Use of Multiple Site Version

When creating a website, CMS is installed only in the root catalog of a web server. After system installation, the static pages and files intended for display in different website mirrors (e.g., language mirrors) are located in the relevant subfolders of the root catalog. If you create several websites on the same hosting, you have to install the system in each root catalog of the relevant website. This approach will obviously result in a complete decentralization of the management of your projects. Moreover, the disc space of the hosting is not used properly.

The Bitrix Framework system is developed taking into account the requirements of the companies wishing to support several websites (e.g., language mirrors or topic-based sections). The multiple site concept requires significantly fewer resources to support projects and permits managing all websites from one place.

The system kernel permits using the following types of URL to identify websites bound to the system:

Relative, by folders (/de/, /en/) - for operation of site mirrors on the same domain under the management of a single system;
Absolute, by domain (www.site.com) - for operation of different sites under the management of a single system;

In order to create several sites without installing the system in each root folder of each site or in order to create several sites without placing them in subfolders of a root folder, two web servers (or virtual hosts of one web server) should be created with different root folders, and symbolic links of the folders /bitrix and /upload should be created inside each root folder using tools of the operating system.

Thus, common entities for all projects on the same hosting are the folders /bitrix, /upload, and the database. Websites are divided by static pages of the server and by the field Site of the database objects (news, polls, etc.).

Important:

Any mode of a multiple site uses a single kernel and a single database. As a result:

All sites in a multiple site configuration are created on a single edition, i.e. all websites share the same set of modules/instruments;
Site administrators cannot be separated, the administrator of one site is also the administrator of the second site;
Both sites must use the same encoding.

Sometimes it may be necessary to transfer two sites from various installations to one with a multiple site configuration. That is technically possible but it is not provided for in the standard configuration.