Firstdata test account, Zen cart live production mode

First I think you guys are doing great. :hug: I say this as fact because I managed to assemble my Zen cart using all FAQ’s found here. This is coming from someone that started back in April knowing literally nothing about PHP, HTML, JS, Script, or even what a Zen Cart was.

Looking at some of the post from the Zen cart team: ‘wilt’, ‘Kim’, `Ajeh’ and ‘DrByte’ I am not sure but as a combined team or as individuals may have broke some kind of a record for the worlds most post and belong in the Guinness book of world records, just a thought and not sure if Guinness would even have such a category.

Anyhow thank you and back to business because I cannot find the answer anywhere.

First, I have two pem and cert numbers, the first is for my store when in production mode (live account), the second is for my test account (staging server) With Firstdata that works like a live account but none of the transactions are actually settled nor does it cost using it and I have it for personal use for 30 days.

My question/s are, how do I setup my Zen cart 1.39d shop while in the live production mode to use the Firstdata test account or is this necessary since everything in Zen carts test mode is working fine? Is there a code I can input some place to direct Zen cart in production mode to use Firstdata staging payment sever before going fully live?

I have already tested both pems using Zen carts accept and decline settings and all works well, except I would feel more comfortable testing through the Firstdata test account before going fully live since none of the transactions are actually settled.

What do you think am I being paranoid and further testing is not necessary? Was a test account with Firstdata even necessary?

And I apologize in advance if I posted this in the wrong thread or started a new that was not necessary or did not provide enough info not sure what all is needed yet.

All the question asked does not need answering just grab what stands out to you and anything would help.

Thank you

Billy
midnightadwar.com (Currently down until I figure out what the next move is, live or keep testing.

Your post seems to suggest that you've already tested using the test account and it's working fine.
Thus, the next logical step is to set up the store to use the Live/production account and do a couple live transactions before finally inviting customers to shop. You do want to see the money go all the way to your bank account as a confirmation that settlement works properly too. So, doing a live transaction is an important step.

Thank you for the quick reply.

I guess by your reply that when Zen cart is in testing mode that in fact it is talking to the first data gateway test account? At https://staging.linkpt.net/lpc/servlet/lppay which is on a different server from the live account.

It is to my understanding that when Zen cart is in test mode it is only testing the payment module and has not actually communicated with Firstdatas test account yet and only pinged it to check to see if the port 1129 is open.

I guess I do not understand what Zen cart is doing when in test mode. Is it communicating with Fistdata "staging store” to an test account and not a live account regardless what pem I use?

Or if you would please just point me to the threads that describe in detail what Zen cart is doing in test mode, and save you some time.

And yes your right I would like know but I have not used the test account (store) that I am aware of unless Zen cart does that for you automatically. I have not inputted the url any place directing Zen Cart to my test account so how does it know?

I would like Zen cart to be in production mode (Live) but process through my Firstdata test account (test store) so if there were bugs in the processing it would not cost anything.

I am so confused right now the only thing I could possibly accomplish is to confuse you or other that read this junk.

This is where I am at I have the test account.

I uploaded both pem numbers for the live account and the test store.
With Zen cart in test mode in the payment module setup in the admin section I input my store pem number to my live account ran a series of test using the credit card numbers provide with accept or declined selected and received conformation and decline letters to the email provided from Zen cart not Firstdata.

I repeated the above with the test store pem received the letters per same without any error messages except for one from amex which I do not accept so I expected this error.

The next step I think I am at is to set Zen cart into production and run the same test through the Firstdata test store using this link https://staging.linkpt.net/lpc/servlet/lppay that is on a different server from the live account in order to simulation an actual transaction with out the cost. After this test if proven successful then replace my test store pem with my live pem and then run an actual transaction. However, if it fails I can continual to use the test store to test and correct any problems. I don’t know I am having problems understanding why have a test account if it is not needed when using Zen cart, but I can not find anyplace where it is stated that Zen cart and Firstdata has such a marriage and a test account is not necessary.

I have all the pdf manuals, wrappers, API, CGI programs, schema, the only thing I used from that was the schema in order to retrieve to my cert and pem for my live account.

Anyhow, sorry for any confusion.

Copied and paste the info below pertaining to the testing store.

