Installation of DynAds TDB Version 2.10

Requirements

In order to run DynAds TDB V2.10, you need these features on your server.

1. Right to run Perl or CGI programs (i.e. cgi-bin directory)
2. The following Perl modules are required. These modules come with the standard Perl installation. Any missing module can be installed from cpan.org for free.
   • CGI module
   • DBI module
   • Fcntl module
   • HTTP and LWP modules for some operations
3. A directory with read/write access to store text database files.

Fresh Installation

Installation of DynAds TDB is very easy. DynAds V2.10 comes with a setup program to configure database and program specific options.

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 and it should work on most systems. If your path is different from this (ask to your hosting provider, if you don't 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 spaces 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 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. And give write permission (666 or 777) to configuration files 'da210adcfg.pl', 'da210admincfg.pl', and 'da210sharedcfg.pl'.
   For Windows servers, ask your hosting provider to give read-write-execute permissions to the installation directory.
5. Copy the lib directory to the installation directory on your server with all the hierarchy preserved. After copying you should have a directory named "lib" in the installation directory (eg, cgi-bin/dads/lib).
6. Run setup.pl from your browser. For example, if your domain is 'http://www.YourDomain.net', and you installed DynAds at the directory (relative to URL) 'cgi-bin/dads' then type in your browsers 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 to the menus and set the configuration options. Setup program is self explanatory.
7. When you finished configuring DynAds, run dynadmin.pl from your browser. For example, if your domain is 'http://www.YourDomain.net', and you installed DynAds at the directory (relative to URL) 'cgi-bin/dads' then type in your browsers address bar:
   http://www.YourDomain.net/cgi-bin/dads/dynadmin.pl
   If every thing is OK, you should see a Login page. Enter the admin 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.
8. If the scripts are not functioning correctly, 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.

Upgrading

Database structure of DynAds TDB V2.10 is different from the database of V2.05. On the other hand, CGI interface of ad.pl (ad delivery engine) is completely down compatible with V2.05. Therefore, for a seamless upgrade from V2.05, first install V2.10 in a different directory at the same level with the old one. For example, if V2.05 was installed on /cgi_bin/dads, then install V2.10 in /cgi-bin/dadsnew. Then, transfer the old database to V2.10 via the setup.pl program. Test the new installation by some examples. Then rename the old installation directory to another name (eq. to /cgi-bin/dadsold), and rename the new installation to the old name (eq, to /cgi-bin/dads). Now, the new version should start to serve your ads. Do not delete the old installation until you are convinced that the new version is working properly.

RobustHost.com wishes you a happy DynAds experience.