I'm doing this second post today to make up for the missed one y/day. Not that I imagine anyone's day was ruined by not having a new article to read on this blog, but anyway, here you go.
I've just run through the installation processes for ColdFusion 10 (Enterprise), Railo 3.3.4.003 (using the .exe installer), Railo 4.0.0.013 (the Jetty version), and OpenBD 2.0.2 (the Jetty version).
It was an "interesting" process.
ColdFusion 10
- Google "download coldfusion" and locate the correct match (3sec. All these times are the time as I completed the step, and are the total elapsed time since starting the process, not the time for each step. There's a fair margin of error here, because I literally am sitting here with a stopwatch, doing a lap at the end of each step. Not very scientific, but it'll do).
- First I need to sign-up for an account. This is even before I can download anything (4min).
- Select the download, and wait for it to finish (13min).
- Run the installer, and get to the point where I can interact with it (17min).
- Work through the install and get to the point where the install starts (22min... I had a coupla problems with the passwords, due to the instructions being incorrect).
- The installer attempts to phone home, and is interrupted by my firewall which says "oh no you don't" (28min).
- Installer completes, but fails to detect its own web server is running, so will not continue to the configuration phase (31min).
- CFAdmin UI loaded and config starts (33min).
- Config complete (35min).
- helloWorld.cfm loaded (35.5min).
- Signing up for the account required filling in of the following questions: E-mail, Password, Retype password, Password hint, First name, Last name, Job title, Organization name, Address, City, Country/Region, State/Province, Other Region, Zip or Postal Code, Phone number, Screen name, How many employees are in your organization worldwide?, What best describes your primary occupation or job function?, Which best describes your industry?, How many employees in your company will be using this product?, What is your timeframe to purchase a product?, COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES (E-mail, Mail and/or Telephone), I would like to receive communications [about something I don't want], I would like to subscribe to the Adobe Inspire Magazine.
Not all of those were "required" in the "red star next to the input" sense, but Adobe do ask a lot of pointless questions. Especially as the answer to one was "I have no intention of making a purchase", and the business-oriented questions are a waste of time because this is for home use. - The install process had the following steps:
- Intro page with no function other than to press NEXT.
- Agree to the software licence. NEXT.
- Select a licence option (dev, in my case). NEXT.
- Select "server config". NEXT.
- Leave all default subcomponents checked. NEXT.
- Enable secure profile, and key in 127.0.0.1 for CFAdmin access. NEXT.
- Give a password for remote start/stop I try A1////// (which matches the stated requirements of - paraphrase - one upper case, one digit, one "special character". Apparently one needs one lowercase letter too. This killed some time during the install. NEXT.
- Agree to the Java ports it says it needs to use (I'm pretty sure there was no option to actually change them?). NEXT.
- Select the installation directory. NEXT.
- Select to use the built-in web server. NEXT.
- Enter another password (for CFAdmin). NEXT.
- Opt for automatic updates. NEXT.
- Summary of the install. NEXT.
- The install actually starts.
- As stated above, 90% of the way through the installer tries to phone home, and the install is halted by my firewall. I allow access.
- At the end of the install (and this has been the same for all of the dozen or so CF10 installs I've done) it says "your web server doesn't seem to be started" (or words to that effect). This is quite slack given it's CF's own web server that it just installed for me.
Anyway: 35min from start to finish.
Railo 3.3.4.003
- Google "railo download", and locate the correct page (10sec).
- Download the software (1min 45sec).
- Run the installer, and get to the point where I can interact with it (2min 15sec).
- Installing (4min).
- On Railo welcome screen (7min 45sec).
- helloWorld.cfm loaded (7min 50sec).
- Installation language. NEXT.
- Accept the software licence. NEXT.
- Select the install directory. NEXT.
- Tomcat admin login. NEXT.
- Password (this is in clear text, which is a bit rubbish!). NEXT.
- HTTP port. NEXT.
- Auto-start the Tomcat service (I opted not to). NEXT.
- Install the IIS connector (no). NEXT.
- NEXT to start the install.
Railo 4.0.0.013
- Google "railo download", and locate the correct page (10sec)
- Download the zip file (1min 10sec)
- Unzipped (1min 50sec)
- Started & helloWorld.cfm loaded (3min)
OpenBD 2.0.2
- Google "openbd download", and locating the correct page (3sec).
- Downloaded the zip file (2min 20sec).
- Unzipped (2min 45sec).
- RTFM to work out how to get the thing started (3min 45sec).
- helloWorld.cfm loaded (5min).
- ColdFusion: 35min.
- Railo using the installer: 8min.
- Railo using the zip : 3min.
- OpenBD using the zip: 5min (incl. 1min because I needed to read some docs).
Note that it was a pretty poxy machine I was installing on (it was my netbook), but it was the same machine all the installs were done on, so the timings are comparable.
The other question - and it was Joe Rinhart's video that got me started on this - is why is there all this blimin' horsing around getting CF installed? Needing to fill in this fairly lengthy form on the Adobe website before I can get to the D/L, and then there's simply too many questions for a dev install. Railo and OpenBD both demonstrate that one doesn't really need to ask any questions to get the thing up and running for dev purposes.
Adobe need to look at this in the next ColdFusion release, I think. And they could do worse than get one of the "unzip and run" installs sorted out sooner rather than later.
Time to watch TV.
--
Adam
