> > If it's a dev box though, why not run 2K on it like > > the actual server ? > > Why? Why would I pull down my system all over again and > install Win2k? What would that give me that I don't get > now from WinXPPRO? This is my Dev machine which I also > use as my personal PC. I am always interested in better > ways to do things but they have to make business sense. > I'm not on salary - like a great many on this list, I > earn my living by charging for work done. > > I'm a web developer, I pay other people to be network > people. I can only learn just so much. As it is I spend > about a third of my time learning things. What would I > gain by also learning all the ins and outs of Win2K > since I only have 2 people in my company and a 2-PC > network?
I don't intend to pile on here, but I'd also recommend that you install Win2K Server on whatever machine you use for development. It will provide lots of benefits that may not seem immediately obvious. In general, I find it very useful to use the same sort of development platform as is used in production. Now, I'm not saying that you should do this now, specifically, solely to address this installation problem. You should be able to use CFMX on WinXP Pro. I'm simply offering this as general advice. Maybe you don't have time for it now, but you should consider it in the future. As inappropriate as it may seem, web developers are often by necessity "network people". That's not to say you have to know everything about network or system administration - I certainly don't, for example. But you will find that the more about this that you, the developer, know, the fewer problems you'll have when dealing with the unexpected. After all, web applications are network applications - they're not used on a single system, but have interactions between web servers, application servers, database servers, and clients. > I have neither the free days (I run a very small business > by myself!) nor the $1000 to spend on yet another course > to learn how to set up Win2K since Win2003 is only around > the corner unless I can see a pressing advantage for > doing so. It'll probably be a while before Windows Server 2003 becomes popular for general web hosting, though. In my limited experience with it, I like it a lot; I like a lot of the changes in IIS 6, for example. But the fact is that I don't see hosting providers migrating any time soon, if for no other reason than the activation process - I wouldn't be surprised if that throws a wrench in the system deployment process. So, since Win2K is here for a while, I suspect you'd be well-served to learn it. Also, you'll find that almost all of your Win2K Server knowledge will be directly applicable to Win2K3 Server. They're very similar in many respects. > Win2K has too many concepts that are different from WinXP. Actually, they're very similar. The biggest difference, from a CF developers' perspective, is that IIS 5 on Windows 2000 will let you create and use multiple virtual servers; I'm pretty sure you can't do that with IIS 5.1 in WinXP Pro. > Unless you can convince me I would earn more in my little > web dev business by knowing how Win2k works than by knowing > how CFCs and Flash Remoting work. Well, first, you don't have to know everything about either. But it's been my experience that, personally, I've found the former far more useful than the latter, and I suspect I'll still be using that knowledge long after I've forgotten what CFCs or Flash Remoting are for. It's been my experience that too many CF developers simply don't know enough about how the OS works, or about how TCP/IP works. It's also been my experience that you can't simply rely on network and server administrators for this knowledge, since they don't know how it affects CF. For example, let's say you're having a problem with CFSCHEDULE. Your knowledge of CF would let you know that CFSCHEDULE uses CFHTTP, and your general knowledge about how HTTP and TCP/IP work lets you diagnose where the failure lies. I guess what I'm trying to say is simply that, the more you know about the platform and environment in which your applications will be deployed, the better a developer you'll be. Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software http://www.figleaf.com/ voice: (202) 797-5496 fax: (202) 797-5444 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=4 FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Host with the leader in ColdFusion hosting. Voted #1 ColdFusion host by CF Developers. Offering shared and dedicated hosting options. www.cfxhosting.com/default.cfm?redirect=10481 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
