mariovaldez.net

This post is obsolete. Please check the newer version at the beginning of this forum.

When you install the OSCPMWin setup program (or unpack the zip file) you'll find some files in the "serverside" directory. Here is explained what to do with those files.

What is the oscpm1_upload.php file?
The OSCPMWin application doesn't handle directly the product images. Deletions, uploads and other checkings are done by this PHP script. You have to install it in the root directory of your osCommerce store (by default is the "catalog" directory).

The reason to have a server-side PHP script is to avoid the need of FTP access. FTP connections are more difficult to pass thru firewalls and to manage programatically in the client side. And, if you download the SSL extra package, you can encrypt also this http connection.


What is the sleepshell_0.0.1.tar.gz file?
The SleepShell code is the source code (in C language) of a small utility to be used with SSH-tunnel connections. It is optional. If you don't install it everything will work the same with your SSH tunnel.

If you are the server administrator and you will provide access to the database server to several users, it may be easier to create a single account for everybody. And if you want to provide the SSH account only for tunneling, they won't need a shell. Actually, providing a shell can be seen as a security problem.

So, you can create a single SSH account and then configure it to use SleepShell as its shell. SleepShell is just a wait-do-nothing program, effectively allowing your users to use the SSH tunnel without giving them access to a command-executing shell. It is compiled code, so it's safer than a script (if it crashes the tunnel is simply closed).

If you are an user and your server administrator hesitates to give you an SSH account because of security concerns, direct him/her to this page: http://www.mariovaldez.net/software/sleepshell/

If you have any question about the server side installation of these components, post it to the forums or send me an email.

Regards,

Mario A. Valdez-Ramirez.