Sharing Users and Content with Bakery and Sharedblocks

The Bakery module is what allows you to log into drupal.org and groups.drupal.org with the same username and password. The module is called Bakery because shared authentication is enabled by altering the way cookies are created. Baking cookies... get it?

Bakery is pretty easy to set up, but it adds a layer of complexity to sites so you should have a good reason to configure it. Here are some community media sites that use Bakery and or sub-sites and why:

1. Move some functionality to D7 while still running a D6 site. RETN does this with http://www.retn.org and http://members.retn.org
2. Limit the number of modules on the public site keeping the memory requirements lower and reducing complexity. This is why http://www.channelaustin.org and http://community.channelaustin.org were split.
3. Host a public site in the cloud and another site at the station. UPTV uses this approach with http://www.urbanapublictelevision.org/ and http://upload1.urbanapublictelevision.org/
4. Run CiviCRM and Reservations as a Staff Only Portal. This is what the People's Channel does with http://thepeopleschannel.org/ and http://portal.thepeopleschannel.org/ (requires password to even access the site).

Reduce Memory Footprint and Complexity

In some ways Drupal works like an operating system of your personal computer. The more applications you have running, the slower each one runs. The same is true for modules. Because each module enabled can alter any page or form, the more modules you enable the more memory you need for every page. There are ways to improve performance with caching, but there are limits to the number of modules a server can run based on the amount of memory and speed of the processors.

Adding enabling hundreds of modules also adds complexity and makes troubleshooting problems more complicated. Once a site is to the point you are managing membership payments with CiviCRM, reserving equipment and studios with Reservations, and integrating with your playback server with Telvue, Cablecast, Morpheus or Cinegy, there are a lot of moving parts. Modules that depend on specific versions of other module can conflict making it difficult to upgrade to resolve bugs. Keeping the configuration simpler on a public www site also helps introduce other staff members to Drupal without overwhelming them.

Share Blocks
http://drupal.org/project/sharedblocks