[rt-users] New user considering to use RT + FreeBSD port for 3.8
Hi all, We've been using Horde+whups system for helpdesk in our University for the past 3 years. We recently upgraded it from a very old version and everything got hosed. We are planning to move to a better ticketing system that is more stable and can be upgraded later without breaking the existing infrastructure (databases, etc.). I heard good things about RT. My questions to you guys are the following: 1) We use a FreeBSD system. I see that there is a port available (rt36) for version 3.6 but none for 3.8 yet. Is it ok if I go ahead and install rt36 now and later on upgrade to rt38 whenever it is available? If not, do you suggest that I manually download the latest version of rt3.8.1 and then install it from the source? Which method is safer/easier for upgrades in the long run? 2) If FreeBSD systems are not well supported, we can also move to a Linux system. Is it better to use a Linux system? 3) I've been reading that RT is memory intensive. Is 2 GB enough? This machine also runs the DHCP server. Do you guys recommend to have a separate system for RT? I hope these questions belong to this list. If not, can you please point me to the correct list? Thanks, Joe the rtuser :) ___ http://lists.bestpractical.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/rt-users Community help: http://wiki.bestpractical.com Commercial support: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Discover RT's hidden secrets with RT Essentials from O'Reilly Media. Buy a copy at http://rtbook.bestpractical.com
Re: [rt-users] New user considering to use RT + FreeBSD port for 3.8
Thank you all for your suggestions. We are using MySQL 5.0 as our database. I have no idea what full-text indexing with InnoDB tables means. May be I will once I start playing around with RT. Is that such a big of a deal? Thanks, On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 10:46 AM, Kenneth Marshall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I would like to add some personal comments to Mike's response. On Fri, Nov 07, 2008 at 03:06:26PM +, Mike Peachey wrote: Joe Mailinglists wrote: Hi all, We've been using Horde+whups system for helpdesk in our University for the past 3 years. We recently upgraded it from a very old version and everything got hosed. We are planning to move to a better ticketing system that is more stable and can be upgraded later without breaking the existing infrastructure (databases, etc.). I heard good things about RT. Good. I'm a big fan of Horde when it comes to IMP and Kronolith (as soon as non-personal calendars can be given sane names not random hashes) - but for ticketing RT is always the way to go. We have been very happy with RT as our ticket system. My questions to you guys are the following: 1) We use a FreeBSD system. I see that there is a port available (rt36) for version 3.6 but none for 3.8 yet. Is it ok if I go ahead and install rt36 now and later on upgrade to rt38 whenever it is available? If not, do you suggest that I manually download the latest version of rt3.8.1 and then install it from the source? Which method is safer/easier for upgrades in the long run? I always recommend a manual install. While some are much better than others, trusting your installation to someone else just means that when you need to know something about the way it's installed, you end up having a lot of trouble finding out. Manual installation not really difficult. Also, I definitely recommend you use 3.8.1 not 3.6.x I also recommend a manual install and 3.8.1 as well. We are in the process of upgrading to 3.8.1 currently. 2) If FreeBSD systems are not well supported, we can also move to a Linux system. Is it better to use a Linux system? It really doesn't matter what the operating system is so long as you have a webserver with FastCGI or mod_perl and a database, preferably MySQL. My personal preference is Slackware Linux 12.1 + Apache 2 + mod_perl 2 + RT-3.8.1 but your choices are endless. I think that your database choice should be based on what expertise you have available in house. One other consideration is that MySQL does not currently support full-text indexes with InnoDB tables (the kind used by RT). Both Oracle and PostgreSQL do and there is a wiki item on how to use full-text indexing with RT and Oracle and we will be posting a similar item for PostgreSQL once we have finished our testing/upgrade. 3) I've been reading that RT is memory intensive. Is 2 GB enough? This machine also runs the DHCP server. Do you guys recommend to have a separate system for RT? That's really fine. It's not *that* memory intensive. I have had two installations running side by side on a primary DNS and DHCP server that also runs multiple MySQL instances and other things besides on it and it was fine. Note: RT was developed using MySQL and is more well-tuned for it in many places. The performance difference between MySQL and other DB backend choices has narrowed and other backed may offer options that are not yet available with MySQL, my two cents. The bottom-line is that you should choose the backend based on what you can support in-house. Ken I hope these questions belong to this list. If not, can you please point me to the correct list? You found the right place. -- Kind Regards, __ Mike Peachey, IT Tel: +44 114 281 2655 Fax: +44 114 281 2951 Jennic Ltd, Furnival Street, Sheffield, S1 4QT, UK Comp Reg No: 3191371 - Registered In England http://www.jennic.com __ ___ http://lists.bestpractical.