Difference between revisions of "Information Systems:UniKB Wiki Technical Administration Guide"
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| + | This page is updated for the migrated version of uniKB (on owl.unipharm.local). |
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| − | =Overview= |
+ | ==Overview== |
| − | This page describes the configuration of this wiki. uniKB, as with any other MediaWiki-based site, is a customized installation based on open-source software. This page is dedicated to outlining in detail these custom changes from the default configuration so that the wiki can be administered by any system administrator with some familiarity with open-source software. |
+ | This page describes the configuration of this wiki. uniKB, as with any other MediaWiki-based site, is a customized installation based on open-source software. This page is dedicated to outlining in detail these custom changes from the default configuration so that the wiki can be administered by any system administrator with some familiarity with open-source software. |
| + | ==Administration== |
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| − | =Installation= |
+ | ===Installation and location=== |
| − | The uniKB MediaWiki software is code that runs on top of Apache/MySQL/PHP. Please see [[uniPHARM eLearning Web Server Administration]] for more info. |
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| + | Mediawiki is installed as a Debian package on owl.unipharm.local and therefore is easily managed with apt/aptitude. Check [[Information Systems:Owl LAMP server|Owl LAMP server]] for notes on managing the server side of things. As a Debian package, it does a few things different from source: |
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| + | * /var/lib/mediawiki is the site root. This location is often referred to as /var/www/mediawiki in documentation. Most if not all of the files of the base installation here are symlinked to /usr/share/mediawiki. However, additional files such as non-base extensions and images, are physically located here. |
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| − | =MediaWiki= |
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| + | * /usr/share/mediawiki contains the physical files of the base installation. This folder should not really be touched (hence the symlinks). |
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| ⚫ | |||
| + | * /etc/mediawiki contains a symlink to LocalSettings.php. |
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| ⚫ | This very important file is the main configuration file for MediaWiki. The server reads this file in real-time and operates accordingly. Any changes made to this file is automatically applied when the file is saved and the page is refreshed, and thus a single mistyped character can take down the entire wiki (but rather than this being scary, this also means it's relatively easy to fix a downed wiki). Changes to the wiki installation and configuration are summarized in the [[Information Systems:uniKB Changelog|uniKB Changelog]], but detailed explanations for changes to LocalSettings.php can be found in this section. |
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| + | Installing the package also installs the necessary dependencies: Apache web server, PHP v7, MariaDB (MySQL), memcached. Apache and PHP configuration is also done for you. |
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| − | ===Conventions used in this file=== |
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| + | |||
| − | The top half of the file contains global variables. The values are obviously non-default (i.e. server name, database username/password), but the layout of the top half of the file is mostly default. The bottom half of the file comprises all the additions to the file. This is where the customizations are declared i.e. this is where the extensions are loaded and where extension-specific settings are set. |
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| + | And as per the Debian philosophy of stability over cutting-edge features, the package offers only the LTS (long-term support) version of Mediawiki. |
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| + | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | This very important file is the main configuration file for MediaWiki. The server reads this file in real-time and operates accordingly. Any changes made to this file is automatically applied when the file is saved and the page is refreshed, and thus a single mistyped character can take down the entire wiki (but rather than this being scary, this also means it's relatively easy to fix a downed wiki). Changes to the wiki installation and configuration are summarized in the [[Information Systems:uniKB Changelog|uniKB Changelog]], but detailed explanations for changes to LocalSettings.php can be found in this section. |
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| − | === |
+ | ===Namespaces=== |
| + | uniKB utilizes Mediawiki namespaces to provide some separation for the content of each department. These are defined in LocalSettings.php. The following table outlines the namespaces are their corresponding departments. |
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| − | ====Namespaces==== |
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| − | There is a namespace for each department. The following table outlines the namespaces are their IDs. |
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{| class="wikitable" |
{| class="wikitable" |
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|+ Custom namespace names and IDs. |
|+ Custom namespace names and IDs. |
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| Line 40: | Line 45: | ||
==Extensions== |
==Extensions== |
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| + | Extensions are modules that extend the functionality of Mediawiki. We try to implement only extensions that are in the stable status and that provide good value to the site. Otherwise, there are a lot of bad extensions that jeopardize the upgradeability (e.g. when they become unmaintained) and performance (if its not coded well) of the site. The ones used are listed below: |
