Zend and IonCube?

[Jamie Edwards]

Before selecting the package to download, you must decide whether you want to use the Zend Encoded version or the IonCube Encoded version of the software.

You must check with your host or system administrator as to which you should use. There is a lot of information and debate available on the web as to which optimizer is the better one. Rather than deciding on this, we offer versions of SupportSuite, eSupport and LiveResponse available in both types of encoding.


Zend Optimizer

For most web hosting accounts, it is usual that Zend Optimizer (v2.5.7 or greater) is installed which would mean that you are able to use the Zend Encoded version. To find out whether or not Zend Optimizer has been installed on your server:

• Create a new PHP file called phpinfo.php. Once created, type the following code in it exactly as it appears below and save it to a directory.

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

• Upload this file to a World Wide Web accessible location and navigate to it.
• You should then see a detailed output of your current PHP environment and settings.
• To tell if Zend Optimizer is installed from this page, scroll down until you find something similar to the figure below.

step1_1.gif

If Zend Optimizer is installed on your server, it will be listed here (as shown above).



IonCube

The IonCube Dynamic Loaders normally require no server installation and usually involves more than uploading additional files to your server. The loaders can be downloaded from www.ioncube.com/loaders.php, and need to be placed in a folder named /ioncube/in the directory your support desk is to be installed - if your support desk is available at www.yourdomain.com/support, the folder you need to upload the loaders to is www.yourdomain.com/support/ioncube.

You can only use the IonCube Dynamic Loaders if you have safe_mode set to Off and enable_dl set to On in your PHP configuration (php.ini).

If you do not have the correct settings as described in order to use the IonCube Dynamic Loaders, please contact your system administrator asking that they either change the settings as appropriate.

The alternative to this is to make IonCube available server-wide, which involves installing IonCube as a PHP module. Following this route means that the PHP changes mentioned previously (enable_dl and safe_mode) do not need to be made.