The problem I see in your project is: if you use ruby + mysql, changing
things they are used to, your projects needs to be perfect (no delays, no
bugs, no nothing).
Now, if you go and use M$ things, your project don't need to be perfect,
cause they are used to it and it's problems.
So it's up to you and your trust in your team. I'll tell you that ruby +
mongrel can handle your load - it handles my geo application running with
mapserver + postgis + oracle, so just rails + mysql are piece of cake for
it :)
Cheers,
filipe
On Fri, 16 May 2008, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Hey,
I'm working on a project, and mongrel may be part of the stack, but I've got
some more general questions and ideas I'm hoping to run by this list. The
people on this list have a broader knowledgebase and more experience than any
place else I know - plus a general friendliness and willingness to help!
I'm working with a company who has a really antique application stack.
Literally from 1998. IIS + ASP + MS SQL server. They want me to help
"modernize" things. In the abstract I'd say, "get a really good .NET team and
go that route." But they want me to help. All I work in these days is Ruby.
And that's all I want to work in. :)
So my questions are like this:
1) Can I in good conscience start migrating this company from IIS/ASP to
Mongrel/Ruby/Merb/ORM (or something like that)? They have roughly 2-3M page
views per month.
1.a) No matter how good they think I am, wouldn't it be smarter to move
forward with M$ since that's what they've got already? I don't want to be the
guy who screws them deeper into the hole by really confusing their stack.
I hate it when new dudes come in with their "stack" and bias development
based on their preferences withou considering what's already there. I'd
rather walk away from this if Microsoft is really their odds-on smart choice
(i.e. I don't need the money - I have some personal relations that led me
here). All I want is the company to be successful.
2) Their MS SQL setup is relatively fine. Lots of wacky stored procs which
bug me but mostly it's fine. Am I crazy to try to run MS SQL against
Ruby/ORM? Seems like there are some people doing it?
3) If I do this, I'd plan to segment this site into two separate boxes and
run the Ruby on a Linux box (and maybe outsource that management to a group
like EngineYard). Then have the LB's split traffic between the boxes based on
url patterns. Again: crazy? unwise? Currently they're at rackspace which
knows poodle about Ruby/Mongrel afaict.
Context: The front-end site is not impossibly complex. But there is "deep"
integration with some backend admin processes which run a large part of the
business: some crm, PPC, finance/accounting, email and billing: all partially
implemented and built in hand coded ASP. It's a real tangle and it breaks all
the time right now. I want to get most of these processes out into third
party systems with much narrower points of contact between the production
DB's and the specific admin services. This can only happen incrementally over
time. This is in addition to the front-end websystem migration.
Budgets for this work are not tiny but not enormous. Ditto timeframe. Maybe
$250k over 6-8 months.
Any tips or advice on taking on large migration projects such as this would
be appreciated. Advice such as "run!" is welcome also. I realize there are no
definite answers - I'm just looking for experience or advice on how to reach
conclusions here.
I realize this is horribly off-topic and impossibly vague. And I wouldn't ask
for this input, except that I highly admire and regard the capabilities and
experience of many people who are on this list. I can't think of a smarter
mail list who could help advise on this. Any assistance at all will be
greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Steve
p.s. Anyone who has possible interest in this project professionally can also
contact me directly off-list.
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filipe {
@ icewall.org
GPG 1024D/A6BA423E
http://filipe.icewall.org/
}
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