SQL Like
I assume =~ is the equivalent of the mySQL "Like" statement such as "where Product like '%toy%'" ?
If so this can be quite intensive on databases.
I have had to write a caching system as the minute my main site got really busy the LIKE statements were killing it!
This might be a deficiency in mySQL but if you have a 100 like request executing at the same time you could find the database grinding to a halt.
All I'm saying is load test (if you haven't done so already) before you release it otherwise you will be panic buying servers!
Another suggestion I would have is for you to use different servers for the standard CSV & XML downloads and the "Shop Window" type functionality. The later will be much more demanding on the machines as the requests will come in everytime a page on an affiliates web site is displayed.
__________________
Chris Young 
|