The purpose of this short chapter has been to point beyond a simple multi-site configuration to various modules that can extend multi-site capabilities. We briefly looked at authentication, shared content, shared structure, and cross-site searching.
Drupal's multi-site capabilities can make it easier to host many websites. As we've seen throughout the book, there are challenges to setting up multi-site, but the benefits outweigh those challenges.
Finally, we have diligently focused on the multi-site capabilities built into Drupal. But as I said at the beginning, multi-site is only one way of hosting multiple Drupal sites. Wisely choosing the best strategy for your needs will make both immediate set up and long-term maintenance easier. Multi-site may indeed be the best fit for your own needs, but if not, take a look at some of the other options Drupal provides, from simply hosting multiple instances of Drupal separately to using Domain Access for deep sharing of content. Thousands upon...