Note: This documentation is for Tiki, version 1.8. It probably works for earlier versions, but I haven't tested it. For Tiki version 1.9 and later there is a different approach that requires editing db/tiki-db.php and using some new features in tiki-install.php and setup.sh. The newer variant is documented at http://tikiwiki.org/MultiTiki19.

How to Host Multiple TikiWikis on a Single ))RedHat(( System.
by George Geller

Introduction

Here I show one way to install multiple tikis on a ))RedHat(( Linux server
when you have root access. I assume that you already have apache, php
and mysql all working on your system. If you installed the correct
))RedHat(( packages and didn't change the configuration files too much,
these programs should be working. I've had success with this approach
on ))RedHat8,RedHat(( 9 and Yellow Dog 3.0.

In this example I go through the steps to create threee working tikis on
my machine and give a few pointers in the process. I will be
specific, rather than general, concrete, rather than abstract. If
your setup is different you'll have to adapt the instructions.

I illustrate how to set up three tikis: public.wikiplanet.com,
member.wikiplanet.com and staff.wikiplanet.com.

MySQL Setup

Each tiki instance will need a separate database in MySql Tiki also
needs a ))MySql(( user that has the correct permissions to manipulate the
databases. The names of the databases don't matter to ))MySql((, but I
have adopted a convention where I always use a prefix of tiki_ for the
database name. So for my three tikis, the corresponding databases
will be: tiki_public, tiki_member and tiki_staff. I create a single
))MySql(( user, 'tiki', that will have access to all tiki databases.

The commands I issue as root are:

# mysqladmin -uroot -p create tiki_public
 # mysqladmin -uroot -p create tiki_member
 # mysqladmin -uroot -p create tiki_staff

# mysql -uroot -p
 mysql> USE mysql;
 mysql> GRANT USAGE ON * . * TO "tiki"@"localhost" IDENTIFIED BY "password";
 mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `tiki_public` . * TO "tiki"@"localhost";
 mysql> REVOKE GRANT OPTION ON `tiki_public` . * FROM "tiki"@"localhost";
 mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `tiki_member` . * TO "tiki"@"localhost";
 mysql> REVOKE GRANT OPTION ON `tiki_member` . * FROM "tiki"@"localhost";
 mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `tiki_staff` . * TO "tiki"@"localhost";
 mysql> REVOKE GRANT OPTION ON `tiki_staff` . * FROM "tiki"@"localhost";
 mysql> exit

Apache Configuration

Next I edit the Apache web server configuration /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf so that apache will know where to look for the tikis.

DocumentRoot (optional)

I changed ))DocumentRoot(( to /www because I am a lazy typist. The default is /var/www/html.
There are two lines in httpd.conf that you will need to change:
))DocumentRoot(( "/www"
and 25 lines further down:
<Directory "/www">
You can change them, or you leave them and adjust the rest of these instructions accordingly.

VirtualHost

Further down, find the line with ))NameVirtualHost(( and change it to:
))NameVirtualHost(( *:80

At the end of the httpd.conf, add the line:

Include conf.d/*.vh

Create a .vh file in /etc/httpd/conf.d/ for each of your virtual hosts.

/etc/httpd/conf.d/public.wikiplanet.com.vh contains:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@wikiplanet.com
DocumentRoot /www/public.wikiplanet.com
ServerName public.wikiplanet.com
ErrorLog logs/public.wikiplanet.com-error_log
CustomLog logs/public.wikiplanet.com-access_log common
</VirtualHost>

/etc/httpd/conf.d/member.wikiplanet.com.vh contains:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@wikiplanet.com
DocumentRoot /www/member.wikiplanet.com
ServerName member.wikiplanet.com
ErrorLog logs/member.wikiplanet.com-error_log
CustomLog logs/member.wikiplanet.com-access_log common
</VirtualHost>

/etc/httpd/conf.d/staff.wikiplanet.com.vh contains:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@wikiplanet.com
DocumentRoot /www/staff.wikiplanet.com
ServerName staff.wikiplanet.com
ErrorLog logs/staff.wikiplanet.com-error_log
CustomLog logs/staff.wikiplanet.com-access_log common
</VirtualHost>

Restart your web server.

# apachectl graceful

Don't worry about the warnings that the directories don't exist, we're going to make them next.

Install TikiWiki

Install Distribution

Get a distribution of TikiWiki from sourceforge.net. Unpack it and make the soft links.
I used tikiwiki-1.8.RC2.tar.bz2.

# cd /www
# tar -xvjf tikiwiki-1.8.RC2.tar.bz2
# ln -s tikiwiki-1.8.RC2 public.wikiplanet.com
# ln -s tikiwiki-1.8.RC2 member.wikiplanet.com
# ln -s tikiwiki-1.8.RC2 staff.wikiplanet.com

Add Database Selection Code

Now you need to edit the code in db/local.php.

# cd /www/tikiwiki-1.8.RC2/db

Edit local.php. Mine reads:

<?php
$host_tiki="localhost";
$user_tiki="tiki";
$pass_tiki="secret";
$db_tiki = 'mysql';
$dbversion_tiki="1.8";
if ($_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"] == "public.wikiplanet.com") {
  $dbs_tiki = "tiki_public";
  $tikidomain = "public.wikiplanet.com";
} elseif ($_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"] == "member.wikiplanet.com") {
  $dbs_tiki = "tiki_member";
  $tikidomain = "member.wikiplanet.com";
} elseif ($_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"] == "staff.wikiplanet.com") {
  $dbs_tiki = "tiki_staff";
  $tikidomain = "staff.wikiplanet.com";
} else {
  // default case, your choice is to block or open to a default domain
}
?>

Set Up files

Set up the files and directories for tiki:

# cd /www/tikiwiki-1.8.RC2
# ./setup.sh apache apache 02755 public.wikiplanet.com member.wikiplanet.com staff.wikiplanet.com
# chown apache:apache *.php .

Run Tiki Install Script

Next we need to run the Tiki install script for the new wikis with a web browser. You must have dns working correctly, or you can edit /etc/hosts. In my case dns works, so I point Mozilla to: http://public.wikiplanet.com/tiki-install.php and run the install script. Do not choose to "remove" tiki-install.php yet! Repeat the procedure for the other two tiki's: member and staff. In the final case, "remove" the install script.

Admin TikiWikis

That's all. Login to the tikis as admin and configure them.

Notes

See RecipeMultiTiki2 for how to add new Tikis to this setup.

Feel free to edit this page or add comments. - George Geller