Hi all,

I'm with a company that offers redhat (actually, an older akopia version) interchange through their cpanels. I just recently took a look at it and it looks really fantastic for something that's free!

Anyway, I played around with it a little the other night but for the last two days I've been getting a message every time I access it telling me that the interchange server is not available.

My first instinct was to find another host. I went to the mchost boards looking for answers as to whether or not marc's interchange version is up and running smoothly. He said that this message sometimes appears on his system as well. But that all that needs to be done to fix it is to send in a quick ticket to the help desk.

What I'm wondering is the following.

Does interchange use a server outside of where it resides to operate? Marc mentioned that I could always install whatever version of interchange I wanted locally. Can interchange run completely and totally within my cgi-bin and on my webspace? If that's the case, I might want to try actually downloading the newest version of interchange and giving it a shot. I figured since it was being offered through the cpanel, that it was something that had to be installed at the root level or something like that. Is this the case, or can I actually install storebuilding software on my own space?

Also, while I'm adept at installing practically any cgi one could throw my way, I'm not sure if this is something that I could tackle right off the bat. If simply installing and changing configurations is all I'm really going to need to do, then I should be able to handle it. Let me know if this is the case also.

Out of all this, something good will probably come. While I may not join over at mchost RIGHT NOW, I will likely join towards the end of my billing period. You gotta love a hosting company that has their own forum up and running for all to see.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me on this. I'm sick to death of hand-coding my dinky shopping cart links and can't wait to get something like exchange running
.
Beau

Interchange has its own server program that has to be running. A problem with this program is usually the reason for the 'interchange server is not available' error message.

My conclusions about Interchange, having tried it for a few months, are that it is an incredible program if you are just going to customize one of the existing templates. However, building up a site from scratch using Akopia/IC is hell.

1. You don't want to run interchange. The software is rip off and BS.
2. To fix that error you can either fix the permissions on the cart or rebuild the catalog.

Great range of functionality, great price (free), but hard to keep running all the time--just a bit buggy.

Interchange is an AMAZING tool but it is relaly not geared for most users or stores. If you plan on running a huge e-commerce system with speed and power and have a few developers just to tweak it, customize it and so forth you're good to go but otherwise its mroe than you need and more trouble then its worth.

Originally posted by TedS
Interchange is an AMAZING tool but it is relaly not geared for most users or stores. If you plan on running a huge e-commerce system with speed and power and have a few developers just to tweak it, customize it and so forth you're good to go but otherwise its mroe than you need and more trouble then its worth.

If you're setting up a huge eCommerce system, then you probably have a reasonable budget too. Why not go with a custom solution or something from IBM then instead of hiring one of the 5 people in the world (exaggerating) who are IC pros?

I'm just bitter because the one time I tried to build an IC store from scratch, I got the entire store done up to the payment system, which I was having trouble with. I called RedHat for help, and they offered to rebuild the entire thing from one of the templates (which would look nothing like how I wanted it to) and then charged me $350 just for that recommendation.

Not all "huge e-commerce systems" are backed by a decent budget. I'm walking talking proof! My catalog of designs is over the 3000 mark. That's 3000 different products that I'll have for sale on my site. My budget basically boils down to what's in my wallet and my bank account (I hate debt and avoid it like the plague).

I've looked at some of the other options in open source (oscommerce, phpshop, mycart, etc), but none of them seem to have the functionality that interchange has. The only thing I don't like about IC that I've seen so far, is the fact that no-one has come up with a working paypal module that uses paypal's IPN feature. But this is minor considering it offers things FAR more advanced than the alternatives (some of which DO have working paypal modules). Things like upsell and cross-sell features.

I can handle the payment gateway setup (even a crude implementation for paypal), but the "server not available" error is something that I would hope they would get around to fixing. If this is something that I can just check every morning to make sure it's working and quick fix it somehow (marc at mchost says it's a quick fix thing), then I'll probably stick with IC for now until one of the other alternatives catches up to it in functionality. Besides, the other systems don't seem to have an importing feature as intuitive as IC. If it would take me 100 hours to set up a system where I have to upload products one at the time but get a few extra features, it wouldn't be worth it. With IC, it looks like I'll be able to upload my entire product catalog in a matter of minutes and then if I don't like it, I haven't wasted forever trying to figure it out.

Anyway, thanks for all the tips and suggestions. As usual, on this board, I take them all to heart. You guys are a great source of information.

Beau

I frankly recommend if you are going to be building e-commerce sites that you purchase software. Two in particular can be purchased one time-Shop Factory and Web Genie. Others I can't think of at the moment also fit that bill. I utilize Shop Factory Developer addition with their Import Wizard Software. You just create a database off-line and can easily import and update. Many styles and flexibility to develop your own style.