System architecture

The Charter solution has been built using an Open Source platform, using LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL & PHP), and Drupal CMS to manage the published information, and modules developed by an external contractor. The overall of the Drupal customized modules and the own modules is called DRUPAU.
Hardware infrastructure
The Charter site is hosting in a dedicated server, in a subcontracted centre with the next properties:
Server: DELL PE SC1425
Processor: 2 x Xeon 3.00 GHz
Raid: 3 Ware
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Disk: 2 x 250 GB SATA
IPs: 2
Storage size: 4GB
File SIZE: 3 GB
Security based on the Cisco ASA 5510
Internet: 2Mbps bandwidth.
Middleware – Open Source - LAMP platform
LAMP will be used as the technological basis asit is licence-free, free of charge and open-source. It is a widely used combination so continuous development of this platform is enabled and results in low operation costs.
The acronym LAMP refers to a solution stack (In computing, a solution stack is a set of software subsystems or components needed to deliver a fully functional solution, e.g. a product or service.) of software, usually free and Open Source Software, used to run dynamic websites or servers. The original expansion is as follows:
Linux, referring to the operating system;
Apache, the Web server;
MySQL, the database management system (or database server);
PHP or others, i.e. Perl, Python, the programming languages.
The combination of these technologies is used primarily to define a web server infrastructure, define a programming paradigm of developing software and establish a software distribution package. Though the originators of these open source programs did not design them all to work specifically with each other, the combination has become popular because of its low acquisition cost and because of the ubiquity of its components (which come bundled with most current Linux distributions). When used in combination they represent a solution stack of technologies that support application servers.
LINUX
The primary difference between Linux and many other popular contemporary operating systems is that the Linux kernel and other components are free and Open Source Software. Linux is not the only such operating system, although it is the best-known and most widely used. Some free and open source software licences are based on the principle of copyleft, a kind of reciprocity: any work derived from a copyleft piece of software must also be copyleft itself. The most common free software licence, the GNU GPL, is a form of copyleft, and is used for the Linux kernel and many of the components from the GNU project.
As an operating system underdog competing with mainstream operating systems, Linux cannot rely on a monopoly advantage; in order for Linux to be convenient for users, Linux aims for interoperability with other operating systems and established computing standards. Linux systems adhere to POSIX, SUS, ISO and ANSI standards where possible, although to date only one Linux distribution has been POSIX.1 certified, Linux-FT.
Free software projects, although developed in a collaborative fashion, are often produced independently of each other. However, given that the software licences explicitly permit redistribution, this provides a basis for larger scale projects that collect the software produced by stand-alone projects and make it available all at once in the form of a Linux distribution.
The used release for development is Suse Linux 9.x. CentOS in production server.
APACHE
Apache is primarily used to serve both static content and dynamic Web pages on the World Wide Web. Many web applications are designed in anticipation of the environment and features that Apache provides. Apache is the web server component of the popular LAMP web server application stack, alongside MySQL, and the PHP/Perl/Python (and now also Ruby) programming languages. Apache is redistributed as part of various proprietary software packages including the Oracle Database or the IBM WebSphere application server. Mac OS X integrates Apache as its built-in web server and as support for its WebObjects application server. It is also supported in some way by Borland in the Kylix and Delphi development tools. Apache is included with Novell NetWare 6.5, where it is the default web server. Apache is used for many other tasks where content needs to be made available in a secure and reliable way. One example is sharing files from a personal computer over the Internet. A user who has Apache installed on their desktop can put arbitrary files in the Apache's document root which can then be shared.
Programmers developing web applications often use a locally installed version of Apache in order to preview and test code as it is being developed. Popular compression methods on Apache include the external extension module, mod_gzip, implemented to help with reduction of the size (weight) of web pages served over HTTP. Apache logs can be analysed through a web browser using free scripts such as AWStats/W3Perl or Visitors. Apache features configurable error messages, DBMS-based authentication databases, and content negotiation. It is also supported by several graphical user interfaces (GUIs) which permit easier, more intuitive configuration of the server.
The used version is Apache 2.2.10
MySQL
The MySQL® database has become the world's most popular open source database because of its consistent fast performance, high reliability and ease of use. It is used on every continent by individual Web developers as well as many of the world's largest and fastest-growing organisations to save time and money powering their high-volume Web sites, business-critical systems and packaged software -- including industry leaders such as Yahoo!, Alcatel-Lucent, Google, Nokia, YouTube, and Zappos.com.
Not only is MySQL the world's most popular open source database, it has also become the database of choice for a new generation of applications built on the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP / Perl / Python.) MySQL runs on more than 20 platforms including Linux, Windows, OS/X, HP-UX, AIX, Netware, giving you the kind of flexibility that puts you in control.
The used version is MySQL 5.1
PHP
PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. It generally runs on a web server, taking PHP code as its input and creating web pages as output. It can be deployed on most web servers and on almost every operating system and platform free of charge. PHP is installed on more than 20 million websites and 1 million web servers. The most recent major release of PHP was in August 2008,
PHP can be executed over almost all OS, as it is friendly to migrate to other OS
The used version is PHP 5.2.7
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