Choosing where I put the Alfresco repository

[ianpiper]

I have installed Alfresco under Mac OS X Server and am running some tests on it at present. I was wondering whether anyone has experimented with putting the repository onto a separate volume. As far as I can see the Alfresco data is stored in two places: /opt/alfresco/alf_data and in mysql. So, if I want to keep the data repository for my CMS on a separate volume, can I do this by moving these folders/files (say, /opt/alfresco/alf_data) to the other volume and putting in a hard link? I think I have more of a problem with mysql as I can't see where the data is stored (all of the executables seem to be in /usr/bin but there does not seem to be a data folder). I am using the Mac OS X Server built-in MySQL (v4.1.1.3a).

The reason I want to do this is that I don't have a great deal of free space on the main volume, and I want to have a clear and easy source file location to identify what needs backing up.

Any help appreciated.

Ian.

[ianpiper]

I meant a symbolic link, not a hard link. Sorry about that.

[steve]

Hi,

You can change the physical location of the Alfresco Data directories.
<old>
If you look in 'repository.properties' the first section details the location of the alf_data directory:
</old>

For 1.3 Look in the Alfresco extension directory (tomcat\shared\classes\alfresco\extension) for the file 'custom-data-location.properties.sample' for this line:

dir.root=./alf_data

Change this to whatever directory you want, rename the file by taking the '.sample' off the end, and make sure you move any existing alf_data directory to this new location.
Also, you will have to rename the 'custom-db-and-data-context.xml.sample' by taking the '.sample' off the end and then editing it to include/exclude the properties files as appropriate.

Hope this helps,

Steve

[simon]

We had the same thoughts and tried to put the alf_data and MySQL database on an other disk.

Soft linking the alf_data dir works fine but Steve's solution (see above) looks better.

I found a step-by-step explanation on how to change the location of the MySQL database on Spike Developer Zone. Not really tested all this in depth but untill now it seems to work like it should.

Hope this helps!

[nullman]

You can change the physical location of the Alfresco Data directories.
If you look in 'repository.properties' the first section details the location of the alf_data directory:

# Directory configuration

dir.root=./alf_data

Change this to whatever directory you want, and make sure you move the existing alf_data firectory to this new location.

Hope this helps,

Steve

I was wondering the same thing, but after looking at this page on the Wiki it didn't seem like that file should be changed.

I chaged the location in the file custom-repository.properties located in C:\Profram Files\alfresco-1.3.0\tomcat\shared\classes\alfreaso\extension (Was that bad? I didn't even see it mentioned on that wiki page.)

[steve]

Hi,

I have updated my post about how to change this setting.

Steve

[nullman]

Thanks Steve, so I shouldn't use "custom-repository.properties" to do this? (Located in C:\Profram Files\alfresco-1.3.0\tomcat\shared\classes\alfreaso\extension     -Windows install)

[zipho]

Community!

What happens then, when you want alfresco's repository to reside on a remote machine within the same network. Forgive me if I'm not making sense, I'm relatively new in Alfresco.  Can that be done?

The idea is as follows:

1. Have Alfresco server, (Application Layer [Alfresco, Tomcat]) running on one machine.

2. Have the Alfresco Repository (Content Store)/Diskspace residing on a different machine.

Is that implementable?……

Thank you for your response.

[rivetlogic]

Hi,

It is possible. You can have a nfs mount to a remote file system, or a smbfs mount to a windows share for instance on your Alfresco server. Then reference that in your dir.root.

Hope this helps,

–Aladdin