UMN Mapserver on DH - can it be done?

http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/

I'd like to get a mapserver working on DH.
Has anyone accomplished this with the above software?
Care to post about it in the wiki and link here?

In reply to:

---

http://mapserver.gis.umn.edu/ ... Has anyone accomplished this with the above software?

---

We have some real wizards around here, to be sure, but I'm betting *that* one is not gonna happen on a DreamHost shared server.

--rlparker

It doesn't appear to be too difficult as per the instructions here, but then I assume that installation option would work for you(?).

Over what kind of time period were you looking to have this done (at least the script)? I'm rather busy this week until Thursday evening when I leave on vacation until next Tuesday - but I might find some time for you afterwards to work on an install script for it if you'd like?

You'd require a custom PHP5 install to use it though - just so you know.

Mousee,

How are you going to handle the postgresql requirement? It seems to me that the mapscript installation is the least of the problem (not that it is entirely trivial, cause it's not). But even if you accomplish that, how are you going to install the underlying server?

--rlparker

You bring up a good point Mr. Parker.
After further review on this, as I originally thought the Mapscript itself provided the same features of the server, it would appear that it's essentially a front end for the server portion, which Mr. Parker himself had guessed at.

Therefore, you would indeed require a PS (Private Server) at least to run such a program. There is no way to run that Mapserver program without the eminent threat of procwatch looming over head.

Heh .. well, I may have been right about the need to actually install the mapserver, and postgresql, but it seems I was dead wrong about it not happening on a DreamHost shared server. You'd think by now I would have learned that there is *somebody* out there that can do most anything given a shell.

Check out this guy's story!

I'm tickled he figured out a postgresql install (now *there* are some possibilities)!

All that said, I think you are right about procwatch tracking it down and killing it once you get it running .... I wonder?

--rlparker

rlparker, Mousee,

Thanks for your great replies. I was hoping someone might know an answer - this might work for me.

Perhaps there may be a way to make an errant process behave in a way that DH won't balk. Maybe the first thing to do will be for me to get a mapserver goingLet's find out first if we can get a mapserver going.

I'm not in a hurry on this. I'll probably start working on it this weekend. If I hit a snag - and I probably will - I'd be grateful for your help!

I've installed everything as well as I could, but I am stumped on the GMT. The install file hangs on two errors and says a file doesn't exist. (Also the flags don't work. When you use:

#> ./install_gmt -c GMTparams.txt

it doesn't recognize the -c, so it downloads everything again. I'm not sure it's really working right.

greenman,
I am the guy at the reprojected.com site referenced above. That post was done a while back, and while a good academic exercise and it can work, it is much easier to just install FWTools and things run more "out of the box". http://fwtools.maptools.org/ . The only trick really is that dreamhost requires cgi's to have a .cgi extension and you will have to modify the wrapper shell scripts that are the various cgi's for mapserver to have that extension. Not to hard and feel free to contact me if you have any issues.

The running of postgres/postgis on there is possible, but again not reliable due to the persistent processes getting whacked often. Fine for quick testing, not good for consistent hosting.

A

In reply to:

---

I am the guy at the reprojected.com site referenced above

---

aaronr,

That was a great post on reprojected.com! I greatly enjoyed finding it and reading about what you had done, and how you had done it.

It does sound as though FWTools is the way to go, and I think it's very cool that you showed up here to add that advice, provide some tips, and offer the op further help.

I'm also grateful for your general assessment of the viability of running postgres in a "production" environment on a DreamHost shared server. That is very useful information and will probably save me considerable frustration. I had already vowed to myself I was gonna use your post as a guide for a postgres install, as an educational exercise, and now I won't be expecting too much usability and will be less frustrated when procwatch kills the old girl. Thanks!

--rlparker

aaronr,

As rlparker said, it clears up a bunch of questions. Thanks!
I'll give fwtools a try next.

It has been a fun exercise, and I've learned a lot in doing it,
but I'd rather have something that just serves the maps.

I'll be sure to ask when I'm stuck.

Cheers,

Chris