Refresh Software Documentation » Selene Directory » Server Requirements
Selene Directory is written in PHP, uses a MySQL database and will run on any OS that both PHP and MySQL are available for. Selene Directory is developed against (and extensively tested with) Windows(IIS 5 & 7), Linux(Apache 2.0) and Mac(Apache 1.33) Operating Systems.
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Minimum Versions
Required
Recommended
Important Note Regarding PHP4
The PHP Group terminated development of PHP4 on 31 December 2007 Because The PHP Group no longer maintains or supports PHP4 support for Selene Directory on this platform is not available.
Important Note Regarding MySQL 4.0
Starting with Version 0.9.1 Selene Directory uses specific technologies not supported by MySQL versions previous to 4.1, as a result support for any version less than 4.1.x is not available.
Important Note Regarding MySQL 4.1
Effective 31 December 2010 Refresh will be discontinuing support for Selene Directory on all versions of MySQL less than 5.0.x
Effective 31 December 2009 Oracle/Sun/MySQL AB discontinued extended support for version 4.1 of the MySQL platform. While Selene Directory does not currently employ features unavailable in MySQL 4.1, and does successfully run on the platform, because the author is no longer supporting this version long-term support for Selene Directory on MySQL 4.1 is being phased out. Refresh strongly recommends all Selene Directory users upgrade their server to MySQL 5.x+ as soon as is reasonably convenient.
Additional Resources
PHP & Hosting Settings/Requirements
- register_globals - Selene Directory has no dependence on register_globals. It may remain in it's default "off" setting.
- fsockopen & Internet Connection - Required. If fsockopen is disabled, or your server is not connected to the internet (or it's outgoing connection is disabled), Selene will not install or upgrade successfully.
- GD Graphics Library - Required. For CAPTCHA image creation to work your server must have support for the GD Graphics Library (If the library is not installed CAPTCHA setting will be disabled in the admin console and you will not be able to use Selene's CAPTCHA functionality.
- short_open_tag = on - Not required. Selene Directory has full support for the default PHP5 setting of short_open_tag = off.
- Directory Permissions - Admin privileges must exist to set selective directory permissions to allow Selene to write files to a limited number of directories. In many hosting environments these privileges are 0777, however, your environment may vary and you should contact your hosting support or system admin for details. Without the ability to write cache files Selene Directory will not function.
Sending Email
Selene uses the PHP mail() function to send emails. This requires that either the mail service for the localhost is active or PHP has been configured to use a remote SMTP server. Selene does not naively support authenticated SMTP connections. While this is planned for a future release (through use of PHPMailer) it is not currently available (as of 0.9.1).
Session Save Path Configuration
Some hosts require you to configure your PHP applications to write session data to a temporary directory assigned to your hosting account. This process requires you to:
- Identify your temporary directory path
- Copy & paste the following code into three Selene Directory files
To make this change to Selene Directory, insert the following code into Selene's include.php file. Open /directory/includes/include.php and insert:
session_save_path("YOUR_HOME_DIRECTORY_PATH/cgi-bin/tmp");
at line 9. Be sure that the existing line 9
session_start();
moves to line 10 and that no code is inserted above the close comment characters on line 11.
Rinse and Repeat
This change will also need to be made in the admin console to file /admin/includes/include.php (Line 9) as well as the setup wizard to file /directory/setup/index.php (Line 15) the steps for editing them are the same.
IMPORTANT For older versions of Selene Directory the line number of the sessions_start(); code may vary.
Finding YOUR_HOME_DIRECTORY_PATH
If you are unsure what your "home directory path" is please contact your hosting support or system administrator and they will be able to assist you.
Confirmed Hosts That Require Session Save Path Configuration
BizLand
FatCow
iPower
StartLogic
Hosting Company Specific Notes & Warnings
GoDaddy Hosting Customers
Selene Directory users have experienced anomalies with GoDaddy's PHP & MySQL configuration on their Windows Hosting Packages. GoDaddy hosting customers should use their Linux Hosting Package to host Selene, all reported issues related to GoDaddy hosting have been resolved by switching.
Yahoo Hosting Customers
Yahoo does not support PHP5 and only offers PHP4 for it's hosting customers. As a result Refresh will not be able to provide support for any Yahoo hosting customers and recommends anyone using Yahoo hosting upgrade their hosting service to a professional hosting service provider.
Please read the notice above regarding PHP4 for reasons why.
BizLand, FatCow, iPower and StartLogic Customers
Please see the note above about Session Save Path Configuration
Webs (Freewebs) Customers
Webs is not web hosting. Selene Directory will not work with the Webs service.
Website Building Services
Selene Directory is not compatible with most "build a website" services. Because these services only allow users to manipulate simple HTML content within a predefined template framework and not actually upload custom files or site components (specifically: PHP applications of the user's choice) Selene Directory will not work with these services.
Incompatible Services
- Moonfruit
- Squarespace
- Webs (Formerly Freewebs)
