Technology Assessment

Software

Based on the goals and scope of the project, we have decided to use PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) and MySQL as the back-bone of the new FASTRAC website as well as HTML as the front end of the website. Since the new site will serve as a communication channel for the inner members and the public, we need PHP and MySQL to build an interactive website that also has data management capabilities.

Both PHP and MySQL are open source products that are easy to use yet with high portability. PHP, is a server-side open source scripting language designed specifically for the Web. It can be embedded within an HTML page and will be executed each time the page is visited. MySQL is a relational database management system that will enable us to store, search, sort and retrieve data efficiently. It uses SQL (Structured Query Language), the standard database query language. It is also a web-oriented open source product.

Server Platform

The server is currently going through an upgrading phase, so the space for storing the site and files remains to be determined since the server will be used to host several websites. There may be an initial phase where content lives on the system's internal disk. Even during this time, there should be no shortage.

The server currently has dual 2.6GHz Xeon processors with 1GB of memory and a direct connection to the gigabit distribution layer of the network. It is running Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS release 3 (Taroon Update 3) and is patched regularly for security. Currently, the active software tree includes:

Website Development Tools

Graphic & Visualization Tools

File Transfer Tool