SpikeWAMP FAQs

These are some of the frequently asked questions about SpikeWAMP and its working.

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What license is SpikeWAMP released under?

Most of the components in SpikeWAMP have their own licensing terms - most of them are open-source. The updater tool used by SpikeWAMP to install add-ons and updates is a commercial software from CatenaLogic. The stack itself is released under Open Software License version 2.1. As part of the installation, SpikeWAMP install all the required licenses locally on your machine. To view licenses of all components, simply lanuch the "Browse SpikeWAMP" menu item from your system tray menu and click on "Components" link from the left side.

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What's included in the stack?

SpikeWAMP stack has Apache HTTPD 2.2, MySQL 5.0 and PHP 5.2 as the main components. In addition, it comes with mod_auth_mysql, phpMyAdmin, eAccelerator, and OpenSSL pre-configured.

For a full list of components installed on your machine, click "Browse SpikeWAMP" in the tray menu to launch the stack landing page. Then click on the "Components" link on your left.

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How do I get add-on applications on SpikeWAMP?

After installing the stack, just select the "Install Add-ons" menu item from the SpikeWAMP system tray menu. This will launch the updates and add-ons tool. You can then select from one of the available add-ons and continue with the installation.

Always make sure that any services and applications within the stack are not running when you install add-on applications or updates. The update tool will attempt to stop the services and also stop the tray menu application while the updates are being installed. Just make sure no other program within the stack is executing (for example, close all open bash prompt windows) because some of the executables may need to be replaced during an update.

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How do I apply updates?

Whenever you start up the updater tool it will check for available updates. If the updates are available they will be installed before the add-on applications if you have selected any. The updates are currently mandatory and you will not be able to opt out. Some of the updates may be necessary for some add-ons to work correctly. So always keep the stack up-to-date.

After each update the services are left in "stopped" state. The red icon in the SpikeWAMP tray menu would indicate this. So make sure you start all the services up again before trying to use the stack.

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An update did not work for me. Can I go back to original state of the stack?

Yes! If the updates break something in your stack, it is possible to recover your system to some extent. But keep in mind that this should be used as the last resort. First try to debug the issue by referring to the <spikewamp-root>\spikesource\var\log\update.log file. Also seek help on the SpikeWAMP forum.

Also note that the rollback support is still experimental. If you face any issues, do let us know - that will help us make the tools better.

To rollback an update:

  • Launch the "Bash Prompt" from Start Menu -> SpikeWAMP -> Bash Prompt. On Vista, make sure you right click and run the application as administrator.
  • Run the command 
     applyupdates.sh --action=dorollback
  • After the rollback is complete run the command 
     etc-update
    Then merge all the differences in the configuration files that the tool detects. Make sure your configurations files are back to their original state. If you see any additional files that were left back during the rollback, please delete them. This might be true in case of configuration files of components that were uninstalled as opposed to downgraded.
  • If all goes well, you will have recovered the old state of your system.
  • Rollback log goes to the same place as the update log - <spikewamp-root>\spikesource\var\log\update.log.

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Where are things installed?

All major components in SpikeWAMP are installed under <spikewamp-root>\spikesource\share\<comp> folder. The component directory structure will contain the logs and configuration for each of them.

The update and add-on installation log goes to <spikewamp-root>\spikesource\var\log\update.log. That can be useful if you are facing issues updating the stack or installing add-on installations.

The installation log is in <spikewamp-root>\installation.log.

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Does SpikeWAMP install Cygwin?

Yes! SpikeWAMP needs Cygwin as a runtime for applying updates and configuring applications. It ships with a minimal Cygwin installation. You are welcome to use it for your purpose, but please do not change it or add packages to it. It could get updated during one of the SpikeWAMP updates and you may loose your changes. But you can still install a separate Cygwin run time on your machine. SpikeWAMP's Cygwin will not interfere with any other Cygwin installation.

Also note that Cygwin is NOT used during normal running of the stack. All the binaries installed are Windows native binaries compiled using Microsoft Visual Studio compilers. So you will have no performance impact because of Cygwin.

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Do I need Administrator privileges when installing the stack?

Yes! The stack need to write some values to the registry. It also needs to register Apache and MySQL as system services. You must be an administrator to install the stack. On Windows Vista, you will have to run the installer with "Run as Administrator" privilege. Vista should automatically do this for you. But you will have to mark some other programs to run with Administrator privilege after installation.

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What special steps are needed for the stack to work on Windows Vista?

Vista implements a feature known as User Account Control or UAC. This mean that even an Administrator user actually has fewer privileges in the normal mode. Because of this some of the applications in the stack need to be marked with "Run as Administrator" privilege. To mark an application executable with this privilege, right click on the file, and select "Properties". Click on the "Compatibility" tab and check the box at the bottom that says "Run this program as an administrator". Click "Apply" and "OK".

Here is a list of files that need this privilege.

  • <spikewamp-root>\spikesource\bin\updater.exe
  • <spikewamp-root>\spikesource\bin\bash.bat
  • <spikewamp-root>\spikesource\bin\SpikeTrayMenu.exe

Please mark these executables with "Run as Administrator" privilege immediately after installation. If this is not done, you will not get correct service status and updates might fail.

If you can see the SpikeWAMP tray menu in your system tray but the option to start or stop Apache and MySQL services appear grayed out, the application is not running with enough privileges. The tray menu icon may not reflect correct status of the services as well.

To fix this, right click and quit the application. Then find Start Menu -> SpikeWAMP -> SpikeWAMP Control Panel. Right click on the menu and select "Run as Administrator".


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How can I administer my MySQL database?

SpikeWAMP comes with the popular open-source MySQL Administration Utility phpMyAdmin. Launch the stack landing page by selecting "Browse SpikeWAMP" menu item from your tray menu. The click on "MySQL Administration" link from the left side.

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How to secure MySQL Database?

SpikeWAMP tray menu has an option to launch "Secure MySQL" script. Please use this option to set MySQL root password and secure your MySQL installation. Please do NOT change MySQL root password by using mysql/mysqladmin tools or phpMyAdmin. This may break the updates and add-on installations going forward.

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How to change MySQL root password?

MySQL root password should be changed only through the "Secure MySQL" menu item from the tray menu. You may use this script as many time as you wish. Make sure that the MySQL service is running when you use the script. Please do not change MySQL root password using any other means. This may break future updates and add-on installations.

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How does Apache Virtual Hosting work?

For each virtual host you want to create within Apache, create a separate vhost config file and drop it inside <spikewamp-root>\spikesource\share\apache2\conf\vhosts.d directory. All files inside this directory are automatically read when Apache starts up. Restart the server and you should be good to go.

This is a much cleaner approach than going around adding things in the main httpd.conf file. This way, none of your vhosts configuration files are touched when you update your stack and each application can keeps its configuration separate from the others. Also, there is almost no merging to be done even if your Apache server is upgraded.

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I ran into an issue with SpikeWAMP. Where can I get help?

Check these FAQs. If that does not help you, post all your issues, feedback, and other comments to the SpikeWAMP discussion board.

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This page was last modified 19:04, 16 May 2008.