Moving journal to new server

[barnes]

I installed OJS on my desktop to experiment with it. Now we have it installed on a serious server with proper backup and support and I'm moving the journal I created across to the new server. Both installations are OJS 2.1.1.0.

(Seriously, this should be easier... How about an import/export of an entire journal, together with all correspondence, history, issues, date stamps, people/roles and so on? Dump the entire database to XML and then load it all up on another OJS installation. Surely this is something that happens a lot?)

1. I went through the journal administrator pages cutting and pasting all the data across. No problems there, but there's got to be a better way.

2. I did "export users" on the old server and "import users" on the new server. That worked fine.

3. I did "export issue" on the old server, then tried "import issue" on the new server. I end up at a blank page with the following URL:
http://ejournal.anu.edu.au/index.php/bi ... gin/import
As far as I can see, nothing has happened. The issue isn't there.[/list]

So I'm stuck. Help anyone?

Ian Barnes
The Australian National University

[asmecher]

Hi Ian,

To move a journal to a new machine, simply 1) pack up all the installation files (using tar or zip or something similar), and 2) use the mysqldump tool to create a database dump. Then unpack the archive and restore the database onto the new server. There are only two things to watch for:

1) Make sure the configuration file is still correct (i.e. the base_url setting is accurate for the new machine)
2) Double-check your Journal Settings pages to make sure that any URLs referred to there are correct (e.g. the Information for Authors, Librarians, and Readers links on Journal Setup page 5).

I can provide more information on how to do this if you need.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

[barnes]

Thanks for the quick answer.

Unfortunately I only have access to the new server through the web interface, so zipping and unzipping files and dumping and restoring databases won't be possible.

But that's OK if I can just import the published issues.

I guess the real question I have is what's going wrong with importing a published issue? I used the import/export articles & issues plugin to export it from the old server. I checked the exported XML file with xmllint and it validates OK. But when I try to import it to the new server, I just get that blank page.

[asmecher]

Hi Ian,

A blank page typically indicates that a PHP error has been logged; during imports, the most common one is the script exceeding the memory limit. Adding the following code:

Code: Select all

ini_set('display_errors', E_ALL);

...near the top of index.php will cause errors to be displayed to the browser rather than logged into oblivion.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Open Journal Systems Team

[barnes]

OK, I am now able to log in and view the log file. Here is the error message from my most recent attempt to upload the exported issue:

[Mon Aug 20 13:27:27 2007] [error] [client 150.203.59.244] PHP Fatal error: Call to a member function getFilePath() on a non-object in /export/web/ejournal/ojs-2.1.1/plugins/importexport/native/NativeImportExportPlugin.inc.php on line 137, referer: http://ejournal.anu.edu.au/index.php/bi ... portPlugin

On some previous attempts, there was an additional message, for example:

[Wed Aug 15 13:11:01 2007] [error] [client 150.203.59.244] PHP Notice: Undefined index: importFile in /export/web/ejournal/ojs-2.1.1/classes/file/FileManager.inc.php on line 95, referer: http://ejournal.anu.edu.au/index.php/bi ... portPlugin
[Wed Aug 15 13:11:01 2007] [error] [client 150.203.59.244] PHP Fatal error: Call to a member function getFilePath() on a non-object in /export/web/ejournal/ojs-2.1.1/plugins/importexport/native/NativeImportExportPlugin.inc.php on line 137, referer: http://ejournal.anu.edu.au/index.php/bi ... portPlugin

I contacted the system administrator. The PHP memory setting has already been increased. He just (perhaps temporarily) increased the upload limit to 24MB, which is larger than the file size for the issue I'm trying to upload (just under 21MB).

Any more suggestions?

[asmecher]

Hi Ian,

Check to make sure that file uploads are enabled in php.ini and that the upload_max_filesize and post_max_size limits are set sufficiently high.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

[barnes]

OK, that worked. Eventually. Thanks for all your help.

[emasb]

How can i move only one of my journals to another computer??

[mcrider]

Hi emasb,

Please see this post: http://pkp.sfu.ca/support/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2943&p=13323&hilit=export#p13323.

Cheers,
Matt