I can't seem to find any reference to an installation on a Unix server. The download is a .tar.gz - is that some sorta zip file? The installation documentation seems to discuss installation on a local machine whereas I'd just like to install on a paid host. I've installed and configured a number of oscommerce sites on hosts but all this silverstripe stuff seems like greek to me. Anyone know of installation instructions somewhere that describe installation on a Unix server host? Wamp/mamp - what's that? Any suggestions/advice/comments are appreciated.

there is a brief information page for installing on a existing webserver here - http://doc.silverstripe.com/doku.php?id=installation-on-webserver . Basically all you need to do on a Unix server is untar the file (search google for instructions on this) to your web root (on mine its /var/www/ or /var/www/html) and then just visit the site in your browser and you should be presented with a page that will allow you to install or explain whats wrong.

For more complex instructions like setting up VirtualHosts or enabling Apache modules then your best bet is to search google for relevant discussions.

Thanks Will,

I did as described and get to "Building database schema... " where it freezes. Not sure how to get around this one as it seems to be a common problem.

"Check that the php.ini setting allow_call_time_pass_reference is on" - "allow_call_time_pass_reference is set to '' in php.ini. You can install with allow_call_time_pass_reference not set, but some warnings may get displayed. For best results, turn it on."

"mod_rewrite enabled" - "I can't tell whether mod_rewrite is running. You may need to configure a rewriting rule yourself."

I have no clue what any of this means or what it's trying to tell me to do.

Thanks Kent,

The host is running PHP 5.2.6. I amended the .htaccess file as you mentioned. When you say, "Then write a php snippet as follows:" - what's a snippet? A seperate file or should it be added to the .htaccess file?

Thanks