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One of Drupal's most powerful enterprise-level features is its "multisite" capability, which allows running numerous Drupal websites off of a single code base. This makes managing code-level changes extremely easy, although there is still some manual work needed to migrate database changes and create new sub-sites.  There are a number of tools available for Drupal that make managing multi-site installations easier.  This task is to compare and contrast those tools.

 

As there are a wide number of possible use-cases for multi-site, consider in particular the following use case:  Different departments in an organization want to run their own sites off of a single code base.  Each department wants a completely independent instance of Drupal (no shared tables or content).  However, each department will be launching at a different time.  The main administrator wants to be able to roll out a new "skeleton" site for a department on request, with a default theme (which the department can customize if desired) and some default pages and menu items pre-created (an about page, a contact page, etc.).  

 

Select and compare at least three (3) tools and modules for multi-site management given the above use case, with regards to the following criteria:

 

- Ease of installation and ease of use.

- Available features and functionality.

- Flexibility to handle use cases other than the one described above.

- Extensibility for future use.

 

For this task you may use either Drupal 5 or Drupal 6.

 

The deliverable for this task is a written report detailing each reviewed tool and a conclusion recommending one based on the criteria above.  The task is complete when it has been posted to the Drupal issue queue.  (ODT or RTF format recommended.)

 

Estimated time: 4 to 5 days

Mentor: Larry Garfield