Site packages for hosts
This page is for hosts who choose what a new customer site contains when it is installed. It answers: which site packages exist, what "clean" means, where the installer gets packages from, and how to install without internet access. The reference is 4.3 Site packages.
Contents
- What a site package is
- The packages you will choose from
- Where packages come from
- Offline and controlled installs
- Choosing per plan
What a site package is
The installer installs "a site package: an Exponential package of type site ... plus the packages it requires".
Packages live in the package repository below var/storage/packages/; the vendor directory is set by
settings/package.ini [RepositorySettings] Vendor (7x).
A site package can carry install scripts that run at fixed points of CreateSites (pre-install, settings, roles,
preferences, post-install). This "multi-site installer" is "not a fourth install method: it is the site package's part
of every install, whichever front end started it".
The packages you will choose from
The package index of this version offers eleven site packages; the ones you are most likely to choose:
| Site package | Summary in the index | Notes |
|---|---|---|
sevenx_multisite | 7x MultiSite Default Installation | the default of exp:install --package and exp:kickstarter ini --yes; with demo content |
sevenx_multisite_clean | the same, without demo content | |
sevenx_site, sevenx_site_clean | 7x Simple Website Interface | a simpler site, with or without demo content |
ezwebin_site, ezflow_site, ezdemo_site (each also ..._clean), plain_site | the older site packages | kept for sites built on them |
"A _clean package installs the same structure without the demo articles and images: choose it for a real site you
will fill yourself, and the full one to evaluate Exponential."
Where packages come from
| Source | How |
|---|---|
| The remote package index | [RepositorySettings] RemotePackagesIndexURL in settings/package.ini; a listed package that is not yet imported is downloaded and imported, with the packages it requires |
| The local repository | a package already imported under var/storage/packages/ is used as it is |
| An upload | the wizard's Site package page has an Upload package field for an .ezpkg file |
Offline and controlled installs
"When the index cannot be downloaded, SiteTypes looks for an index.xml in the system repository instead, which is
how an offline installation works." For a host this means:
- Servers without outgoing internet access can install from a local repository you fill once.
- A host that wants every customer site to start from the same tested package set can keep that set locally, and install with the kickstarter, which is "the method to use ... when the site package comes from a local package repository" (The kickstarter for hosts).
- A dry run (
exp:install --dry-runorexp:kickstarter run --dry-run) fetches the packages into a temporary repository and checks them without installing.
Choosing per plan
| Customer | Package |
|---|---|
| wants to try Exponential | sevenx_multisite (demo content) |
| starts a real site | sevenx_multisite_clean or sevenx_site_clean |
| migrates an existing site | none of these: the site comes from its backup (Migrating customers) |
Install with exp:install --package=<name>, or Site_package in the [site_types] section of kickstart.ini (6.4).
Related pages
- One-click installers
- Multisite on one installation
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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