====== Local Installation ======

Several clients express a wish to run the software on their local machines while they are configuring their classified and auction software.  This can certainly be done but there are a few things you need to be aware of.

Our software runs in a Internet server based environment which is not the environment of the local computer you connect to the Internet with.  But you can emulate the Internet server based environment on your local Windows-based computer through the use of a program called WAMP (Windows Apache MySQL and PHP) or XAMP (X for "cross platform" Apache MySql and PHP).  These install Apache and MySQL on your local computer and configures PHP to run on it.  You do not essentially need WAMP/XAMP to install this environment but WAMP/XAMP does this easily for you on Windows boxes.  More on each here:

[[http://sourceforge.net/p/wampserver/wiki/Home/]]

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XAMPP]]

The following will provide a list of packages that can do the same for Linux, MAC and other platforms:

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMP_Packages]]

Once you have this environment working you can then install, test and configure your Geodesic installation on your local computer.  Note that you cannot host your auction and classified installation for use over the Internet as this local environment built for local use only.  This local environment is not "viewable" by others on the Internet as the above packages install on the 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255 private IP block, which are local IP's, or to 127.0.0.1 which is the localhost((Meaning "This computer")) IP.  These IP's are not globally assigned over the Internet and so are not rout-able over the Internet.  

When working on a local environment changes within that environment only affect the installation in that environment.  So any changes you make within the admin tool, changes to Smarty templates or any changes within the PHP files will need to be duplicated within your "public" installation.  If you are making changes "locally" before installing on a "public" Internet server you would need to move the installation to the Internet based server to move any of your changes.  Even if the "local" environment installation is still used the public and local installations are not "tied" together so you will need to manually re-apply changes made in one installation to the other installation to have the installations "match" configurations.

  * You cannot use "localhost" when trying to access the local installation, the domain name must have at least one dot (.) in it, in order for browser cookies to work.  You can use the IP address instead like **127.0.0.1**. If you know how to properly update your computer's hosts file you may be able to create a "local domain" to use to access the software as long as it has at least one dot in the domain name, something like **local.host**.  The problem with "localhost" is that a browser will not save a cookie to the "localhost" domain((because of the lack of dots)), and cookies need to work to use the software.
  * If you are using an older license key (one with underscores "_" in the key), or you have already used both "install slots" on a newer license key, your license will need to be updated with the path for the local installation.  With your license, you can install the classified and auction software to a "main location", and also to a secondary "test installation" such as installing it locally like we are describing here.  The first time you install it, the license will automatically lock to the installation.  For the secondary installation, it will prompt to make sure it is being used for testing only, you just need to check the box to confirm.  Any test installations after that, you will need to contact sales@geodesicsolutions.com to add (or replace) any location to your license.
  * All the URL settings in the auction and classified software will need to reference the IP address (or local domain) you use.
  * The most common URL to use for a local installation is 127.0.0.1
  * Because your local installation is hidden from the Internet there is very little we can do in some circumstances to debug Geo software issues.  If you are seeing an uncommon or isolated issue with the software we generally need direct access to the installation to debug the issue.  
  * We aren't server environment administrators so debugging issues in your WAMP/XAMP installations are more impossible that debugging issues in the software