suggestions on how to setup 190,000 products?

[iddy]

hi

I'm using v1.3.9 and am just trying to sort out the best way of setting things up to handle 190,000 products. very few if any of the products will have attributes.

whats the best way of setting up the categories - how many categories deep should i go max?

any other tweeks i can make to zen cart to help it along?

I understand that alot depends on the server but i want to make sure i give the server every chance

thanks

[schoolboy]

Not even the mega-giant WalMart carries 190,000 lines.

Much more than the technical considerations are logistics.

My question would be... Do you have the resources at hand to manage an inventory of 190,000 products? WalMart employs several hundred buyers and brand-line managers to do this.

Anyway, if you are intent on stocking 190,000 products, then think firstly like a CUSTOMER. Do whatever categorisations necessary to make it LOGICAL for customers. It's usually not a god idea to drill down beyond four sub-categories.

And split your images into separate folders. Ideally, any one image folder should not house more than 2000 jpegs.

[schoolboy]

And with this size store, you will need a GOOD HOST... So keep WELL AWAY from the GoDaddy, 1&1, Fasthosts of the world...

[iddy]

Thanks for the reply schoolboy.

would setting the SQL_CACHE_METHOD help in this case? and if so is database or file the better option?

The actual physical number of product is closer to 30,000 but the goal is for the customer to be able to purchase by applicaton so the zen product count is much larger.

i have the option of reducing the number of zen products by searching on 4 custom fields in each product record but to my mind this would increase the load on the server more than having the customer click through the categories until they find the product they want. am i correct in this?

and thanks for the comment on the images. I have IH2 installed so I'll do some checking on that.

thanks again

[redeye2]

2 words STRONG COFFEE

[RodG]

I'm using v1.3.9 and am just trying to sort out the best way of setting things up to handle 190,000 products

I'd normally suggest adding one product at a time (its far less daunting that way), but in this case it isn't practical. You need some kind of automation (or a LOT of help).

Look at the math:

Assume you can upload one product every 30 seconds (is that even possible?), it will take 5.7million seconds, which equates to
95,000 minutes, or 1,585hours, or 66 days... That is over two months of constant and continual uploads ... even longer if you take time out to eat and sleep.

Is this going to be viable? I'd be inclined to start out with much smaller ambitions and let the store 'grow' at its own pace. This will also allow you plenty of time to determine the best way to organise your store in regards to the various categories, etc.

I admire your ambition, but to me, it appears like you are asking for tips on how to swim the English Channel before you can manage a lap or two of an olympic swimming pool. (no offense intended)

Cheers
Rod