Installation of DynAds Pro MySQL mod_perl Version 1.20

DynAds Pro mod_perl can be used as either standard CGI program or Apache mod_perl program. If the web server does not provide mod_perl functionality, then DynAds Pro runs as a standard CGI script. If your server is mod_perl anabled Apache, then DynAds Pro runs as a mod_perl application. We suggest using mod_perl server for very fast responses.

Requirements

In order to run DynAds Pro MySQL mod_perl V1.20, you need these features on your server.

1. Right to run Perl or CGI programs (i.e. cgi-bin directory)
2. MySQL database server. MySql is a free product that you can download and install from mysql.com.
3. The following Perl modules are required. These modules come with the standard Perl installation (except Net::SMTP). Any missing module can be installed from cpan.org for free.
   • CGI module
   • DBI and DBD::MySQL module
   • Fcntl module
   • HTTP and LWP modules for some operations
   • Net::SMTP module if there is no command line sendmail program for sending e-mails
4. Apache mod_perl server for memory resident operation.

DynAds Pro does not use any of the Apache::xxx modules in the scripts so that it is very safe to use it on servers other than Apache as a CGI script.

Fresh Installation

Installation of DynAds Pro is very easy. DynAds Pro comes with a setup program to configure database and program specific options.

Do the following steps to install the scripts.

1. For Unix/Linux systems, you must know the exact path to the perl interpreter installed on your server. The default on the scripts is /usr/bin/perl. The default path works for most systems. If your path is different from this (ask to your hosting provider, if you do not know it), open setup.pl, ad.pl and dynadmin.pl in a text editor and replace the first line with #!YourServerPerlPath. Do not put any space at the line beginning.
2. For Windows servers, make sure that your server associates .pl extension with the Perl interpreter.
3. Some rare servers require that the CGI file extensions must be .cgi. If your server does not accept .pl as a CGI application, then change the file names of setup.pl to setup.cgi, ad.pl to ad.cgi and dynadmin.pl to dynadmin.cgi (other file extensions should not be changed). In this document, we still refer to perl files with a .pl extension.
4. Upload all of the files to your server. Always upload perl files in ASCII mode. Make sure that, your server allows you to run CGI scripts under the directory you put DynAds Pro files (most servers require CGI scripts be under cgi-bin directory).
   Give execute permissions to the script files (755 or more restrictive one of your choice), setup.pl, ad.pl, and dynadmin.pl.
   For Windows servers, ask your hosting provider to give read-write-execute permissions to the installation directory.
5. Run setup.pl from your browser. For example, if your domain is http://www.YourDomain.net, and you installed DynAds Pro at the directory (relative to URL) cgi-bin/dads then type in your browser's address bar:
   http://www.YourDomain.net/cgi-bin/dads/setup.pl
   If everything is OK, you should see the main setup screen. One by one, enter the menus and set the configuration options. Setup program is self explanatory.
6. When you finished configuring DynAds Pro, run the control panel program, dynadmin.pl, from your browser. For example, if your domain is http://www.YourDomain.net, and you installed DynAds Pro in the directory (relative to URL) cgi-bin/dads then type in your browser's address bar:
   http://www.YourDomain.net/cgi-bin/dads/dynadmin.pl
   If everything is OK, you should see a Login page. Enter the administrator user name and password you have set in the setup program. Make sure that the cookies on your browser are enabled. dynadmin.pl requires cookies for user tracking.
7. If the scripts are not functioning, first check the file permissions. Then make sure that the first lines of executable files are set correctly to the Perl interpreter. If you can not find the problem, contact RobustHost.com for assistance and help.

Running DynAds Pro as a mod_perl Script

1. Install DynAds Pro like a CGI script as outlined in the steps above.
2. Configure your Apache server as to run scripts under the DynAds Pro installation directory as perl-script instead of cgi-script. Following reminders may help you to configure Apache.
   • Make sure your Apache server loads the mod_perl module. In the httpd.conf file of your server, there must be a command like
     LoadModule perl_module modules/mod_perl.so
     If your Apache was compiled with the mod_perl module, then the above command may not be needed.
   • Make sure that Apache::Registry is loaded with a statement like
     PerlModule Apache::Registry
   • Make sure there is a line of command to enable mod_perl for the DynAds Pro installation directory or files, like
     AddHandler perl-script 'file extensions' OR
     SetHandler perl-script
   • Make sure that the following lines exists for the configuration of DynAds Pro installation directory
     PerlHandler Apache::Registry
     PerlSendHeader On
   • If you like, DynAds Pro can also run under Apache::PerlRun instead of Apache::Registry. Just replace 'Apache::Registry' with 'Apache::PerlRun' in the above commands. Though, Apache::PerlRun is slower then Apache::Registry, it can run a script that Registry can not. DynAds Pro is fully compliant with Apache::Registry.
   • If you need further assistance for configuring Apache mod_perl, please contact to your hosting provider, to a knowledgable friend or to mod_perl home page. A very useful pdf file called 'mod_perl Guide' is available at http://perl.apache.org/guide/
   • Example Apache mod_perl Configuration for Apache 1.3.27:
     • In the LoadModule section of httpd.conf file include the command
       LoadModule perl_module modules/mod_perl.so
       There could be other commands you should load depending on the Apache version. Please review your Apache documentation.
     • In the AddModule section of http.conf file, include the command
       AddModule mod_perl.c
       Please review your Apache documentation if this command is needed.
     • In the virtual section of http.conf file, include commands
       PerlModule Apache::Registry
       PerlFreshRestart On
       
       Alias /mod-perl "LocalDirectoryPathToTheHomeDirectoryOfYourWebsite"
       <Location /mod-perl>
       AddHandler perl-script .cgi .pl
       PerlHandler Apache::Registry
       PerlSendHeader On
       </Location>
       "LocalDirectoryPathToTheHomeDirectoryOfYourWebsite" must be the directory which will be served when you access "http://YourDomain/" in your browser.
     • With the above configuration, you can access the script in mod_perl mode via the URL
       http://YourDomain/mod_perl/Path/To/Script/dynadmin.pl
       Still the script can be accessed in CGI mode via the URL
       http://YourDomain/Path/To/Script/dynadmin.pl
3. Under Apache mod_perl, scripts are cached in memory. When a request is made to a script it is compiled only for the first time and then kept in the memory. That is why mod_perl scripts run very fast. In addition, DynAds Pro internally caches the data which reduces the number of direct database accesses.
4. You can test if the scripts are running in mod_perl mode and are resident in memory.
   For ad.pl file, run the following command in the browser:
   http://YourDomain/InstallPath/ad.pl?md=isresident
   Script responds if Apache mod_perl is installed and if the program is loaded from disk or is resident. In the first several tries it may respond that the file is loaded from disk. Most Apache servers are configured to open a new process (instead of using the already opened process) for first several requests. However, for the subsequent requests it should respond that the file is resident in memory if the mod_perl is functioning correctly.

   Similarly run the following command for dynadmin.pl to test if it is resident in memory:
   http://YourDomain/InstallPath/dynadmin.pl?state=isresident
   

Upgrading

If not specified otherwise in the documentation of the new version, we suggest that you do a fresh installation in a directory different than the old version. After the fresh installation and configuration, you can transfer your old data to the new version via the data transfer feature of the setup program. Then, you can delete the old installation and rename the directory of the new installation to the old one if you like.

NOTE: DynAds Pro is not code or link compatible with DynAds! So, if you are upgrading from DynAds to DynAds Pro, you have to change your existing links and ad access/rotation codes.

RobustHost.com wishes you a happy DynAds Pro experience.