Thread

Previous versions of EE have worked with multiple domains and subdomains.

Does this same functionality still exist with 1.6 .. or do I have to purchase an MSM site for each subdomain ..

OR .. can I mix the previous functionality with MSM so that the subdomains work as previously with pre 1.6 and that individual domains work through MSM.

If the pre-1.6 functionality of multiple domains and subdomains has been removed, then there is no point in me even considering 1.6 because I could not afford MSM in the case where every ‘weblog’ has its own subdomain .. and my site structure calls for about 40 subdomains scattered through 4 unique domains

I’ve downloaded all of the new files but I’m not game to even unpack them until this question is answered.

Howdy, tulkul -

That functionality will still work but it is no longer officially supported.  The only officially supported way of handling this now is via the Multi-Site Manager.  I hope that helps to answer your question. =)

Previous versions of EE have worked with multiple domains and subdomains.

Does this same functionality still exist with 1.6 .. or do I have to purchase an MSM site for each subdomain ..

OR .. can I mix the previous functionality with MSM so that the subdomains work as previously with pre 1.6 and that individual domains work through MSM.

The previous method still works and is not crippled in anyway. You can mix and match the methods, but note that the previous method no longer receives technical support.

That’s a bit of a relief ... (that it still works) ..

40 subdomains at 24.95 = $998; (personal site) and my disability pension .. only source of income .. is $200.00 pew week.

I’m still going to have to reconsider things ..

The previous method still works and is not crippled in anyway. You can mix and match the methods, but note that the previous method no longer receives technical support.

This is troubling news.

While the “old way” is in no imminent danger of breaking, I’m nevertheless forced to make contingency plans. The number of MSM licenses needed to cover all my sites is out of my price range and I’ll have to consider moving the bulk of my sites to EE Core or back to Drupal.

Count me in as thinking it’s a bad idea not to support it. Some of us run situations where multiple sites across different domains need to SHARE templates, for instance, rather than having them be separate—and to my understanding, that’s not something that works in the MSM module.

But i understand the EllisLab staff’s decision—they DO have limited resources. And bear in mind, everyone, that “no longer officially supported” means just that—no longer OFFICIALLY supported. I suspect that, as with just about anything else related to EE, if you post in one of the support or help forums with a question, you’ll receive about a zillion helpful replies—both from EllisLab staff and non-EllisLab -affiliated EE gurus. 😊

Adrienne

alienne,  you are correct.  It is simply a time and resource drain for us to have TSS’s supporting the old method, and sets unfair expectations as to the level and type of support we give for free.  It will continue to work, though, and we have no plans to remove or break this feature.

FYI, templates can be shared between Sites in MSM if you are embedding them.  What will be distinct are your template groups.  But unified templates can be utilized across all of your sites as needed within a Sites’ templates.

Well, I am somewhat torn on this issue. I have gone on record (semi-publicly) criticizing the new priceing scheme for the MSM and above all the per-installation licenses (luckily not per user, so it could’ve been worse.)

At the same time I understand EllisLab’s position. Of course they want to sell what they (rightfully) believe a superior product. That the old way will actually continue to work, and not be disabled in the code, is to their high credit.

Count me in as thinking it’s a bad idea not to support it. Some of us run situations where multiple sites across different domains need to SHARE templates, for instance, rather than having them be separate—and to my understanding, that’s not something that works in the MSM module.

You can use the old method for this. But you can also share templates across Sites as well using the site=”” parameter to embed the template. Say you’re working on Site B and need a template from Site A, the code would look something like this:

{embed="global/nav" site="site_a"}

But i understand the EllisLab staff’s decision—they DO have limited resources. And bear in mind, everyone, that “no longer officially supported” means just that—no longer OFFICIALLY supported. I suspect that, as with just about anything else related to EE, if you post in one of the support or help forums with a question, you’ll receive about a zillion helpful replies—both from EllisLab staff and non-EllisLab -affiliated EE gurus. 😊

Adrienne

We certainly hope the community supports each other. Our techs will help out where they can as all of us have a history of doing things and going the extra mile. Officially not supported means we do not require our techs or our team to solve issues related to it, it doesn’t mean we prevent it or stop people from helping.

