[thelist] server to server connection

[Ken Schaefer]

Seems like you are replacing the CMS with something "open source" and "extensible", but which has huge security risks and defies best practices in quite a few ways. "project behind schedule" also doesn't sound good either :-(

Hopefully this won't come back to bite them down the track.

Cheers
Ken

-----Original Message-----
From: thelist-bounces at lists.evolt.org [mailto:thelist-bounces at lists.evolt.org] On Behalf Of Paul Bennett
Sent: Friday, 27 February 2009 7:35 AM
To: thelist at lists.evolt.org
Subject: Re: [thelist] server to server connection

Hi Ken, Hassan, Anthony.

> What exactly does "file system access" mean?

As in the remote webserver needs to be able to mount the network drive
like a ... network drive.

> You could expose files inside the firewall though a "web service",
> otherwise known as a web server :-)

Ah, if only.
It's a big project replacing MS CMS with something open source and
extensible. There is an existing MS Word based authoring process (I
know, I know) which needs to be replicated and the whole drive access
thing is part of that.
The webserver component 

> So, "access" as in frequent write/occasional read like a log file, or
> occasional write/frequent read? Or mostly symmetrical? What kind
> of transaction rate?

Read only AFAIK, so yes, a webserver would be ideal but alas...

> Like Ken recommended - go from inside the network to outside the
network. > e.g push instead of pull.

Yep, this would have been perfect had the initial solution not already
been built and the project already behind schedule.

Thanks for all the excellent suggestions - looks like I'm going to go
with end to end VPN, with OpenVPN at the webserver end.

:)
Paul