Building a phpBB forum site?

ButtermilkJack

Hi, I want to develop a small phpBB forum site as a training exercise (which may develop further in the future... ).

What do I need to get up and running? I've checked the phpBB site and from what I can figure all I need to do is download the free software and make sure I have a hosting plan with a (MySQL?) database. Anything else?

I'm pretty ok with XHTML and CSS but never used php before. Will this hold me back? I've read some tutorials that suggest it wont be a problem, as phpBB is mostly auto installation with simple admin config.

Also, if anyone has a similar site, could you post your average monthly bandwidth usage if possible?? Just want to get an idea of hosting requirements?

Thanks a lot!

seamus

Any basic hosting package will cover your bandwidth usage. Go with a reputable hoster, and you can upgrade your package should the need arise. There's no need to forward plan really - most forums start off very quiet for a year or two, then they fizzle and die, or explode.

You need PHP on the server and MySQL/PostGRESQL/MSSQL/Access database. Best to go with MySQL or PostGRESQL, they're the cheapest hosting packages (cos they're free).

You don't need to know any PHP. The entire thing is self-install and self-configure.

ButtermilkJack

Excellent seamus, that's enough to get me going. I reckon mine could be one of those that 'fizzle and die' , but what the heck, I'll give it a shot.

It's all in the name of research!!

Sparky

fizzle and die, oh i know all too well about that one

Rollo Tamasi

Buttermilk, i have a phpBB forum running here. Bandwidth shouldn't be a problem, after about 8 weeks of the forum running the sql database is 3.43 MB in size. The 3.43mb is taken up by 93 members,368 topics,2771 posts. We get about 5000 page loads a week.

We have about 20 mods running on the forum, which are basically hacks of the phpbb code to allow us to make the forum more fancy. A mod i would recommend you take a look at is "who has been online today mod", it will make your forum look more active. You can search for mods here.
Happy hunting

Sparky

yeah i have aswell a fair few mods on my forum also, only that its a pain when upgrading the forum with all the mods installed.
Not to mention having to do the mods aswell for each style.

andrew163

phpBB is great for small forums - it's simple and easy to use. However, if you grow beyond 50000 or 60000 posts you'll have to start thinking about the database - it can be a nightmare to move/repair if it goes wrong on a free/budget host, and phpBB won't be too cooperative either (it's database backup/restore tool is VERY basic - it won't work properly for big files).

Upgrading with alot of mods installed isn't too bad.... You can download upgrades as EasyMOD packages.. failing that, there's always a step-by-step guide on how to put them in manually which usually doesn't take too long..

hehehe....just upgraded my phpbb forum to vB tis great.. runs so much smoother...

Rollo Tamasi

andrew163 wrote:

hehehe....just upgraded my phpbb forum to vB tis great.. runs so much smoother...

i was thinking about doing that myself, did you transfer all your phpbb files to VB or was it just a clean install of VB. If it was a transfer, could you tell me how hard/easy/messy it was?

Thanks

andrew163

Deleted phpBB's files (not the database)... then uploaded vB and the included import tool, installed vB as a new forum (through the installation wizard thingy) with the same database, set up the import tool, and ran it. It converted my entire phpBB database to vB. Extremely clean and easy.

It also doesn't have any problem with large databases - it cuts it up into little chunks automatically.

Also had a tool to rebuild the search index which had been broken in phpBB for a while...

Although that said my fcking database has just disappeared *cries* I'm thinkni the webhost did it for some reason... mustn't like vB...email sent to them anyway...

<edit> *cries some more* Just lost the entire database... it was the webhost.... and all the backups I have are apparently incomplete >.< sigh..byebye 2 years worth of posts....survived 2 server changes, multiple database errors... now its just gone because netfirms can't write a working backup script </edit>

ButtermilkJack

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

Buttermilk, i have a phpBB forum running here. Bandwidth shouldn't be a problem, after about 8 weeks of the forum running the sql database is 3.43 MB in size. The 3.43mb is taken up by 93 members,368 topics,2771 posts. We get about 5000 page loads a week.

We have about 20 mods running on the forum, which are basically hacks of the phpbb code to allow us to make the forum more fancy. A mod i would recommend you take a look at is "who has been online today mod", it will make your forum look more active. You can search for mods here.
Happy hunting

Excellent, cheers Rollo! I never even thought about back-up etc as you guys are mentioning above. Oh well, who needs a back-up....

Seriously, thanks folks, great help as always!