FAQ: Web

How do I create an EECS Homepage?

See this document on how to set up your EECS Homepage.

Can I run scripts from my web page?

The primary department server people.eecs.berkeley.edu does not support any scripting for user accounts. This is to maintain performance for dissemination of the department’s public information. Only static HTML pages are supported (although Apache Server Side Includes are supported to some degree).

Users can run CGI scripts from their home directory using the alternate server apps.eecs.berkeley.edu. The URL would be http[s]://apps.eecs.berkeley.edu/~username . See our web services page for more information on this service.

My web app requires a database. Is there a MySQL server I can use?

EECS does not offer individual MySQL accounts to all users. If you require MySQL, you have two options.

1. You can get a free Open Computing Facility account which includes a personal mysql database of up to 1GB. See https://wiki.ocf.berkeley.edu/services/mysql/
2. If you require a higher level of support (backups, for example, or more space), IST offers a Basic MySQL service for $14/month. See http://ist.berkeley.edu/services/ds/db/mysql/basic

You can also consider using a file-based database. Users can access /usr/sww/bin/sqlite3 from the department login server login.eecs.berkeley.edu.

I want to run Drupal or WordPress and performance on apps.eecs is not acceptable. What are my options?

The Apache suexec environment we are using can be somewhat slow. This server is not really tuned to allow each individual to run a large CMS such as Drupal or WordPress.

The campus’ preferred Drupal and WordPress solution these days is to use Pantheon, an off-site vendor that has an agreement with campus. You can develop there for free, but to launch a live site would cost some monthly fee. See https://content.berkeley.edu/hosting/drupal/pantheon for details. (The service was originally Drupal-only but now also supports WordPress.)