I need to setup an extranet for 1,500 users, that will mainly check a list of Microsoft Excel files, i.e. each user will only be able to see their own documents.

I would normally implement such a scenario in SharePoint, but the Internet Connector license required is cost-prohibitive for the client, so I am contemplating the idea of using DotNetNuke to implement this project.

Therefore, I would very much appreciate your expert help with the following questions:


Is there an out-of-the-box (OOTB) DotNetNuke feature to quickly enable assignment of files to different users and be absolutely certain that no other user can view files other than their own, no matter how they request the file, i.e. through the browser's URL, through their home page, etc ? This is going to be a repetitive process where 5 files per agent will be replaced/added every night for each user (a total of 7,500 files).

Am I correct to assume that I will not be able to support my user population of 1,500 users with a single DotNetNuke server? I am thinking that I should probably need a web farm of DotNetNuke servers. How many DotNetNuke servers do you think I shall need to support 700 (scenario 1) and/or 1,500 (scenario 2) concurrent users ? What kind of hardware specifications I am looking at for the above two scenarios ? Do I use the Microsoft load balancing software for distributing sessions/requests between the servers in the farm, or a hardware is preferred ?

If I buy multiple server licenses of DotNetNuke Pro and I need to create a farm, I must pay the server license for each server in the farm, correct? What other Microsoft Server/CAL licensing do I need? i.e. server license for Windows Server 2008 R2+, server license for SQL Server 2008 R2+. Do I need any Windows/SQL Server CALs for the users accessing the server ? I think not as the external users are not employees of the client, just external users, but I am not sure. Any thoughts?

Do I need to setup different DotNetNuke server roles for each server? i.e. Search Server, Application Server, Web Server, etc?

Does DotNetNuke allows access through VPN and SSL channels?

Does DotNetNuke 7.0 professional support the creation of 1,500 users and assign them access rights, through an EXCEL file, or I shall need to write custom code to do this ?

These are many questions, but I need to clarify a few things to help me formulate a go/no go decision to implement it using DotNetNuke.

I hope any of you DotNetNuke experts can find the time to help.
Thank you and regards,

Dear Sebastian,

Thank you for taking the time to provide your valuable input.

So, if I got you right, I can use DNN Community Edition for what I need, without resorting to the paid Pro/Enterprise versions.

I appreciate your advice of running a DNN CE portal on a single web server for servicing my 1500 users. However, can I easily add a second web server later, should the need arises? i.e. to create a web farm of DNN CE servers ?

Do you think it is a good idea to keep the SQL Server Standard on a separate box, or have everything altogether put in the same box?

Last but not least, a server configuration with the following hardware specs you think is acceptable for my needs ?

CPU: 2 x 2.8GHz
RAM: 8Gb (16Gb if DNN+SQL Server is put on the same box)
NIC: 2 x 1Gbit network cards
UNC Network Share for storing portal files, documents, etc.

What do you think?

Regards,
P.

The important thing here is NOT the count of users. More users just means more rows in the database which is a trivial cost.

What's important is how many users are active simultaneously and what they are doing. Your original post suggests that every user will have several files chaged each day. If all your 1500 users need to login at 09:00 every day, to get their new files by 09:05 - that's a very different proposition to maybe having a few of them login in occasionally to see if there are new files.

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Best wishes,
- Richard
Agile Development Consultant, Practitioner, and Trainer
www.dynamisys.co.uk