01-1425 e-Business Manager FAQ
- 1. MAS 90 and MAS 200 e-Business Manager Hosting Program Frequently Asked Questions What is it? The e-Business Manager hosting program (Best Hosting Services) is a service that hosts some of the components of e-Business Manager that otherwise would require the customer to maintain a Web server or pay for hosting at an Internet hosting provider (IHP). Why was Best Hosting Services created? Due to the nature of e-commerce products, most IHPs will not host them on a “shared server,” thus requiring customers to rent or co-locate an entire server, or to invest in maintaining their own server in-house. As you might expect, this can be quite expensive. Best Hosting Services was created to give customers who want to use e-Business Manager an inexpensive alternative to self-hosting or co-location, and therefore to help encourage sales of e-Business Manager. What are the components of the service? The service consists of hosting the Internet Server Application Program Interface (ISAPI) plug-in for e-Business Manager, and all of the customer’s e-Business Manager images, style sheets and JavaScript files. Corporate Web site hosting and Internet connectivity are not included in the service (see next two sections). As part of the service, communications between the Best Hosting Service and the client browsers (the customers placing orders via e-Business Manager) can be configured to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communications. This SSL encryption is provided at no additional charge. Do customers need to have their own Web server/Web site? Customers do not need their own Web servers, but they do need a Web site from which customers may link to e-Business Manager. There are no specific requirements regarding the type of Web site, but customers must be able to place the links on a page on their sites. If customers do not have a Web site, they may obtain a free site from Best using WebSite Creator, a benefit of their Subscription Plan. Does the customer still need dedicated Internet connectivity? Yes. The Web Engine portion of e-Business Manager requires a “real-time” connection to Best Hosting Services in order for e-Business Manager to function. Customers also need some sort of firewall between their networks and the Internet. This is a necessity when hooking up networks to the Internet. Do customers need to perform any special configurations on the Web Engine or firewall? e-Business Manager Hosting Program FAQs Page 1 of 2 01-1425 12/01
- 2. The Best e-Business Manager host will be configured to send and receive communications to the Web Engine on one of the following ports: 2953, 7677 or 8909. The port number will need to be specified when signing up for the service. If a corporate firewall exists between the Web Engine machine and Best Hosting Services, the Web Engine must be configured as follows. • The firewall must be set so that the Web Engine machine on port 2953, 7677 or 8909 can communicate with the Web server running your e-Business Manager site. Open the firewall so that the Best Hosting Service can communicate bi-directionally to the Web Engine on the appropriate port. • If using Network Address Translation (NAT), when configuring the firewall to open port 2953 (or 7677 or 8909) on the Web Engine, be sure to specify the exposed external (routable) IP address of the Web Engine, not the internal IP address. How much does it cost? The cost of the service is $500 per year, billed annually. How do you purchase the service? Resellers will sign their customers up through Best Online Support and Services (BOSS) using a Web form created for this purpose. The Web form is located in the MAS 90 and MAS 200 section of the Partner Services page. The reseller must be e-Business Manager certified to sell the hosting plan and receive support. There is no reseller margin for this service. How do customers get support? The plan includes unlimited support cases for questions concerning the hosting program. Customers can call their resellers or Best for support. How does the customer update the site with current images, style sheets, etc.? The customer uses the Web Publishing Wizard that is provided with the MAS 90 or MAS 200 client installation to publish their images to the Best Hosting Service. Part of the setup process is creating a user code and password to allow for secure uploads to the server from individual customer sites. e-Business Manager Hosting Program FAQs Page 2 of 2 01-1425 12/01