Requesting a Test Account (done)
To request a test account, please fill out our teststore form or contact us at
[email protected].
Once your test store is set up, the test store will be valid for 30 days. For additional usage after
30 days, you may request an extension. If no extension is requested, the test store may be
permanently removed any time on or after the 31st day. Maintenance on the test server may be
performed without prior or adequate notice to the users. We will notify users when possible of
any maintenance or outages on the staging (test) server.
Test store policy
Test stores may NOT be used for the following purposes:
To reverse engineer the system to understand or breach security of the LinkPoint
Gateway.
l
l To copy any of LinkPoint International products.
l To abuse the staging server in any way. LinkPoint International will frequently monitor test store usage. Any breach of the above
policies will result in suspension or permanent removal of a test store.

Support
Feel free to contact us at [email protected] for any test store related questions. Contact [email protected] for LinkPoint technical support.
(they are not very helpful answering Zen Cart question)
Going Live
When you apply for a live store it will be on a different server and will have a different store number. You will need to change your host name and store number in your code. Also, when you want to go live, make sure the result field in the orderoptions entity is set to LIVE.

Password
Ignore the section in your welcome e-mail about calling us for your initial password for your
test store. Your initial password will be 12345678. To protect your test account, you should
change this password on initial login.
Sign In / Login
LinkPoint Central (LPC) provides you with a virtual terminal and order management functions.
On the staging server, LPC is available at https://staging.linkpt.net. To log in, enter:
l Your Storename: (a 10-digit number for test accounts),
l Your Username: (a 6-digit number), and
l Your Password: (initial password is 12345678)
LinkPoint Basic
To set up your LinkPoint Basic test account:
l The storename parameter will be a 10-digit number on the staging server.
l The posting url will be https://staging.linkpt.net/lpc/servlet/lppay
The Admin url will be https://staging.linkpt.net/admin/xxxxxxxxxx/hlpadmin , where
xxxxxxxxxxx is your 10-digit store number.
l
LinkPoint Select API
l Set the configfile data field to your 10-digit test store number.
l The host will be staging.linkpt.net.
The keyfile is your digital certificate (cert and key including dashes) included at the bottom of "Welcome to LinkPoint Select API" e-mail. Save this certificate to a file on your Web server with a .pem extension. If you are using JavaTM, see Prerequisites for
Java.
l
l The port is 1129 for all APIs.
Downloading Software
For all API and Wrapper downloads visit https://www.linkpoint.com/viewcart/index.html
For sales please call 1.888.477.3611 option 1.
© 2003-2004 LinkPoint International, Inc. All rights reserved.
All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners.

Testing with your LIVE Account
To perform tests with your live account, set the result field in the orderoptions entity to GOOD (for an approved response), DECLINE (for a declined response), or DUPLICATE (for a duplicate response). We do not recommend performing tests with your LIVE account other than those necessary to validate correct functionality of your live account. Please request a test account if you need to do extensive testing. When you are through testing, make sure you set the result field in the orderoptions entity to LIVE.
© 2003-2004 LinkPoint International, Inc. All rights reserved.
All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners.

Test Credit Cards
For testing purposes, you can use any of the card numbers listed below. These are test card
numbers that will not result in any charges to the card. Use these card numbers with any
expiration date in the future.
l American Express®: 371111111111111
l Discover®: 6011-1111-1111-1111
l JCB®: 311111111111111
l MasterCard®: 5111-1111-1111-1111
l MasterCard: 5419-8400-0000-0003
l Visa®: 4111-1111-1111-1111
© 2003-2004 LinkPoint

You're making it WAY TOO COMPLICATED for yourself.

You, as a merchant, do NOT need a Linkpoint Test Account. To clarify further, you do NOT need to send transactions to staging.linkpt.net.

The test account is only needed if you're a programmer wanting to write new API code integrations. That's what the Zen Cart developers take care of for you.

On your end, the process is simple:
a) Follow the Tutorial/FAQ on setting up your store to use Linkpoint/FirstData: https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=298
b) As per the same Tutorial/FAQ, run the two tests: Run a test transaction for "Decline". Run a test transaction for "Successful". Confirm that in both cases you get the results you expect (ie: decline says so and takes you back to payment options screen, and successful says so and completes the checkout).
c) As per the same Tutorial/FAQ, put the module into LIVE: Production mode and start taking orders.

Done.

Wow that simple, :frusty: Thank you very much! Firstdata over whelms with so much data I did not know what to do with it all.

Thank you. Thank you, and Thank you very much.

All is good in the neighborhood.:hug:

Billy