Shut down site while updating...

[EaglesNest]

Hi All,

Can someone point in the right direction and tell me how I can shut down the store while it is being uploaded?

Is there a way to automatically suspend the store, and put another index.html in place to let people know that the store is in maintenance mode?

Thanks
Eagle

[newshopbloke]

I used to do this by first suspending all ordering and then using a seprarate ftp program to upload a temporary index.html. At the end of the update the index.html will be changed back to your actinic one, providing thats how you have it set up in th first place.

Mick

[omulcock]

Thats the way I tend to do it as well. I can't think of any other way around the problem.

[EaglesNest]

Thanks so much guys for the ideas. I have written a VB script to use with CuteFTP that logs in to the server and copies my maintainence index.html to the webroot and then terminates the connection. After that I can go to Actinic and suspend ordering, upload, and then unsuspend ordering. The thing I do not really like is it is a three step process.

1) Run the script to upload the maintainence index.html
2) Suspend ordering in Actinic and update the site.
3) Unsuspend, and UPLOAD again.

Is this correct or am I missing something. That has been just one of my arguments for having a server based database... ooooO did I touch an exposed nerve?

Eagle

[Mike Hughes]

Is there any point in doing the 'suspend' bit. For this to work you have to upload the website by which time it's not needed any more.

Mike

[omulcock]

The only reason you may have to do it is if customers were not going via the index page to enter the site. i.e. direct page entry from search engines.

Also, how many steps would you want it reduced to? Surely you need at least 2?

[pinbrook]

I have to confess I never suspend, just upload or refresh and hope for the best!

[BeerHunter]

I have to confess I never suspend, just upload or refresh and hope for the best!

neither do I. But I do check the firewall logs to look for active connections first.

[jont]

I have to confess I never suspend, just upload or refresh and hope for the best!

phew...not just me then with the fingers crossed

[GiganticDays]

olderscot's post rang true with me too; what's the point of suspending ordering before an update when in order to do it, you need to do an update?
Or am I missing something?

[jont]

Doesn't seem to make much sense - unless your log stats show you receive 95% of your hits over the lunch break then that would be a time to suspend just before ... then again if you knew that you would upload at midnight anyways.

No matter which process you take you risk the slight chance of losing an order