Shared SSL

[Matthew Holmes]

I have been trying to get my store online to use Shared SSL. I went ahead and purchased the hosting space, assuming that Catalog would generate the necessary scripts and pages for me to run on the SSL space, but it looks like I can only run it on one that has extra Actinic scripts. I am really peeved about this. No where in the documentation that came with Catalog or in the Advanced User guide can I find anything that says these extra scripts are necessary. It seems to me to be pretty essential information for what is supposed to be an out of the box solution to e-commerce.

So after further searching deep into Actinic's web site, I have come across the pdf file Split SSL Configuration: A Host's Guide. It seems I can set up Catalog to run across two servers as a normal SSL situation. So can anyone tell me what is "NFS access" that needs to be set up between the two computers.

Also I have to have the scripts checked before use on the SSL server, so I have to upload them manually using ftp. Does anyone know what scripts must be on the secure server, the guide above very helpfully only says "Additional modules (eg ACTINIC.pm, ActinicOrder.pm etc)" Does anyone know what the "etc" is?

Sorry to be bitter, but I do feel quite let down by this lack of information. Any help would be gratefully received.

Thanks,

Matthew

[Duncan Allan]

I opted not to use SSL and chose Protx as they don't need it to run the card processing. Apart from being cheaper!

I asked my ISP (demon.net) how to run Actinic before getting space. Somewhere out of the box or here, can't remember where is a questionaire for an ISP to confirm how to configure Actinic on their server.

Hope that helps.

Regards Duncan

[BilstonBob]

Hi

I don't know if this will help, but I hosted with Claranet and got Shared SSL as part of the package. It's a very good service for about £100 a year.

Also when I had problems getting the details correct for the shared SSL, customer services just went through everything step by step until it worked correctly. I didn't need to install scripts or know any technical details about the webserver set-up.

There is a small issue with shared SSL and Actinic i.e. cookies not clearing correctly, but apart from that it seems to work fine.

Anthony

[pinbrook]

Who is your host? and who are you buying shared SSL from?

or are you trying the run actinic with a shared SSL certificate...

actinic shared SSL is not the same as a shared SSL cert.

[Nadeem]

Hi Matthew

Please could i ask who are you hosting with?

Normally the hosting company sets up the NFS access between your insecure /acatalog/ folder to the secure /acatalog/ folder. Therefore there is a link between the two folders, So what gets placed in the insecure /acatalog/ folder, will be also placed in the secure /acatalog/ folder

Does anyone know what the "etc" is?

It talking about the perlscripts which are in your site 1 folder; if you go to C:\Program Files\Actinic Ecommerce v6\Sites\Site1

You will see files which are .pl and .pm.

Also I have to have the scripts checked before use on the SSL server, so I have to upload them manually using ftp.

This will not work with Actinic and SSL I'm afraid, Actinic will need to upload for you, using the network settings.

We advise customer to forward the ssl configuration documentation to their hosting company, this is the reason why the guide is in our hosting section of the website.

Kind Regards

[Matthew Holmes]

Dear Nadeem,

Thanks for your reply. I've just been talking to your telephone support and she told me I'm not going to be able to get this to work. Maybe you might have some ideas.

I'm with easily.co.uk. They haved a shared SSL server (which is why I thought it would work with the shared SSL option) with a shared certificate. No where in your documentation does it say the shared SSL server must an Actinic shared SSL server. It also would have been helpful if I had known the hosting documentation existed before I began to have problems and had to start looking. Then I could of asked Easily first. Please put this information in the manuals so people don't have to have the same grief I have had!

Unfortunately Easily haven't got the option of NFS access between the servers and their secure server rules are that scripts must be checked first.

I guess that means £175 down the drain and going back to using just the java encryption.

Regards,

Matthew

[Nadeem]

Hi Matthew

Sorry to hear about your ongoing problems. Unfortunately Actinic cannot work with all hosting configurations, and so its always best to check with the hosting company to make sure they can support actinic running under http and https simultaneously.

Unfortunately Easily haven't got the option of NFS access between the servers and their secure server rules are that scripts must be checked first.

If Easily cannot do the NFS access, then i'm afraid you have got the following options:

1. Put your whole site on SSL

2. Rather than have SSL, use a payment service provider

3. Change hosting company to someone who can set SSL in the way that Actinic requires.
You can find a list of our partner on the following url: http://www.actinic.co.uk/services/ecommerce-hosting.htm
or you could ask someone in this forum on recommendation of hosting companies.

4. Purchase Actinic SSL

Kind Regards

[Matthew Holmes]

Dear Nadeem,

Unfortunately Actinic cannot work with all hosting configurations, and so its always best to check with the hosting company to make sure they can support actinic running under http and https simultaneously.

Thanks, but again, I really feel Actinic should tell us up front (ie. in the start up manual) where we can get the configuration information to send to the hosting company. I only found it after I had problems and started searching. If I don't have the information as to what Actinic needs, then it's unlikely that the hosting company is going to know what is needed, especially given the range of software packages out there. Imformed customers are happy customers.

Regards,

Matthew.

PS: Thanks to all that responded to my problem. I appreciate you all taking the time to respond. Cheers!

[pinbrook]

I think you are being a bit unfair Matthew. I sympathise with your situation but as you said the information was there within the actinic supplied documentation, you only looked for it after it was to late.

It is true that Actinic can not be run on all server configurations, and it is true that not all hosting companies have the experience in hosting actinic, so the only person who has to put the 2 together is yourself, because you are the one who has chosen a particular combination.

If Easily were worth their salt they would offer you a refund on the shared SSL since they sold you something which did not do the required job.

You can still run catalog in Easily space with SSL. You can use Actinic Shared SSL or you can buy your own SSL cert, you only can't use your first choice which is the Easily shared SSL cert.

so all is not lost!!

[Matthew Holmes]

I think you are being a bit unfair Matthew. I sympathise with your situation but as you said the information was there within the actinic supplied documentation, you only looked for it after it was to late.

I don't think I'm being unfair. The information wasn't in the Actinic supplied documentation, and I didn't say that it was. It was in the hosting section of the Actinic website, not in the documentation supplied with Catalog. And I only found it after searching after the problems arose. I had no way of knowing it even existed beforehand because no mention of it was made in the supplied documentation.

Unfortunately Easily has had to incur costs with getting Versisign authentication for my company so unfortunately its not a simple matter of them just giving a refund. And they didn't sell me something, I bought the space on the understanding that Catalog could be run on shared SSL (which is what Easily advertised), and because that is what Catalog's documentation said, with no explanation that it applied only to Actinic's SSL. So if anything, if Actinic was worth their salt, they would own up to the fact that their documentation was misleading and they should offer me some sort of compensation. I would have put the information together had I knwn it existed.

I know that I can use Actinic shared SSL, I just didn't have any information beforehand that I couldn't use anything but a host that ran a form of actinic shared SSL. And at the moment I don't feel like giving Actinic any more of my money. And unfortunately getting my own SSL certificate isn't financially viable at the moment. So as I said, its back to the java encryption for now.

[Ben]

Hi Matthew

I appreciate your comments on this.

The information found in the hosting page of the website is also in the Help files in the software. However, this forum isn't the best place for commercial arrangements. If you would like to give me a call on 0845 129 4800, I'm sure we can agree a suitable resolution.

Ben

[Matthew Holmes]

Just wanted to say that I contacted Actinic and we have resolved the matter.

My faith has been restored in a good company and product.

Thanks,

Matthew Holmes