified to try to suit other Linux distos as well.

N.B. WampServer or Xampp provide all the Apache web-server software required (except for Xcache) to run the Wikispooks site locally on either a Linux or Windows machine.. If you do not install either Xcache or APC separately, then you must change $wgMainCacheType = CACHE_ACCEL; to $wgMainCacheType = CACHE_DB; in /w/LocalSettings.php.

Overview

Set up your web server; create a blank MySQL database; download Compressed.gifwikispooks-latest.zip to your server root and unpack it; import file path-to-server-root/backups/ws.sql into your blank MySQL database; edit path-to-server-root/w/LocalSettings.php and enter your database name and user credentials; navigate to your web-server root from your web browser to browse your local copy of Wikispooks.

Web server directives

  • Pretty urls are required for full site functionality. Add the following to the bottom of your server or virtual server config file:
Alias /wiki path-to-server-root/w/index.php.
Apache config files are usually located at /etc/httpd/.
  • for correct display of the Site backups list box. Add the following to your server config file:

<Directory "path-to-server-root/backups">
Options +Indexes
IndexIgnore .. header.html
HeaderName header.html
IndexOptions FancyIndexing SuppressDescription SuppressLastModified NameWidth=*
</Directory>

  • Linux only: you may have to tweek a few directory permission for the site to run smoothly. In particular the following require user (Usually Apache) write permissions:
path-to-server-root/w/cache/
path-to-server-root/w/images/

The MySQL database

The database must be created manually (see MySQL manual).
This site uses database name "wikispooks" and user "WSuser", so using these is simplest. If you change them, make sure to adjust LocalSettings.php accordingly.

The backup file

Place your downloaded latest-site.zip file in the server root directory and and unzip it. This will create a directory structure containing all application and associated site files. It will also place the database content file ws.sql in the path-to-server-root/backups/ directory.

Import the Wikispooks content into your database

Import path-to-server-root/backups/ws.sql into the new database.

N.B. The file is too large for a default configuration of phpMyAdmin to handle. Try a MySQL command for this, e.g.

$ mysql -u username --password=password --host=localhost data-base-name < ws.sql

LocalSettings.php

The file at path-to-server-root/w/LocalSettings.php contains the local customisations of the default Mediawiki install. It needs editing as follows to match your install:

Domain settings

  • Modify the below two lines to suit your install (For installation on your machine, set these to "http" and "localhost" respectively):

$WSprotocol='https'; // For a local install, should be "http"
$WSdomain='wikispooks.com'; // For a local install, should be "localhost"

Database settings

  • Enter your new database details in the below lines:

$wgDBtype = "mysql";
$wgDBserver = "localhost";
$wgDBname = "wikispooks";
$wgDBuser = "root";
$wgDBpassword = "";

Troubleshooting

If things don't go smoothly, the first thing you should do is go to the end of the file where you will see the following lines:

#$wgShowExceptionDetails = true;
#$wgShowSQLErrors = 1;

Remove the # characters to get diagnostic output that may help you debug. It's recommended to replace them once things are working OK.

Warning: include(../../cgi-bin/WsDbInfo.php)...

This occurs if you haven't fixed the database credentials as explained above.

CACHE_ACCEL requested but no suitable object cache is present.

This means that the ACCEL cache is not available on your webserver. The first thing to try is to find the following lines:

$wgMainCacheType = CACHE_ACCEL;
#$wgMainCacheType = CACHE_DB;

Try commenting the first of these out, and uncommenting the second. If this doesn't work, the easiest way to get it running is to comment them both out. This disables the cache, which will impact performance, but that problem can be tackled later if need arises.

Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties.

The active part of this message is a couple of lines lower. If it says "Cannot contact the database server:" this means that the custom Database credentials you entered into Localsettings.php are not functioning properly.

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 2

Lua error: Internal error: Error reading from pipe.

The above error messages indicate that Lua is hitting a memory limit problem.[1] In this case, the pages will appear mostly OK, but will lack infoboxes. In this case, you should raise the amount of memory available for Lua.[2] Find the following two lines and comment them in:

#$wgScribuntoEngineConf['luastandalone']['memoryLimit'] = 209715200; # bytes
#$wgMaxShellMemory = 204800; # in KB

Running A Live Site Mirror

If you have interest and resources to set up a realtime site mirror on your server, you are encouraged to do so. We may also be able to provide you with some technical assistance if needed. Requests for help setting up realtime mirrors should be addressed to admin[at]wikispooks.org and encrypted with this key.

Known Issues

  • xdebug is a php debugging tool which produces output similar (but considerably more verbose) to $wgShowExceptionDetails above. It is installed and enabled by default in both Wamp server and Xampp. Wikispooks admins have found it useful in tracking down common installation problems but that a default setting results in ungraceful out of memory failures on some of the more common installation issues, rendering it useless in tracking them down. Either disable it by commenting out the [xdebug] block in php.ini or increase max_nesting_level from the default 100 with the following if you wish to use it: xdebug.max_nesting_level=300
  • The backups do not include the Anon Uploads Form or Piwik stats.
  • Suggestions, Queries etc? - Either Email the admin (non-Wikispooks members) or use this discussion page (Wikispooks members)
Wikispooks logo.png Policy.png Wikispooks to do.png Tools2.png
Wikispooks
Technical
SMW.png Help.png