Ever since I secured file transfers to/from the server with SFTP, the built-in WordPress upgrade function stopped working. In order to get the upgrader working a secure manner (as well as add another level of security to the server) I requested SSH2 installed on our server. I would have installed it myself except that our hosting provider refused to correct some initial problems related to the dedicated box, which made the SSH2 install a pain.
One little used feature that I haven’t gotten around to testing until now is WordPress’ post-by-email. It’s been around for as long as I’ve been using WordPress, yet I never did get used to the idea of opening a mail client and submitting blog posts in that manner. It requires an update process either through an activation URL or via Cron job. More info can be found in the WordPress Codex. For this blog, I installed and used the Postie plugin. Here’s to breaking new ground!
Today, during a routine plugin update, I discovered that WP 3.0 has a implemented a maintenance mode, which effectively takes the site “offline”. To be specific, visitors receive a message indicating the unavailability of the site during maintenance operations. Of course, I encountered a failure (most likely related to the timeout issues that I’ve been experiencing with this server) during an upgrade from the Admin Dashboard which prevented me from logging back into the site. Any attempt to pull up the blog or the admin panel resulted in a page displaying: “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.”
The fix was to log in to the site via FTP and delete the .maintenance file located at the blog root. This restored access to the site.
However, I wish there was an option from the Dashboard which allowed an administrator to toggle maintenance mode manually, instead of automatically assuming that the site should be taken down. Upgrading from the dashboard doesn’t work 100% of the time, and I foresee that the file deletion fix will occur more frequently than one expects.
After what seems like an eternity figuring out IIS7 on Server 2008, along comes Microsoft’s Web Platform Installer (Web PI) which makes installing and configuring PHP, MySQL and WordPress a snap! I discovered this easy 5 Minute Install on Windows section while I was reviewing the codex for 3.0 installation info. No more headaches trying to configure each entity separately in IIS…Web PI does it for you.
As a follow up, it’s always important to make sure that the appropriate internet account is set up for the Default Application Pool (DefaultAppPool). Make sure IUSR_servername is correctly added to the IIS_IUSRS group, then assign it to the Identity of DefaultAppPool.
One more important feature to enhance your interface with MySQL is the installation of phpMyAdmin, which makes managing MySQL and WordPress tremendously easy. The linked walkthrough also includes instruction on how to modify your PHP install to add some much needed extensions for phpMyAdmin (and some WordPress plugins you may find useful).
Thankfully WordPress is quite good at combatting comment spam. Akismet is a very effective front-line defense against all kinds of spam. The WordPress FAQ on this subject also provides some additional ammo in the war against spammers.