For us the basic issue is that its not possible for us to support someone running a large number of websites off a single installation. There is a small portion of the EE Community that run what we consider an excessive number of sites off single installations and yet expect the same support. There is no way we can support someone’s 70 site network or even 30 site network for a one time fee of $99 or $249. The math doesn’t work, not even a little bit. It’s also not fair to other people who need support.

We won’t cripple or disable or interfere with the previous method, but we’re not going to support it for the above reason.

Very simply ..

The old method which allowed different sections of my site (weblogs) to be set up in different subdomains and domains was the biggest “selling point” for EE.

It was also a very attractive point for a number of others I know who have moved to EE based on my experience.

However, if this is no longer to be supported and it requires a $25.00 license for each weblog that is posted to a different subdomain, then that, in my opinion is a commercial decision that takes EE into a different .. commercial league ..

and, yes, I do understand the additional features offered by the MSM .. and their value to some people ...

BUT .. as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I just will not be able to afford to run EE any more .. especially as my sites are not for profit public service .. and I don’t need all of the bells and whistles.

I can only hope that the ‘old feature’ of multiple domains and subdomains remains in versions after 1.6.

I might “Digg” EE’s decision to see what comments might arise from others ..

Greetings, tulkul!

As mentioned by Derek and Les above, the feature will continue to work.  It is simply not something that we are able to officially offer support for.  If you need help with it you’ll still get plenty of help from the community, I’m sure. 

So in short, you can still use it - it would just be something that we can’t guarantee official technical support for.  The reasons for this are iterated a few times in the posts by Derek and Les above.

Same concept is when so many people do get support in these forums trying to remove fully the index.php file from their URLs (not simply rename it).  That is not officially supported, if it was it would be in the docs, not the community wiki, but people still get help here do they not?

Thanks for all the feedback.

I’ve understood the business rationale all along and I didn’t expect the old multi-site feature to be intentionally disabled in a future release.

However, I have constraints and objectives of my own. The simple fact is that I cannot justify the cost of acquiring as many EE and/or MSM licenses as I’d need to run my sites in the “best possible” way. Even before the announcement of EE 1.6 and MSM, I was pondering which sites I want to continue to run and for what purpose, as well as assessing if the loss of features and ease of use compared to the old Drupal sites was worth it. As it stands, there is no urgency to make any decisions; knowing what I know today, though, it’s not a foregone conclusion that my EE monoculture will persist.

Derek, Leslie, and Lisa,

Thanks for the clarifications and how-tos in the above. I’m with Ingmar—i DO think the price is a bit high when you consider it’s per-license above 3. Perhaps reconsider add-on license pricing while leaving the “base” pricing for it the same?

But, in general, i’m really happy with EE, and i’m certainly not planning to jump ship! I probably WILL continue to use the “old way” for many clients—they’re happy, i’m happy, and i see no real reason to change. I may build some NEW sites with the MSM module, depending on hosting issues and complexity.

And rest assured, i DO understand staffing and support issues. I’m not a heavy consumer of TSS here, and don’t plan to be in the future, whether i use the MSM or not. Until i hit the unbreakable walls, i’d generally rather pound on my issues myself and let you guys help the people who REALLY need it. 😊

Derek, Leslie, and Lisa,

Thanks for the clarifications and how-tos in the above. I’m with Ingmar—i DO think the price is a bit high when you consider it’s per-license above 3. Perhaps reconsider add-on license pricing while leaving the “base” pricing for it the same?

I’m having a bit of trouble understanding this. What do you mean “per license”? The Multiple Site Manager lets you run 3 Sites free from a single installation. If you need additional Sites on your installation, you can purchase them individually.