Transcript Websites on a Shoestring - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

Websites on a shoestring
Good cheap collection data publishing
N. Dean Pentcheff
Regina Wetzer
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Why put collection data on the Web?
• A collection's value is in its information
• Information is useless unless shared
• The Web is our most efficient way to share
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Why put collection data on the Web?
• A collection's value is in its information
• Information is useless unless shared
• The Web is our most efficient way to share
Because you’d like to keep your job...
(post-Terry Yates address)
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Talk Outline
•
•
•
•
Why put collection data on the web?
How do data flow from collections to the Web?
What are the main pieces of that process?
Who can provide the tools to do that?
– commercial vs. free software
– promises and costs
– recommendations
• Data: examples from NHMLAC
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
The flow of data to the Web
Collection with
label and other data
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
The flow of data to the Web
Collection with
label and other data
Desktop
database
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
The flow of data to the Web
Collection with
label and other data
Database
accessible
from web
server
Desktop
database
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
The flow of data to the Web
Collection with
label and other data
Database
accessible
from web
server
Desktop
database
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Web
server
software
The flow of data to the Web
Collection with
label and other data
The Web
Database
accessible
from web
server
Desktop
database
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Web
server
software
What are the main pieces
of that process?
Collection with
label and other data
The Web
Database
accessible
from web
server
Desktop
database
Web
server
software
Server operating system
Web server hardware
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Talk Outline
•
•
•
•
Why put collection data on the web?
How do data flow from collections to the Web?
What are the main pieces of that process?
Who can provide the tools to do that?
– commercial vs. free software
– promises and costs
– recommendations
• Data: examples from NHMLAC
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Who can provide the tools?
Commercial software vendors
Free or Open-Source software
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Commercial software vendors
• Operating system
– Microsoft Windows Server; Sun Solaris
• Web server
– Microsoft IIS
• Database
– Oracle; IBM DB/2; Microsoft SQL Server
• Web front-end software
– Macromedia ColdFusion; Microsoft ASP
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Free or Open-Source software
•
•
•
•
“Free” as in “freedom” (and often in cost)
Freedom to examine and enhance source code
Freedom to share any enhancements
Licensing so that “...it becomes an inalienable
right to cooperate with other people and form a
community”
Richard M. Stallman 2002
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Free or Open-Source software
• Operating system
– Linux; BSD
• Web server
– Apache
• Database
– MySQL; PostgreSQL
• Web front-end software
– PHP; Mason
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Commercial software
– High initial cost
– Full support for the end-user
– Ease of use for users with little expertise
• Free or Open Source software
– Low or zero initial cost
– Support by the community of user/programmers
– Reputation for requiring wizard-level expertise
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Commercial software
– High initial cost ?
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Commercial software
High initial cost
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (5 CAL)
$844
(includes IIS web server)
Microsoft SQL Server database
$1226
Total for the base server
$2070 (required)
Microsoft 20 CAL Package
$647 (optional)
Macromedia ColdFusion
$799 (optional)
Dell 2600 low-end server (no software)
Total Startup Cost
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
$2598 (optional)
$2000 – $6000
Promises and costs
• Commercial software
High initial cost
– Full support for the end-user ?
“Gives you peace of mind to have the support of an
established web leader that offers world-class support,
services, and a recognized Partner community to ensure
your success.”
Macromedia ColdFusion 2003
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Commercial software
High initial cost
Full support for the end-user
– Ease of use for users with little expertise ?
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Commercial software
High initial cost
Full support for the end-user
Ease of use for users with little expertise
“Any sophisticated software is going to take
some expertise to run.”
Me 2003
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Free or Open Source software
– Low or zero initial cost ?
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Free or Open Source software
Low or zero initial cost
Red Hat Linux
(includes Apache web server)
MySQL database
Total for the base server
$0
Access licences
$0
PHP or Mason
$0
Scavenged desktop PC
$0
Total Startup Cost
$0
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
$0
$0 (required)
Promises and costs
• Free or Open Source software
Low or zero initial cost
– Support ?
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Free or Open Source software
Low or zero initial cost
Support by the community of user/programmers
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Free or Open Source software
Low or zero initial cost
Support by the community of user/programmers
– Reputation for requiring wizard-level expertise ?
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Free or Open Source software
Low or zero initial cost
Support by the community of user/programmers
Reputation for requiring wizard-level expertise
“Any sophisticated software is going to take
some expertise to run.”
Me 2003
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Free or Open Source software
Low or zero initial cost
Support by the community of user/programmers
Reputation for requiring wizard-level expertise
High quality documentation is available
“Any sophisticated software is going to take
some expertise to run.”
Me 2003
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Promises and costs
• Commercial software
High initial cost
Full support for the end-user
Ease of use for users with little expertise
• Free or Open Source software
Low or zero initial cost
Support by the community of user/programmers
Reputation for requiring wizard-level expertise
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Talk Outline
•
•
•
•
Why put collection data on the web?
How do data flow from collections to the Web?
What are the main pieces of that process?
Who can provide the tools to do that?
– commercial vs. free software
– promises and costs
– recommendations
• Data: examples from NHMLAC
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Recommendations
• You will need to develop some expertise
(or hire someone with expertise)
• Your choice:
– develop expertise and pay for commercial software
– develop expertise and use Free software
• Free software allows you to start small and tinker
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Examples...
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Example Server
20,000 – 40,000 complex accesses per day
500 – 1000 Mbytes data distributed per day
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Publishing collection data
• The value of a collection comes from the
information in it and we must share that
• Commercial approaches have high initial cost and
are not necessarily simpler
• You will need to develop (or hire) expertise
• Free software lets you start small and grow later
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Publishing collection data
• The bad news:
You have no excuse for not having
your collection data on the Web
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Publishing collection data
• The bad news:
You have no excuse for not having
your collection data on the Web
• The good news:
There’s no reason you can’t have
your collection data on the Web
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Publishing collection data
• The bad news:
You have no excuse for not having
your collection data on the Web
• The good news:
There’s no reason you can’t have
your collection data on the Web
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County
Publishing collection data
• The bad news:
You have no excuse for not having
your collection data on the Web
• The good news:
There’s no reason you can’t have
your collection data on the Web
http://collections.nhm.org
Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County