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/rt-users Community help: http://wiki.bestpractical.com Commercial support: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Discover RT's hidden secrets with RT Essentials from O'Reilly Media. Buy a copy at http://rtbook.bestpractical.com ___ http://lists.bestpractical.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/rt-users Community help: http://wiki.bestpractical.com Commercial support: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Discover RT's hidden secrets with RT Essentials from O'Reilly Media. Buy a copy at http://rtbook.bestpractical.com
Re: [rt-users] New user considering to use RT + FreeBSD port for 3.8
Angelo, can you please send me the updated shar if it is different from the one available at http://people.freebsd.org/~pgollucci/rt38 I want to try it on a test system before I try to install it from source. I luckily have enough time to play around with things. Thanks, On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 11:28 AM, Angelo Turetta [EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Joe Mailinglists wrote: Hi Angelo, My name is Krishna...I am subscribed to too many mailing lists, hence a separate email address for every mailing list. Thanks, that's a good habit (look at my address), but I nonetheless like to know who I'm talking to. The name need not be fake, even if the address is. Our primary concern here is the upgrade procedure and of course stability. Will everything magically work from one port to the other? Every upgrade is a sensible operation, no matter how you installed the software. The biggest challenges are upgrades involving DB schema changes, RT is a shining example of how to do it right, but you cannot expect to do such a thing 'magically': based on your business continuity policies, you may even need a test installation to validate the upgrade before deploying it on a production system. The port of rt38 by Philip M. Gollucci is actually the first which seems to allow for a comfortable upgrade to future versions. Can I just download rt38 port from the link you mentioned and install it? Is it stable enough? One of the users was suggesting that I install it from source. What do you suggest? The freebsd port infrastructure is a solid one, and it is one of the few way you have to keep the dependencies sane if you install more than one application per system. I personally don't like to install software from source other than by using a port, but I have to admit that previous versions of the rt port where somewhat unfriendly. The rt38 port is not yet finished, so you should be prepared to some non-pleasant surprise, but it has much more solid structure than previous ones. Only you, based on your expertise with the ports collection, can decide which way to go. If you try the port, please try my patch attached to the PR. Angelo. Thanks, On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 10:39 AM, Angelo Turetta [EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Joe Mailinglists wrote: 1) We use a FreeBSD system. I see that there is a port available (rt36) for version 3.6 but none for 3.8 yet. Is it ok if I go ahead and install rt36 now and later on upgrade to rt38 whenever it is available? If not, do you suggest that I manually download the latest version of rt3.8.1 and then install it from the source? Which method is safer/easier for upgrades in the long run? There is a port for 3.8.1 in the works, look at http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=ports/125745 (check all replies), and the user's work space at http://people.freebsd.org/~pgollucci/rt38http://people.freebsd.org/%7Epgollucci/rt38 The port is really well thought, and for the first time it will be possible to pre-package rt. Unluckily Philip seems to have vanished for the last two months, and the work on it has stopped. I may send you an updated shar if you whish. 3) I've been reading that RT is memory intensive. Is 2 GB enough? This machine also runs the DHCP server. Do you guys recommend to have a separate system for RT? If you need a high-performance system you'd sure need to consider a DB server optimization (including cache memory etc..), but I don't think the web application is inherently memory intensive. I hope these questions belong to this list. Yes, they do. Eventually, you may consider posting using your real name :) Angelo. ___ http://lists.bestpractical.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/rt-users Community help: http://wiki.bestpractical.com Commercial support: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Discover RT's hidden secrets with RT Essentials from O'Reilly Media. Buy a copy at http://rtbook.bestpractical.com
