Comparison of DotNetNuke with PHP Content Management Systems, Security, Technology and Scale
WhyNotWebsites
Our team is professionally qualified and have 25 years commercial experience in software development in many technologies. We are one of the few companies who actually have commercial experience in all of the technologies mentioned and hence are qualified to know which is most suitable for you. We are quite happy to develop in Linux and PHP or Mambo if you want us to, having 12 years experience in Linux/Unix, Perl, PHP, Oscommerce and scripting languages in general.
Technology Summary
|
|
PHPNuke |
Mambo |
DotNetNuke |
|
Platform |
Linux/Windows |
Linux / Windows |
Windows |
|
Language |
PHP Scripting |
PHP Scripting |
.NET compiled |
|
Database |
MySql (Open source with limitations such as no stored procedures) |
MySql (Open source with limitations such as no stored procedures) |
Microsoft SQLServer (commercial world class database) |
|
Security Of Language |
7 (due to not using stored procedures and other open source issues) |
7 (due to not using stored procedures and other open source issues) |
8-9 (yes open source does pose a risk but this risk is small and must be balanced against significant cost benefits) |
|
Cost Maintenance |
10 (high) |
10 (high) |
3 (Low) with powerful development tools, structured layered |
|
True Portal Product |
2 |
5 (they are a content management system) |
8 (yes but doesn’t yet support the WSRP Standard) |
|
Typical Usage |
Hobbyists, home users, small personal Websites, some mid size sites |
Hobbyists, home users, small personal Websites, some mid size sites |
Suitable for Large Websites as a large scale commercial Portal based product using a commercial Database. |
|
Scalability (number of concurrent users) |
30-60 |
30-60 |
100-1,000 |
Security of Platform
Regarding the security of Windows above Linux and Unix Gartner states categorically that Windows was not equal to Linux until a few years ago. Since then Microsoft has spent 7 billion dollars improving it substantially and Gartner now says ‘there is no significant difference and the biggest risk by far is the application running on the server (i.e. your website applications) and not the operating system’.
Gartner also states that the biggest improvement either system can make to security is to install hardware firewalls in addition to software firewalls (i.e. separate boxes to protect the server) which we do.
Difference between Portal Product and Content Management System
Basically content management and Portal have overlapping functionality and are merging. Microsoft's Content Management server and SharePoint Portal have announced this is happening during 2006.
In simple terms Portal technology is more advanced that simple content management with the ability to integrate and develop applications that fit into the portal framework, to develop complete Web based applications.
For this it may be best to read our article on Portal based application development.
Application Risks to security (bigger concern)
There are 10 common mistakes that most applications make which are of a bigger concern:
1. Trust User Input at Your Own Peril
2. Protect Against Buffer Overruns
3. Prevent Cross-site Scripting
4. Don't Require sa Permissions
5. Watch that Crypto Code!
6. Reduce Your Attack Profile
7. Employ the Principle of Least Privilege
8. Pay Attention to Failure Modes
9. Impersonation is Fragile
10. Write Apps that Non-admins Can Actually Use
For further information refer to common mistakes.
Scalable Solutions (allowing large numbers of users)
No bank or large professional company uses anything apart from the following technologies for Website development mainly due to:
- Ability to scale to large numbers of users
- Lower cost of maintenance
- Lower cost of new development
J2EE and .NET
Unfortunately the costs associated with the J2EE container are a concern at approximately $50k per server. There are some open source containers (JBOSS) but they do not come with open source Portal Platforms like DotNetNuke.
DotNetNuke
This development learnt from PHP Nuke and used it in conjunction with other open source content management systems to develop a better Portal product based on a scalable commercial platform. In addition it integrates well with future directions such as ActiveDirectory for single sign on and it is possible if ‘AnswerInGenesis’ wants to provide automated Portal authentication and security.
Summary
There are only two competing scalable technologies for Web based development. Java (+ J2EE container on Unix/Linux) and Microsoft.NET (on Windows). Only these offer truly scalable application frameworks that can run thousands of users concurrently. PHP will never provide this and will for large corporate Websites require massive hardware infrastructure to support more than 50 concurrent users.
It appears you are building a mammoth Website and the scalability should immediately rule out anything apart from J2EE and Microsoft.NET.
It appears you require:
1. A Portal based series of commercial Websites, with the ability to add new Websites within the Portal when needed.
2. The ability to dynamically update the contents through a content management system to reduce costs.
3. The ability to add dynamic content such as news groups, discussion forums (moderated) bible on line with verse for the day and chat rooms, bloggs and other value added services to the Christian community at large.
4. One line sales and product marketing through the internet.
5. Search engine optimisation to ensure you are found under terms such as
‘Christian creation and evolution’ through Google.
Why not have WhyNotWebsites provide this securely, professionally and commercially at a competitive price for development and a lower total cost of ownership.