Dear Eric,<br><br>we have implemented and managed DSpace 1.3.x and 1.4.2 for our clients on both linux//unix and Windows boxes.<br>
<br>We would really recommend you to opt for a unix//linux installation for reasons including the following:<br>*
In our experience, most developers and people run DSpace on these
installations, making all documentation, bugfixes, ... more elaborated
for unix compared to the Windows versions.<br>* There are some known issues which occur on a Windows installation such
as errors due to different processes reading/writing the same files.<br><br>Some more answers on your questions inline:<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 9:48 PM, Eric Loehr <<a href="mailto:eloehr@email.smith.edu">eloehr@email.smith.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Hello all,<br>
<br>
We currently subscribe to a NITLE hosted DSpace instance and are considering whether we might want to/be able to run our own DSpace server locally. We're going to need more disk space than would be cost-effective from the hosted service, and would like more control over things. I'm about to talk with our campus IT folks about this and would like to be able to tell them what sort of help from them and/or expertise we'd need to set up and run our own server, so I'm hoping to get some answers to a few questions:<br>
<br>
I think we'd prefer to go with a unix server, but could consider a Windows box. I can do some basic things in unix (I've worked with permissions on html files, editing config files, templates, setting up chron jobs, etc.on our SFX, Verde, and ALEPH hosted servers ), but have never run a unix server.<br>
<br>
Can DSpace run easily alongside other applications on a server, or does it need its own dedicated server?</blockquote><div><br>==> DSpace can easily run alongside other applications on a server, but we
suggest using different user accounts for different applications (at
least on a linux server) and installation of a tomcat which will only
be used for the DSpace application.<br><br>
Keep in mind that a large repository or a repository with many visitors can require quite some resources (memory, diskspace, bandwidth, ..). So you should be able to monitor this usage in order to prevent issues in this area.<br>
</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br>
<br>
How difficult is it to set up DSpace on a unix (or Windows) server? What knowledge would be needed beyond what I described above?</blockquote><div><br>==> The above tasks combined with the DSpace installation docs should
be sufficient, although we've experienced some other repositories which
were not completely correctly installed. As a consequence, it was necessary to clean up the data
afterwards. Sometimes these kind of issues can get quite complex.<br><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br>
<br>
How much, if any, java programming experience is essential? (I've done lots of html editing and some very basic PHP and javascript, but I'm not a programmer).</blockquote><div><br>==> This depends on how good the repository suits your requirements. Changes to the user interface can be done with only html knowledge when done
carefully. More advanced customizations than style will usually require
knowledge of java programming.<br> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br>
Once DSpace is set up, how much work is necessary to keep it updated?</blockquote><div><br>==> Depends on how many customizations are applied to the installation.
Usually, upgrades of the DSpace software can be applied without to much
problems if there are little to none customizations. This should of
course always be tested first on a test-server.<br><br>DSpace 1.5, with it's Maven build system, is inteded as a huge leap forward in terms of upgrading.<br> </div><div><br><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<br>
<br>
What I'm hoping is that our IT folks can help set up the server and the DSpace installation and maintain the server OS, and that I can do the DSpace maintenance. Any recommendations and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.</blockquote>
<div><br>==> In any case, if you run into trouble, these mailinglists are a great resource to get help for bugs or issues. If you would seek custom development, consultancy or other services, there are some companies (like ours ;) who provide this.<br>
</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br>
<br>
thanks very much - -<br>
<br>
Eric<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Eric Loehr<br>
Library Systems Manager<br>
Smith College Libraries<br>
(413) 585-2969<br>
<a href="mailto:eloehr@email.smith.edu">eloehr@email.smith.edu</a><br>
<br>
Smith College official correspondence<br>
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