OpenX 2.8.2 Release Notes

OpenX 2.8.2 is the next generation release of the hugely popular OpenX Ad Server.

These release notes cover what's new, system requirements, download and installation instructions, known issues and frequently asked questions for OpenX 2.8.2.

Please read these notes before reporting any bugs.

Please tell us what you think on the OpenX forum.

What's New in OpenX 2.8.2

* Release date: 2009-10-13

* Improvements to ad delivery - With OpenX 2.8.2, we have made a number of changes to the delivery engine to ensure the proper allocation of ads across contract campaigns. The resulting improvements will reduce the occurrence of under-delivery and over-delivery for all contract campaigns. This includes significant changes to maintenance as well as improvements to delivery.

* Improvements to campaigns using companion positioning - Prior to OpenX 2.8.2, once a "companion" campaign served one ad on a page, it prevented any other campaigns from serving ads on the page, regardless of whether the companion campaign could fill all of the page’s ads itself. In OpenX 2.8.2, we've fixed this behavior, so if there are ads on the page that the companion campaign is unable to serve, they will be offered to other campaigns (helping you avoid serving blanks).

* Security updates - We have completed a number of critical security updates to the ad server in OpenX 2.8.2 to reduce any potential vulnerabilities in the software.

* Resolution of a variety of issues relating to email/newsletter zones, performance, the user interface, and more.

* For complete details, see https://developer.openx.org/jira/browse/OX/fixforversion/10910.

System Requirements

Before installing, please make sure your server meets the system requirements.

As always, backup your database prior to the upgrade!

Downloading and Installing

• Downloading OpenX

  You can always find the latest version of OpenX here.
  Older and maintenance releases can be found here.

• Installing OpenX 2.8.2

  Installing OpenX 2.8.2 is a straightforward process. Follow these steps and use the links to refer to detailed information on each step where necessary.

• Upgrading OpenX 2.8.2

  Upgrading to OpenX 2.8.2 is a straightforward process. Follow these steps and use the links to refer to detailed information on each step where necessary.

  Very Important: The upgrade process will upgrade your OpenX database and the database may no longer be compatible with your old code base. Therefore, you should create a backup of your database, just in case.

  The upgrade wizard supports upgrading from the following previous releases of OpenX:
  
  

  Product	Version(s)
  OpenX 2.8	All versions
  OpenX 2.6	All versions
  OpenX 2.4	All versions
  Openads 2.4	All versions
  Openads 2.0 for MySQL (formerly phpAdsNew)	2.0.11-pr1
  Openads 2.3 alpha (formerly Max Media Manager v0.3)	2.3.31-alpha-pr3 (v0.3.31-alpha-pr3)
  Openads 2.3 beta	All versions
  Max Media Manager v0.1	v0.1.29-rc
  Openads 2.0 for PostgreSQL (formerly phpPgAds)	Not supported

  If you are not running one of these versions, you will need to upgrade your existing installation before you will be able to upgrade to OpenX 2.8.2. If you are upgrading from versions prior to 2.4, we strongly recommend you do so on a copy of your database.

Uninstalling OpenX 2.8.2

To remove OpenX from your server delete the installed files and database tables.

Known Issues

This list covers some of the known problems with OpenX 2.8.2. Please
read this before reporting any new bugs.

* The upgrade process may time out with very large databases. See the FAQ http://www.openx.org/help/2.8/faq/large-db for more information if you have a large database.

* OpenX 2.8 requires PHP 5. If you are using PHP 4, you will need to update your web server to use PHP 5 before upgrading.

* If you want to run OpenX with MySQL, please note that OpenX 2.8 requires MySQL 4.1 or higher. If you are using an older version of MySQL, you will need to update you database software before upgrading.

* If you want to run OpenX with PostgreSQL, please note that OpenX 2.8 requires PostgreSQL 8.2 or higher. If you are using an older version of PostgreSQL, you will need to update your database software before upgrading.

* Some of the PEAR libraries used are not compatible with database prefix names with double "_" characters (e.g. "ox__"). You should NOT install OpenX with a prefix of this format.

* Some users have reported issues of being logged out when viewing statistics. This can be worked around by ensuring that the timezone is correctly set in PHP http://www.openx.org/help/2.8/timezone-settings.

* Viewing, editing and updating Payment Details and Payment History when using OpenX Market Plugin currently doesn't work on the Safari browsers with default cookie settings. Please see more details here: https://developer.openx.org/jira/browse/OXPL-126

* See https://developer.openx.org/jira/ for the latest bug reports.

FAQ

1. What can I do to help?

   We need developers and users to provide as much feedback as possible to help make OpenX even better. Please read these notes on how to report a bug before reporting any bugs. You can also give us your feedback through the OpenX forum.

2. Can I upgrade from phpAdsNew?

   Yes. phpAdsNew was rebranded as Openads 2.0. You will need to ensure you first upgrade to the latest version of Openads 2.0 before using the OpenX 2.8.2 upgrade wizard.

   However, please note that OpenX 2.8.2 requires PHP 5, and also a more modern version of MySQL or PostgreSQL than phpAdsNew did. Please see the Known Issues section above for more details.

3. Can I upgrade from Openads?

   Yes. Openads was rebranded as OpenX. You will be able to upgrade from any version of Openads.

   However, please note that OpenX 2.8.2 requires PHP 5, and also a more modern version of MySQL or PostgreSQL than Openads did. Please see the Known Issues section above for more details.

4. Does OpenX 2.8 support PostgreSQL?

   Yes, OpenX 2.8.2 reintroduces support for PostgreSQL, although it is still experimental support. Please help us improve it by reporting bugs .

5. Where do I go for support?

   Support is provided through the OpenX forum. In this way, we hope that the whole community benefits from the answers given.

6. Where's the source code?

   You can access the OpenX source code using subversion. See our developer website.