Web Development on the Go

Have you ever wanted to take your web server with you on a vacation?

Here is an idea I started with on one of my major projects that has really pulled me out of some tight deadlines and kept my project on time.  This is probably not the first some one has done this but the other day when I was walking through the technology store I found a USB Jump Drive that could store 8GB of data.  I grabbed one and with a little effort I setup a nice little Linux Server on it that had all the programming functions I needed.  Sorry no GUI but with time I bet you will be able to store even a GUI version of the OS on it.

If you haven't checked out Virtualization then I would suggest you look into it.  There are several companies on the internet that provide this basic program to allow running of different Operating Systems on your computer.  This article isn't about which software to use so I suggest you do a little research into Virtualization and go from there.

You can probably do this with other server software but I've only worked on Linux and have had a lot of success with it.  Once you have the basic install complete and patched up your ready to install the needed resources and here is the list I use:

  • MySQL
  • Apache HTTPD Server
  • PHP
  • SubVersion
  • MyPHPAdmin
  • Your Project Files

I use SubVersion to help me keep track of changes I make while I'm away from the Internet.  Once I get back to civilization I just do the check in process of my code and I'm ready to keep working on it at home.  The idea here is to also minimize the amount of space your little OS will take up and I'm sure you can trim down service that are not needed.  The nice thing about Virtualization technology is you can run just about any OS you want without having to partition your hard disk drive.  Its portable from hardware to hardware with very little compatiblility problems.

Now that we have a server that can travel with us no more bogging down your notebook with extra server software that isn't needed except for the days your developing.  Have fun and good luck with your travels.