DataSync module requirements [#637924]

(Moving this private email exchange public between me (Scott) and the module maintainer (Andrew), at his request, regarding DataSync module requirements)

Scott,
One thing I noticed is that you're on a shared host. This means they likely do not meet the requirements for datasync outlined here:
http://cvs.drupal.org/viewvc/drupal/contributions/modules/datasync/INSTA...

You will probably either need shell access or a VPS to use it.
Andrew

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Thanks Andrew.
Is the shell access requirement to run the db_allow_fork patch? And if so, is there anyway to make that patch manually?
Thanks again,
Scott

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Scott
You can open the patch and make the changes manually if you want but it's probably easier to follow the directions at http://drupal.org/patch/apply locally then upload the file.

However, DataSync won't be able to do anything without access to run shell commands with shell_exec (http://us.php.net/shell_exec) on your host.
Andrew

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Andrew
I see that my host provider does offer SSH (as an add-on). Is that what I need to run shell_exec and DataSync to work properly?
Thanks very much,
Scott

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Scott,
That is a PHP serverside configuartion. You will need to ask your host about access to the exec() function. It may work without the SSH addon and it may not work with it. Ask them if their hosting plan meets all the requirements outlined here:
http://drupalcode.org/viewvc/drupal/contributions/modules/datasync/INSTA...

Don't worry about asking questions. I only ask that if you think they'd be helpful to others, to post them in the issue queue.

Andrew

Comments

Comment #1

Sc0tt commented 20 November 2009 at 01:33

(and continuing the conversation...)

Andrew,
This is the answer from my host provider regarding DataSync requirements. Looks like I can do everything except "ps" and "nohup". Am I out of luck? or are there any workarounds?

Hello Scott,
Allow me to address your inquiries one by one:
(1) PHP support for process control functions (pcntl_fork)
Yes, I have created a test1.php file. It contains the pcntl_fork function and as we can see the script has been executed successfully with no errors.
(2) Am I able to run shell comands from php with exec()
Yes, you can execute shell commands through the PHP exec() function.
(3) Am I able to run php-cli with the command "php"
Yes, /usr/local/bin/php is a symbolic link to /usr/local/php52/bin/php-cli. If you want to use the regular PHP binary please use /usr/bin/php.
(4) Am I able to to run "ps"
This command is not available for regular customers due to security reasons.
(5) Am I able to run "hostname"
The hostname command is available.
(6) Am I able to run "nohup"
Again, this command is not available due to security reasons.
Best Regards,
Yavor
Support Team

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Yavor,
thank you very much for the detailed response. Just one quick question. Would purchasing the SSH ad-on for my account allow access to "ps" or "nohup" commands?
Thanks again,
Scott

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Hello Scott,
Due to security reasons the specified commands have been disabled for our clients SSH environment. This is why you will not be able to use them if you purchase the service.
Best Regards,
Kiril I.
Support Team

Comment #2

Sc0tt commented 5 January 2010 at 04:04

Andrew,
Happy new year.
I'm Just getting back into coming up with a way to read many (over 100) RSS feeds into my site. I can't use DataSync because my host provider blocks two requirements: "ps" and "nohup". Can you offer any suggestions? I would be happy to hire you to modify DataSync or provide a solution.
Thank you very much,
Scott

Comment #3

andrewlevine commented 5 January 2010 at 15:24

Scott, Happy new year to you too.

My suggestion for using DataSync (actually for using Drupal at all) is to use a VPS instead of a shared host. This would give you full control of your site's environment without needing to rent a dedicated server. A VPS is more expensive than shared hosting but is almost nothing compared to other costs of running a business. The reasons shared hosts almost always block the functions and commands listed in DataSync's requirements is because they do not want to support hosting outside the scope of normal database-driven websites, which is exactly the purpose of DataSync. This is reasonable because they could not offer the prices they do if everyone was importing 100s of feeds ;)

If changing hosts is not an option, your host seems to allow more of the requirements than most, and it may be somehow possible to get around the nohup and ps restrictions. But I really do suggest changing hosting environments rather than tip-toeing around restrictions that are meant to block what DataSync/you are doing.