Thread

I just asked these to the sales@ distribution list and the ticket reply that came mentioned I should post it here for faster response. So I will go ahead and do that, and I thank you for your attention and help.

1. I have two sites, http://www.esolia.co.jp and http://www.esolia.com which are the analogue of each other. The pages in the English .com site are always translated into Japanese and placed in the Japanese .co.jp site. Does this configuration require two licenses?

2. I have a few other properties which I run, but the administrators of these in my company are different people. If I grant administrative access to site A, in the EE control panel, does that also mean that that administrator gets full access to site B? My preference would be if the administrator for B logs in, s/he gets access only to B and cannot even see A.

3. Depending upon the situation, if I needed to run another instance of EE due to licensing or security, can I install that second instance on a different IP the same single server?

4. I see that there is a multi-site manager. I would assume I get one site license by buying the basic product. Then, the multi-site manager says I get three licenses with that. Does that mean I have a total of four licenses, or, does the multi-site manager some how “take over” the install, meaning, you actually only get three licenses?

5. In terms of hosting, we use a VPS solution from Open Hosting, which is reasonable, we think. What is the advantage of hosting with your sister hosting company (er, Engine Hosting, was it?)? Will they set up and regularly upgrade EE for us?

6. Is the wiki that I believe is included, run as a subfolder of a given site in the installation, i.e. http://www.ourdomain.com/wiki ? Or do you run the wiki separately in a subdomain, a la, http://ourwiki.ourdomain.com ?

7. We would need to buy a custom theme or a “stock” theme for our site. Any recommendations?

Please advise, and thanks for your time.

Hi Rick, good questions and I’ll hit each one.

1. I have two sites, http://www.esolia.co.jp and http://www.esolia.com which are the analogue of each other. The pages in the English .com site are always translated into Japanese and placed in the Japanese .co.jp site. Does this configuration require two licenses?

No, that would be an ideal use for one license and the Multiple Site Manager.

2. I have a few other properties which I run, but the administrators of these in my company are different people. If I grant administrative access to site A, in the EE control panel, does that also mean that that administrator gets full access to site B? My preference would be if the administrator for B logs in, s/he gets access only to B and cannot even see A.

With MSM you can define member group access on a per-site basis, but all MSM sites will still appear in a dropdown menu (even if your user can’t actually access them) in the Control Panel. There’s currently a feature request to change this behavior.

3. Depending upon the situation, if I needed to run another instance of EE due to licensing or security, can I install that second instance on a different IP the same single server?

Yes, and you don’t need a separate IP to do that.

4. I see that there is a multi-site manager. I would assume I get one site license by buying the basic product. Then, the multi-site manager says I get three licenses with that. Does that mean I have a total of four licenses, or, does the multi-site manager some how “take over” the install, meaning, you actually only get three licenses?

After you install MSM there is no single “master” site. Your first site remains your first site, and then you have 2 more sites available for a total of 3. You can always purchase more MSM sites as needed.

5. In terms of hosting, we use a VPS solution from Open Hosting, which is reasonable, we think. What is the advantage of hosting with your sister hosting company (er, Engine Hosting, was it?)? Will they set up and regularly upgrade EE for us?

The main advantage of EngineHosting is that their servers and software are tuned for content management systems like ExpressionEngine. You’ll get very high performance as well as 20% off of a new ExpressionEngine license when you purchase it through them. When you do that you’ll also get it pre-installed, but they won’t muck with your installation after that point.

6. Is the wiki that I believe is included, run as a subfolder of a given site in the installation, i.e. http://www.ourdomain.com/wiki ? Or do you run the wiki separately in a subdomain, a la, http://ourwiki.ourdomain.com ?

Yes, the Wiki is included in all versions except for Freelancer. It runs out of a standard EE template, so it’s easiest to have it be at yourdomain.com/wiki. Some have had success running it on a subdomain, but since that depends more on your server configuration it isn’t something we can specifically support.

7. We would need to buy a custom theme or a “stock” theme for our site. Any recommendations?

While EE excels at letting you build exactly what you need from scratch, there are definitely Site Themes out there. Take a look at WooThemes, as they probably have the biggest assortment available in one place.

Thanks for your interest and let me know if you have any additional questions!

Thanks, Brandon. I wrote out this reply in quote format, but, the system disallowed me to save it since it had links! Which is rather irritating because I am certainly no spammer. At any rate:

1. BJ: No, that would be an ideal use for one license and the MSM…
RC: The language is confusing, because there seems to be a difference between site licenses and EE licenses?
Do each of my sites, the .com and the .co.jp take up one site license?

2. BJ: With MSM you can define member group access on a per-site basis, but all MSM sites will still appear in a dropdown menu (even if your user can’t actually access them) in the Control Panel. There’s currently a feature request to change this behavior…
RC: OK, understood, thanks.

3. Re multi instances on same box, BJ: Yes, and you don’t need a separate IP to do that…
RC: OK, and I assume this means using vhosts in apache, no?

4. BJ: After you install MSM there is no single “master” site. Your first site remains your first site, and then you have 2 more sites available for a total of 3. You can always purchase more MSM sites as needed…
RC: Understood. MSM gets you two additional site licenses. Perhaps the language of the store and the explanatory blurbs should just out and say that. Essentially MSM “eats” the original license you buy, with the base EE software, and, since MSM requires the EE to work, it makes sense that you just say it gives you two additional, and, more are available for x dollars per. Anyway, < / rant > and I understand it now. Thanks.

5. BJ: The main advantage of EngineHosting is that their servers and software are tuned for content management systems like ExpressionEngine. You’ll get very high performance as well as 20% off of a new ExpressionEngine license when you purchase it through them. When you do that you’ll also get it pre-installed, but they won’t muck with your installation after that point…
RC: OK, that is clear, thanks.

6. BJ: Yes, the Wiki is included in all versions except for Freelancer. It runs out of a standard EE template, so it’s easiest to have it be at yourdomain.com/wiki. Some have had success running it on a subdomain, but since that depends more on your server configuration it isn’t something we can specifically support…
RC: OK, basically, pick a domain and dangle it off. Got it.

7. BJ: While EE excels at letting you build exactly what you need from scratch, there are definitely Site Themes out there. Take a look at WooThemes, as they probably have the biggest assortment available in one place.
RC: OK, thanks.

Regards,
Rick

The language is confusing, because there seems to be a difference between site licenses and EE licenses? Do each of my sites, the .com and the .co.jp take up one site license?

An EE license refers to one installation of ExpressionEngine. With MSM you’re running multiple sites/domains out of that one installation. Site licenses refer to MSM sites. Your .com and the .co.jp domain would each be a site, so after purchasing the MSM you’d be allowed one more site before needing to add site licenses.

OK, and I assume this means using vhosts in apache, no?

Usually, yes. The bottom line is that our licensing scheme won’t cause you headaches, even across development + staging + production servers.

Thanks Rick, and don’t hesitate with further questions.