Zope Installation Choices

Created by . Last modified on 2003/08/05.

Installation Route Comparison

Overview

The following is a comparison of the various routes that one can take when installing Zope. It lists the pros and cons of each approach. This should be used to pick an installation route which meets all your site-specific criteria. Once you the one for you, search the How-To's on Zope.org and you should find useful instructions.

Pros and Cons of Zope Installation Routes

Method	Pros	Cons
Standalone ZServer	Simple to use and set up. Faster server than all other methods.	No builtin support for SSL. Using the M2Crypto product, you can now replace your ZServer with one that supports SSL. (I haven't tested this.) Not as highly configurable as Apache. does not serve local files can't use standard CGI scripts
PCGI	Allows SSL if the webserver you are using does.	Slower than FastCGI and ZServer. Requires mod_rewrite when used with Apache (tricky) Must pay close attention to permissions after installation.
Fast CGI	Allows SSL if the webserver you are using does. Faster than PCGI	Must be compiled into Apache (or added as DSO module) Somewhat experimental at this stage, but developing quickly.
Apache Proxy to ZServer	Simple to set up. Can be used with Apache/SSL	Cannot authenticate with client certificates.
mod_pcgi	Avoids the fork tax on processing speed that PCGI incurs, so is faster.	Need to compile your own Apache server.

Standalone ZServer

This installation uses the ZServer webserver to serve up Zope content. The ZServer is supplied with your Zope installation.

Persitant CGI (PCGI)

This is the default method for using Zope with other webservers such as Apache. It is supplied with the Zope download.

Fast CGI

This is similar to PCGI but it is not included in the Zope download and must be acquired from www.fastcgi.com.

Apache proxy to ZServer backend

This uses the mod_proxy capability of Apache to proxy certain URL requests directly to ZServer. It is possible to setup using the directions linked to above with the SiteAccess product, but this is not a requirement.

mod_pcgi

This is similar to PCGI except it is compiled into the Apache server.

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My Solution

After a couple of days and with much help, I was able to get Zope working with Apache through PCGI. All the other methods had drawbacks or didn't work for me, so I'd have to recommend PCGI for Apache users.

Credits

Thanks to:

• Jeff Rush for his tips on presentation and new details.
• Ryan Lackey for bringing the new M2Crypto enhanced ZServerSSL to my attention.
• Ethan Fremen for pointing out the Proxy solution will work with SSL

This is most definately a work in progress. Please contact me with comments, corrections and suggestions.