System Requirements

Internet Web Server

As an ASP (Active Server Pages) application, CactuShop requires a Microsoft platform on which to run. Specifically, the host machine must run the following software:

  • Windows NT 4, 2000 or 2003 Server (XP Pro and some versions of Windows Vista can run a development version - more on Vista support)
  • Microsoft IIS 4.0+ web server
  • MS Active Server Pages support
  • MS Access database drivers or MS SQL Server 7/2000/2005 or MySQL 5+ (for Windows)
  • VBScript 5.0+ (installed on server with IE 5.0+, required for the image upload system to work)
  • CDONTS, CDOSYS, ASPmail (ServerObjects), ASPemail (Persits) or Jmail for sending email.
  • Microsoft MSXML3.0 DLLs installed on server (to use UPS shipping, CactuShop real time news feed and some payment gateways) - these are now standard Microsoft components and will probably be installed on most newer servers in default configuration. They must have direct internet access (if a proxy is required, this must be pre-configured by the server admins using Proxycfg.exe)

Furthermore, CactuShop requires IUSR 'full control' permissions on the upload images folders, the HTML folder and the database file and database folder (if using MS Access). Some hosts set these as standard for the whole web and others will do it to the required folders if requested. But a few hosts will not do this or will only do it to certain folders that *they* specify. In that case, CactuShop will not function properly. Do not select a host who cannot or will not set the permissions required for CactuShop to run properly.

UNIX/LINUX - CactuShop will NOT run on Unix platforms using Chilisoft ASP (Sun One Active Server Pages), Stryon iASP or any other third party scripting platform. CactuShop is designed for and tested on Windows only and uses advanced features that are not supported on the third party ASP engines.

NON-ENGLISH WINDOWS - CactuShop is developed and tested on English-language Windows software. While we endeavour to produce code that will run on non-English versions of Windows, we are aware that there may be unforeseen issues when running CactuShop on non-English Windows platforms. Please ensure you test CactuShop Lite fully before purchasing to ensure that it runs correctly on the particular localized Windows Server version that you are using.

Development Machine

Most users will want to set CactuShop up on their own computer or network in order to develop and test the site. Fortunately, Microsoft provides a cut down version of the IIS web server that allows CactuShop to run on the following machines for development purposes: Windows 95/98, 2000 Pro, NT 4 Pro, XP Pro. Note that the web server will not run on XP Home or ME.

Obtaining Microsoft Software

Personal Web Server (the cut-down version of the IIS web server), the required database drivers and latest version of Internet Explorer (which is an easy way of installing the latest version of VBscript on your server) are all Microsoft software and can be downloaded free from the Microsoft web site. Cactusoft does not supply or support this Microsoft software.