// $Id$ REQUIREMENTS ------------ This version of Boost is designed for Drupal 6.x running on a Unix platform. Drupal's clean URLs MUST be enabled and working properly. The `path' and `pathauto' modules are recommended. In order for the static files to be correctly expired, the Drupal cron job must be correctly setup to execute more often than, or as often as, the cache lifetime interval you specify. Since the static page caching is implemented with mod_rewrite directives, Apache version 1.3 or 2.x with mod_rewrite enabled is required (if Drupal's clean URLs work for you, you're fine; if not, get them working first). Other web servers, such as Lighttpd, are NOT supported at present. INSTALLATION ------------ 1. Go to [Administer >> Site configuration >> Clean URLs] and ensure that Drupal's clean URLs are enabled and working correctly on your site. 2. Copy all the module files into a subdirectory called sites/all/modules/boost/ under your Drupal installation directory. 3. Go to [Administer >> Site building >> Modules] and enable the Boost module. You will find it in the section labelled "Caching". 4. Go to [Administer >> Site configuration >> Performance], specify the cache directory (must be writable by the web server) and enable static caching. Keeping the default directory is highly recommended. 4. Go to [Administer >> Site configuration >> Performance >> Boost] Specify the cache directory, which should be something like cache/www.example.com (keeping the default directory is highly recommended) and must be writable by the web server: you may need to create the directory, and set the permissions so it is writeable. If you choose to use gzip, for compression of files cached by Boost, you also specify and may need to create the folder for this; the default is of the format cache/gz/www.example.com On the [Administer >> Site configuration >> Performance] Page is the Default minimum cache lifetime setting. As cached pages are created, they are given an expire by date and time, which is the current date and time plus the minimum cache lifetime. These dates and times are checked on each cron run; and if a page is expired, the cache is cleared, and a new cached version will be created the next time the page is created by an anonymous user (including bots). 5. IMPORTANT: after backing up the original .htaccess file in your Drupal installation directory, add the rules found in boosted1.txt right below # RewriteBase / and above # Rewrite URLs of the form 'x' to the form 'index.php?q=x'. boosted1.txt is found in the sites/all/modules/boost/htaccess/ directory. The default.txt file shows you the exact placement of where the rules go, incase your not shure. If you fail to do this step, static page caching will NOT work! Rules from boosted1.txt can also be found on the Boost Settings page (admin/settings/performance/boost) in the expandable field group called "Boost Apache .htaccess settings generation." Should you have any trouble getting static pages served using the boosted1.txt configuration, try the boosted2.txt file before posting a support issue on drupal.org; or try the different radio buttons on the admin/settings/performance/boost page under "Boost Apache .htaccess settings generation." field group. (For the technically inclined, the difference between the two supplied .htaccess templates is due to boosted1.txt relying on SERVER_NAME versus boosted2.txt using HTTP_HOST. There exist valid use cases for both, especially in more advanced, multi-site Drupal installations.) 6. Log out from Drupal (or use another browser) to browse around your site as the anonymous user. Ensure that static files are indeed being generated into the Boost cache directory you specified above (#4); and if you opt to use gzip, likewise check gzipped files are being generated in the directory you specified for this. The performance settings page shows how many pages are being cached by Boost, and (for pages Boost cannot cache) by Drupal core. 7. Set $base_url variable in /sites/default/settings.php (line 125 or so) so cron runs error free and clears the cache properly when invoked like 'php /path/to/cron.php' or 'drush cron'. This should be something like http://www.example.com Guide for editing settings.php http://drupal.org/node/367081#comment-1504894 8. Check the status page [Administer >> Reports >> Status report] for any errors or notices. 9. (See README.txt for information on submitting bug reports.)