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| − | Extensions are a major part of MediaWiki. As with most community-driven, open-source projects, the principle of having extensions is to separate the code for add-ons from the core code, which is what is officially supported by the community developers of the main project. The downside of this structure is that extensions that become relied upon can have a lack of support as they are maintained by third-party developers. Extensions can also conflict with each other, as well as break after upgrading the core software (MediaWiki base). Thus it is a fragile practice to maintain and upgrade a customized instance of open-source software like this wiki, and caution must be exercised to ensure all functionality survives an upgrade. The extensions installed on uniKB are discussed below, mainly in order of decreasing importance. |
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| − | |||
| − | ====LDAP Authentication==== |
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| − | Extension page: |
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| + | * LDAPAuthentication2: For integrating the site with Active Directory to allow users to sign on via their AD credentials and for mapping AD groups to wiki groups (for permissions and preferences). This is actually a suite of related extensions, including PluggableAuth, LDAPAuthorization, LDAPUserInfo etc. [[https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Active_Directory_Integration|Read here]] for more info regarding AD integration. |
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| − | ====Maintenance==== |
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| + | * CirrusSearch/Elastica: This improves the search function of the site by using elasticsearch (must be installed separately) as the search backend. This came as a highly recommended extension and therefore it was installed (although setup is a little finicky). |
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| + | * MobileFrontend: Provides a responsive site for mobile users. This is what Wikipedia uses to enable its mobile site. |
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| + | Note: Over time, select extensions are integrated into base by the Mediawiki team due to their usefulness. |
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| − | ====Breadcrums2==== |
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| − | Extension page: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:BreadCrumbs2 |
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| − | [[Category: uniPHARM eLearning]] |
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[[Category: uniKB Wiki]] |
[[Category: uniKB Wiki]] |
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Revision as of 17:59, 19 August 2020
This page is updated for the migrated version of uniKB (on owl.unipharm.local).
Overview
This page describes the configuration of this wiki. uniKB, as with any other MediaWiki-based site, is a customized installation based on open-source software. This page is dedicated to outlining in detail these custom changes from the default configuration so that the wiki can be administered by any system administrator with some familiarity with open-source software.
Administration
Installation and location
Mediawiki is installed as a Debian package on owl.unipharm.local and therefore is easily managed with apt/aptitude. Check Owl LAMP server for notes on managing the server side of things. As a Debian package, it does a few things different from source:
- /var/lib/mediawiki is the site root. This location is often referred to as /var/www/mediawiki in documentation. Most if not all of the files of the base installation here are symlinked to /usr/share/mediawiki. However, additional files such as non-base extensions and images, are physically located here.
- /usr/share/mediawiki contains the physical files of the base installation. This folder should not really be touched (hence the symlinks).
- /etc/mediawiki contains a symlink to LocalSettings.php.
Installing the package also installs the necessary dependencies: Apache web server, PHP v7, MariaDB (MySQL), memcached. Apache and PHP configuration is also done for you.
And as per the Debian philosophy of stability over cutting-edge features, the package offers only the LTS (long-term support) version of Mediawiki.
LocalSettings.php
This very important file is the main configuration file for MediaWiki. The server reads this file in real-time and operates accordingly. Any changes made to this file is automatically applied when the file is saved and the page is refreshed, and thus a single mistyped character can take down the entire wiki (but rather than this being scary, this also means it's relatively easy to fix a downed wiki). Changes to the wiki installation and configuration are summarized in the uniKB Changelog, but detailed explanations for changes to LocalSettings.php can be found in this section.
Namespaces
uniKB utilizes Mediawiki namespaces to provide some separation for the content of each department. These are defined in LocalSettings.php. The following table outlines the namespaces are their corresponding departments.
| Namespace | ID |
|---|---|
| Accounting | 3000 |
| Accounting Talk | 3001 |
| Purchasing | 3002 |
| Purchasing Talk | 3003 |
| Information Systems | 3004 |
| Information Systems Talk | 3005 |
Extensions
Extensions are modules that extend the functionality of Mediawiki. We try to implement only extensions that are in the stable status and that provide good value to the site. Otherwise, there are a lot of bad extensions that jeopardize the upgradeability (e.g. when they become unmaintained) and performance (if its not coded well) of the site. The ones used are listed below:
- LDAPAuthentication2: For integrating the site with Active Directory to allow users to sign on via their AD credentials and for mapping AD groups to wiki groups (for permissions and preferences). This is actually a suite of related extensions, including PluggableAuth, LDAPAuthorization, LDAPUserInfo etc. [here] for more info regarding AD integration.
- CirrusSearch/Elastica: This improves the search function of the site by using elasticsearch (must be installed separately) as the search backend. This came as a highly recommended extension and therefore it was installed (although setup is a little finicky).
- MobileFrontend: Provides a responsive site for mobile users. This is what Wikipedia uses to enable its mobile site.
Note: Over time, select extensions are integrated into base by the Mediawiki team due to their usefulness.