Go to main content

Textpattern CMS support forum

You are not logged in. Register | Login | Help

#13 2007-04-25 13:27:38

aswihart
Member
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Registered: 2006-07-22
Posts: 345
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

Thanks for your help Wet. As you know, not all hosts are created equal. I can’t speak for Dreamhost personally, among others, but a quick google search doesn’t look pretty. Also, I remember when I was first shopping for a host and chose ASO, it was because of all the nightmares I heard about with Dreamhost. I take everything into consideration, not just storage and bandwidth, for which it appears Dreamhost is the undisputed leader. Maybe I value support and reliability more than you or others would.

One post among hundreds: Anatomy of an Ongoing Disaster

BUT, those specs at Dreamhost are incredible!

Last edited by aswihart (2007-04-25 13:40:00)

Offline

#14 2007-04-25 14:42:14

Jeremie
Member
From: Provence, France
Registered: 2004-08-11
Posts: 1,578
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

From any reports I hear, S3 is incredibly more robust than Dreamhost. I mean, it’s two different kind of world, no comparison possible.

However, S3 is not for everyone, and not needed by anyone, at all. And S3 is not a web (and stuff) hosting, in the common sense of the word… even if AWS is getting closer, bit by bit.

Last edited by Jeremie (2007-04-25 14:43:21)

Offline

#15 2007-04-25 15:31:55

aswihart
Member
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Registered: 2006-07-22
Posts: 345
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

I know S3 is not web hosting, the only connection I think wet was making is that they both provide storage. Given that things like vdh_flickr can be made, makes me believe a plugin that taps into an Amazon S3 account would also be possible.

Sure, getting a larger web account would solve my problem, but I’d like to save money wherever I can (and stay on a reliable host with good support), and I also love taking advantage of new technologies whenever I have a chance.

Offline

#16 2007-04-25 17:39:28

wet
Developer Emeritus
From: Schoerfling, Austria
Registered: 2005-06-06
Posts: 3,323
Website Mastodon

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

aswihart wrote:

I also love taking advantage of new technologies whenever I have a chance.

MT GS

Offline

#17 2007-04-25 21:40:13

aswihart
Member
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Registered: 2006-07-22
Posts: 345
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

aswihart wrote:

Maybe if I was on a Media Temple Grid Server

I’m aware, I just don’t know if I can afford it. That’s probably what I’ll end up upgrading to when the need for something more becomes really great.

Actually, now that I think about it, maybe I could talk a friend into going in on a Grid Server with me, see any problems with that?

Last edited by aswihart (2007-04-25 21:43:03)

Offline

#18 2007-04-26 06:01:35

Jeremie
Member
From: Provence, France
Registered: 2004-08-11
Posts: 1,578
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

aswihart wrote:

I know S3 is not web hosting, the only connection I think wet was making is that they both provide storage. Given that things like vdh_flickr can be made, makes me believe a plugin that taps into an Amazon S3 account would also be possible.

Then we’re back at what I was asking… if you just want to store files and images on S3, yes this is something a plugin should be able to do. No, there isn’t one yet.

Offline

#19 2007-04-26 11:18:02

aswihart
Member
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Registered: 2006-07-22
Posts: 345
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

Jeremie, yes that’s what I want. I would like it to be integrated as an extension of the file_download tag if possible, with all the functions available to working with normal files in textpattern. Or if someone comes up with a better idea, that’s great too.

Sorry, in your original question, I thought you were telling me I could go sign up for S3 and work with it without having a plugin, which is true, but that doesn’t help me integrate S3 into my site very easily, other than manually linking to them.

Good to know a plugin like this might be possible!

Offline

#20 2007-04-26 12:35:24

Jeremie
Member
From: Provence, France
Registered: 2004-08-11
Posts: 1,578
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

A plugin could interrupt your images and files storing, ask you where you want to put those (in case you don’t want to go S3 all the way); at file/image browsing retrieve those from S3 and merge them with the others; and of course at display retrieve them.

Or, more simply, replace every calls to images and files and reroute them to S3.

But I wonder if there not a simpler way… it’s not possible to mount a S3 interface, and reroute at the file manager level (directly from unix, without even TXP knowing what S3 is)? A kind of remote directory alias/link.

Either way, nope, no plugin yet as far as I know. You’re certainly welcome to write one, or to hire someone to do it :)

Offline

#21 2007-04-26 15:21:23

aswihart
Member
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Registered: 2006-07-22
Posts: 345
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

Jeremie, everything you just said was awesome, and it makes me salivate. I have no coding skills of any kind apart from XHTML and a little CSS. If someone decides to start working on this, then I’d be happy to donate a fair share.

I for one this this is a killer idea for a Txp plugin, don’t you? I hear a lot of people talking about using S3 for their image storage on their sites. If this plugin was made, then combined with any of the existing image gallerie plugins, upm_image, hak_article_image, it would essentially offload a ton of storage and bandwidth for people who want to use S3 instead of getting a larger web account. If this sounds asinine just let me know.

But for me, storing large movie files off of my main web account would be the biggest reason for using the plugin. I only have files for a couple short films I’ve made on my site now and they already kill half of my storage. I like having everything integrated into Textpattern because as I said, you can track file counts, generate file lists, sort by date / size / downloads, etc., and you get the picture.

Another nice thing about S3, is that, unlike wet’s example where he gave me a price quoted by Dreamhost for 160GB, and the comparison prices for storage on S3, I know I won’t be using anywhere near that much, and you only pay for the bandwidth and storage that you actually use month to month.

Offline

#22 2007-04-26 15:22:37

aswihart
Member
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Registered: 2006-07-22
Posts: 345
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

I updated the title of this thread along with some snips of what you just said, Jeremie.

Last edited by aswihart (2007-04-26 15:33:41)

Offline

#23 2007-11-27 20:03:57

aswihart
Member
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Registered: 2006-07-22
Posts: 345
Website

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

Still waiting. Here is a good article about the benefits of Amazon S3 that could be integrated into a Txp plugin: http://www.digital-web.com/articles/scalable_hosting_s3/

Maybe this can help someone get started?: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-php-amzmm/index.html

Last edited by aswihart (2007-11-27 20:52:48)

Offline

#24 2007-11-27 20:38:33

Bloke
Developer
From: Leeds, UK
Registered: 2006-01-29
Posts: 11,273
Website GitHub

Re: [request] Plugin Request: Textpattern to Amazon S3 interface

aswihart wrote:

Still waiting.

What about smd_remote_file as a halfway solution? Or have I missed the point?

Sure, it doesn’t do download counts (yet….. must… be a … way. Anyone got any bright ideas?) but it offloads bandwidth and storage space from your host and spreads it around the Internet to any site that allows direct-linked downloads. The list of places is huge and growing.

I’m using it successfully on the next drop of my record label web site to handle downloads of video and music content that I don’t have the bandwidth/space for on my host. Once uploaded to the 3rd party site, all files are managed from the TXP Files tab as if they were natively on your local server: and no hacking in sight!

It doesn’t handle the upload process automatically to other sites, but why go to the hassle of maintaining logins and passwords in TXP and writing authentication/handshaking/upload code, when 3rd parties change their APIs every few months? It’s overhead for the sake of it IMHO.

Give the plugin a test drive and see if it works for you. And if it does, thank Ruud, he gave me the nudge in the right direction.

Last edited by Bloke (2007-11-27 20:39:38)


The smd plugin menagerie — for when you need one more gribble of power from Textpattern. Bleeding-edge code available on GitHub.

Txp Builders – finely-crafted code, design and Txp

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB