Need help with $_POST variables

jmilane

Hi,

I have a mysql box that has a private network ip. The old developer was running our web server on this machine but the company since retired the box and it is in a closet, still running, but sad and alone, aliased as oldserver.mycompany.com

I just installed PHP on our new IIS webserver.

I have a form that he built which collects information from potential clients and then passes it on for entry in the database (on the old box), sends out emails, does calculations, and so on and so forth. It does a lot, actually.

I cannot build a form to pass directly to this mysql box because it does not have a public IP. I cannot submit directly to a private IP.

So I was thinking I could have the form submit to our web server, and they my web server could in turn submit the $_POST variables to the private box.

This should work, no?

My problem is, I need to create a file on my web server that will do nothing but take the $_POST variables and hand them off to the private box for processing.

How can I take $_POST and repost it?

It is probably not difficult, but I am new to PHP. I have looked, cannot find the answer.

I would not be able to press a button, so the submission would have to be automatic.

Is this possible?

Can you help? I truly appreciate it. I need to get this up... as a temporary solution... then I can try to duplicate the functionality on the private box with the web server.

Thanks a lot!!!!!!

Weedpacket

The [man]cURL[/man] library can put together an HTTP POST request and send it. Failing that, it would be a matter of using [man]fsockopen[/man] and doing the HTTP protocol stuff and request formatting yourself.

Roger_Ramjet

You can connect to the old server from your new one provided the old server is configured to allow remote connections. So a script on the public webserver could update the db on the old server directly.

The big problem here is going to be your firewall and dmz configuration. A static route to the old server though your firewall and network gateway is possible, or port-mapping and packet forwarding if your firewall suports this. So much depends on your netwrok configuration that no more detailed answer is possible here.

jmilane

Roger Ramjet wrote:
You can connect to the old server from your new one provided the old server is configured to allow remote connections. So a script on the public webserver could update the db on the old server directly.

Yeah, that will work... and I figured I could use cURL... but Im having problems...

The big problem here is going to be your firewall and dmz configuration. A static route to the old server though your firewall and network gateway is possible, or port-mapping and packet forwarding if your firewall suports this. So much depends on your netwrok configuration that no more detailed answer is possible here.

I actually can connect. I have tried it. The problem is the following:

$ch = curl_init("http://oldserver.mycompany.com/somepage.php");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST); //use the POST method
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $_POST); //take the $_POST array
and use those as the POST parameters for the curl request
curl_exec($ch); //execute the request

does not work, because i guess CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS expects a string.

im stuck.

Weedpacket

$_POST is an array; but I figure what CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS expects is urlencoded and in querystring format.... this is how it is rendered in the request itself, and it's how the cURL library expects it. It would seem to be a good idea if PHP's curl_setopt() wrapper handled that, but it seems it doesn't.

Try putting [man]http_builder_query/man in there. Err.... if you don't have PHP5,

$postfields=array();
foreach($_POST as $key=>$val) $postfields[]="$key=".urlencode($val);
$postfields = join("&", $postfields);

But that won't work if the posted fields are themselves arrays.

jmilane

Weedpacket wrote:
$_POST is an array; but I figure what CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS expects is urlencoded and in querystring format.... this is how it is rendered in the request itself, and it's how the cURL library expects it. It would seem to be a good idea if PHP's curl_setopt() wrapper handled that, but it seems it doesn't.

Try putting [man]http_builder_query/man in there. Err.... if you don't have PHP5,
$postfields=array();
foreach($_POST as $key=>$val) $postfields[]="$key=".urlencode($val);
$postfields = join("&", $postfields);
But that won't work if the posted fields are themselves arrays.

I do have PHP5, and some members of the $_POST array are arrays!

How about serialize()? Will that help me?

I really appreciate your time here...

I guess I could go through and do this for each array first, then for the $_POST array... no?

Still, I would think there would be a better way.

Youre helping a lot. I appreciate it.