> -----Original Message----- > From: Claremont, Timothy [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 8:45 PM > To: CF-Talk > Subject: Perfect Hardware Arrangement? Perhaps OT? > > My employer currently has the typical data management scenario of six or > seven Access databases that don't talk to each other, etc. etc. etc. You > all know the drill! > > I am in the midst of drawing up a proposal that involves moving all of the > data to a truly relational SQL Server environment. I will then develop the > user interface in ColdFusion. Note this is strictly an intranet > application. > > My question has to do with the theories behind separating the web server > from the database server. As I write up this proposal, should I recommend > a separate server for each? What is the rationale? I presume it has to do > with the relatively poor security of a web server vs the much improved > security of a database server? (note: WIN2K Server/SQL Server)
Often it's security and access: in most companies separate teams manage the DB server than manage the Web servers. Also data, being more valuable, is often protected by stricter firewalls and physical access policies. However in a practical sense there's a lot more that that. Off th top of my head: 1) Performance. It's a huge issue. Both SQL Server (or any enterprise DB) and CF are "king of the hill" apps: they expect to be "top dog" on the box. They suck up resources fast and are slow to release them. 2) Scalability. It's much harder to scale applications when all the components are on a single box. With separation you get freedom: you can add another web server or upgrade the one you have without touching the DB for example. 3) Applicability. A companies data is valuable to many people, in many ways. A database may be accessed by a web front end, custom client-side tools, reporting software, etc. In general you should not tie your DB to specific interfaces. > All of my ColdFusion development to date has been with the database on the > web sever. What connectivity issues am I facing with a separation? Does > protocol dictate the creation of a user account specifically for the CF > server to establish a secure connection to the DB Server? Will the > separation prohibit me from using things like FileExists? Will I need > Administrative rights on BOTH machines? You'll not be facing any serious issues. You can create a user account for the CF box (this will allow you to better manage access and diagnose problems) or you can not (I think you should, but there's no technical reason you have to). I'm not sure how "FileExists()" comes into things? It will still work on the web server box of course. Administrative rights are more a question for your organization. AN administrator (it doesn't have to be YOU -- unless it does have to be you) needs to configure both boxes. For SQL Server this means setting up security permissions and managing things like logs and such. You could set it up so that your CF user has complete control or you can just leave open a small window for selecting data - the specifics are up to you. > Also, can someone direct me to an write up about ColdFusion that is > directed toward non-technical people? I need to "sell" ColdFusion to > management and want to read some other people's "explanations" to round > out my sales pitch. If I ever CFAdvocacy.org of the ground you'd have it... ah well. You should check Macromedia.com first - they have some of this information. If you like I would also be happy to act as a "reference" for CF-with-SQL-server (I work for a very large company). I'm sure several others on the list would also be happy to as well. Contact me off list if you'd like my contact information. > You see, managment is concerned that if I leave the company they will be > left high and dry with a "non-standard" ColdFusion environment. My > argument is that CF is so intuitive that finding a person capable of > maintaining a CF application will probably be easier than a comparable ASP > or PHP approach. Am I off base? Not at all. There is a thriving CF market and plenty of people to hire. > If you are of the opinion that this type of subject matter is out of the > scope of this list, please feel free to correspond via email if you feel > you want to help me understand this. I personally don't think it is... but I've been wrong in the past. ;^) Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| 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 Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
