Wiki to Go

From DamirWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents


[edit] Introduction

It is surprisingly easy to install MediaWiki—the software that powers Wikipedia—on an USB stick. It seems to take only 0.16 GB for basic files: Web server, PHP, MySQL, and the MediaWiki. This is an ideal content management tool for notes, how-tos and other knowledge. Also, the fastest way to introduce a wiki in an office environment, because the PC running it becomes a web server for everyone else on the office network.

[edit] Requirements

MediaWiki requires the following:

  • Web server,
  • MySQL database,
  • PHP.

[edit] USB drive

Start with a new, formated drive; a 500 MB (0.5GB) drive is good enough, 1GB is better. Consider that USB flash drives have limited number of writes, so plan to get rid of the drive before it fails. A new drive should be good for a year or so; more than enough to pilot-test the wiki in an office environment. Make backups.

[edit] Installing XAMPP Lite

XAMPP Lite is a simple way to install free, cross-platform web server, comprising:

  • Apache web server,
  • MySQL database,
  • PHP,
  • phpMyAdmin.

[edit] Steps

  • Download the XAMPP Lite; make sure you select the lite version, not the full installation.
  • Follow the installation instructions—method B, without an installer.
  • When finished, start xampp-control.exe.
  • Start Apache, the status should read: Running.
  • Start MySql, the status should read: Running.
  • Do not start FilleZilla nor Mercury; if you have downloaded the lite version these two are not installed, although they do show on the panel.
  • Point your browser (IE, Firefox..) to http://localhost and click on status to verify that all is ok.

[edit] Installing MediaWiki

  • Download the latest MediaWiki.
  • At this point the Apache server and MySQL should both be running.
  • Follow the instructions to install.
  • The files should be installed in the /xampp/htdocs/wiki directory.
  • Once finished, point your web browser (IE, Firefox..) to  http://localhost/wiki.
  • Everyone else on the local network should point to  http://Your_IP_Address_Here/wiki.

[edit] Running from a different PC

To run the wiki from a different PC:

  • Plug-in the USB drive;
  • Start the setup_xampp.bat;
  • Start the xampp_control.exe;
  • Start the Apache;
  • Start the MySql.

[edit] Notes

[edit] Troubleshooting

The most frequent problems that you can encounter are due to permissions for files and folders. If in trouble, simply set permissions for the wiki folder—and all the sub-folders—to full control for everyone.

[edit] Other

Following the same procedure, you can install the whole package in a directory on a hard-disk. Hard-disks are faster than USB drives and are not limited with number of writes—well at least should not be. Writing to an USB drive is slow; when preparing the configuration you may want to install it on a hard-disk first. Once everything is configured and tested, just copy the xampp directory to the USB drive and run setup_xampp.bat from the USB drive.

Retrieved from "http://wiki.damirsystems.com/index.php?title=Wiki_to_Go"
Personal tools