CODEWITHSUNDEEP
phpmysqlwebserverxamppusb-drive
Ben
Ben

Reputation: 143

Running PHP/MySQL website from USB drive

PROBLEM:

I've got a client who needs to run their website(uses PHP/MySQL/Apache) from a USB thumb drive on both Windows and Mac, even Linux if possible. So they could plug the USB thumb into a Windows machine and the sites index would load, alternatively plug the thumb into a Mac or Linux machine and voilà the site index loads.

To clarify further, my client essentially wants to distribute these USB thumb drives to his own clients so they can browse a sample group of products uniquely catered too them. This would mean the launching of the site from the USB thumb drive would need to be as simple as possible since no assumptions can be made about the clients technical know how! A a double click and go type solution would be ideal if auto load isn't an option. Is this achievable with a Virtual Machine solution as suggested below in the comments? Or would some software such as VMware Player need to be installed on the clients machine first in order for a Virtual Machine on the USB to be launched?

FINDINGS:

I've managed to get XAMPP Portable Lite installed and running from a USB thumb via Windows 7, however I obviously cannot start XAMPP Portable Lite when connecting the USB to a Mac / Linux system. I've tried installing and running XAMPP for Mac from the USB also, however it can't seem to run outside of the Mac's /Applications directory.

If anyone could please shed some light on a possible way to achieve what my client is wanting using XAMPP or anything else, or whether it's even possible, I would be grateful!!

PS: I noticed there is a solution which would achieve what my client is wanting offered by a company called Stunnix, however they charge a fairly hefty fee, so I'm holding off in the hope a freeware solution to my clients problem exists somewhere.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 6684

Answers (2)

Marcin Orlowski
Marcin Orlowski

Reputation: 75645

In general - no, you can't get all-in-one solution. There's too big differences incl. approach to security on these platforms. It's simpler on Windows, while you face more problems on Linux due to security models (like protecting bind to ports <1024). In general, you may need to end with virtualization, if that would suffice for your needs.

Upvotes: 1

Brad
Brad

Reputation: 163438

Fortunately, PHP, MySQL, and Apache all run just fine on all three platforms. Just include statically compiled x86 copies for both platforms, and you're good to go.

Now, as far as the autorun problem goes, there is nothing you can do about that. Almost no system these days will automatically run executables upon inserting removable media.

Upvotes: 1

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