This document discusses Drupal platforms and multi-site configurations. It defines a Drupal platform as a structural form that enables the creation of products and processes without requiring new technology introductions. A Drupal multi-site allows a single Drupal installation to be shared among multiple sites, with each site having its own database and configuration. The document then describes how Georgia.gov uses a multi-site Drupal platform with inherited functionality from an OpenPublic and Georgia Agency Platform to manage many state websites from a single codebase.

1. THE LEADER IN DRUPAL PLATFORM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

2. Building Large Multi-Site Drupal
Platforms
A Case Study on Georgia.gov
Robert Bates
Senior Developer

3. What is a Drupal
platform?

4. WHAT IS A DRUPAL PLATFORM?
Platform technology is a term for technology that enables the
creation of products and processes that support present or future
development.
It can be defined as a structural or technological form from which
various products can emerge without the expense of a new
process/technology introduction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_technology

5. WHAT IS A DRUPAL PLATFORM?
open

6. WHAT IS A DRUPAL PLATFORM?

7. WHAT IS A DRUPAL PLATFORM?
Benefits of starting with a platform
• Removes typical overhead
• Finding/installing modules
• Permissions
• Roles
• Provides bundled functionality
• Features!
• Common Views
• Default Contexts
• Common CMS workflows

8. WHAT IS A DRUPAL PLATFORM?
Things to keep in mind
• One size doesn’t fit all
• Usually have to customize some behaviors
• Not all bundled features might apply
• Custom UX

9. What is Drupal multi-site?

10. WHAT IS DRUPAL MULTI-SITE?
Multi-site allows you to share a single Drupal installation
(including core code, contributed modules, and themes) among
several sites.
This is particularly useful for managing the code since each
upgrade only needs to be done once. Each site will have its own
database and its own configuration settings, so each site will have
its own content, settings, enabled modules, and enabled theme.
http://drupal.org/documentation/install/multi-site

11. WHAT IS DRUPAL MULTI-SITE?

12. WHAT IS DRUPAL MULTI-SITE?
Benefits of Drupal multi-site
• One codebase
• Easy to update contrib and platform code
• Easy to roll out security patches quickly
• Common code == common behavior
• “Single” cloud deployment, easier to scale
• Support
• Common set of features/functionality
• Consistent admin experience
• Simplifies training for content managers

13. WHAT IS DRUPAL MULTI-SITE?
Things to keep in mind
• One codebase
• More difficult to add new modules/themes per site
• Greater care required in QA for new code
• Dev vs production environment differences
• Virtual host management
• Support
• Changes affect all sites
• Managing site owners’ expectations

14. Putting it all together on
Georgia.gov!

15. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!
Multisite configuration
sites/sites.php Mapping dev, staging hostnames to sites folders,
other custom domain-folder mapping
sites/all Common modules, libraries for all sites
sites/default Custom PHP-based routing alternative to Apache
htaccess + mod_rewrite
sites/xyz.com Individual site configurations (settings.php)

16. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!

17. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!
• Built on latest Drupal 7 release
• 48 contributed modules
• 8 custom modules
• 24 Features
• 6 themes (mixture of contrib, base, and derived)

18. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!
Georgia Agency Platform
• Inherits from OpenPublic
• Modules
• Features
• Settings
• 60 contributed modules
• 17 custom modules
• 37 Features
• 10 themes (1 base, 9 derived)

19. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!
Georgia.gov Platform
• Inherits from Georgia Agency Platform
• Modules
• Features
• Settings
• 9 custom modules
• 12 Features
• 2 themes (1 base, 1 derived)

20. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!

21. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!

22. Q&A
Robert Bates
rbates@phase2technology.com
@arpieb