Finally....Man I was lost

[aPEX]

ok here's the deal, im tired of free boards so i wanna use this vBulletin stuff, now my question is, i've set up a web server on one of my boxes and i wanna know if i can host a forum through that

[Floris]

Does it meet the vBulletin requirements? If so, yeah.. probably will :)



Minimum Requirements: vBulletin is designed to run on every server that has PHP 4.0.4 or greater and MySQL 3.23 or greater installed.

Recommended Requirements: For optimum performance, we recommend that vBulletin is run on a server that has MySQL 3.23.33 and PHP 4 (latest version) installed.

The software has been successfully installed on several different flavours of UNIX (including Solaris, and Redhat Linux), as well as Windows NT/2000/XP.

Note: We recommend you contact your server hosting company to verify that they have the correct versions of PHP and MySQL installed. If you administrate your own server, PHP and MySQL are available for free download from php.net (http://www.php.net/) and mysql.com (http://www.mysql.com/).

^--- from the features page

[andrew johnson]

ok here's the deal, im tired of free boards so i wanna use this vBulletin stuff, now my question is, i've set up a web server on one of my boxes and i wanna know if i can host a forum through that
you should go to www webhosttalk com they able help you

[SaintDog]

Well, it really depends Andrew, if he aleady has a server running then he may be able to if he is running the minimum software requirements to run vBulletin.

It would be best to start off with a few questions such as the ones below:

1). Is this a home set-up server, a colocated server, dedicated server or another?
2). Do you have at least the above mentioned software installed and working properly?


The reason I ask about the server type is because most ISP's will not permit you to run a server from your home and even if they do, a few users to your website will saturate your line and it will be dirt slow; especially a forum-based website since they require a bit more than that of a basic static page.

Tell us a little more about your plans, the server type and so forth and we can go from there :).

[Floris]

you should go to www webhosttalk com they able help youThey don't provide Jelsoft support I think :)

[aPEX]

my bad guys...basically its new to me all of this, so as far as whether my ISP will allow it time will tell i suppose....now...

Apache, installed and working fine...i set up a weh hop at dynDNS.org and thats working fine, i tested out some basicl html and what not.

PHP is installed and working fine as well as mysql...

right now it seems to be my problem is editing the "hhtpd" file within Apache

i have it runing off one of my drives and within that drive i have one folder entitled "forums" as it told me to do in the read me file....i tired to edit the hhtpd file but nothing seems to be working out exactly....when i made the root "/forums", i could see everything within that folder but i was told to point my browser to "/forums/instal/instal.php" and i can even get into the instal folder it shows nothing inside of it....im kinda in a hole right now

[Floris]

Your first post says 'and now i want to use vbulletin stuff', which makes me think you might need to purchase it first. So that would be your first step.

After having a license you can unpack the files and upload them to your forums/ directory in your public_html/ or www/ or whatever is defined in apache config files. Check the apache manual on how to setup apache after compile to have a public web page.

[aPEX]

i know, i intend on purchasing it, im trying to become comfortable with all this new stuff to me...im not gonna go out and spend $85 on something i dont even know how to use, configure and whether its even gonna be usable....if you guys dont wanna help any furthur its fine i understand....im just learning and im tired of free boards crashing on me

[Floris]

but i was told to point my browser to "/forums/instal/instal.php" and i can even get into the instal folder it shows nothing inside of it....im kinda in a hole right now
If you don't have a license, you can't have file, which might explain why the folder is empty. You can get those files after purchase.

[aPEX]

is there a demo board anywhere like a trial version i can download to try it all out....i have files in the zip folder i got from a friend....but like i said when i root it they dont show up....i just dont wanna waste my money

[Floris]

At the moment there is no admin demo for version 3.

If you have just installed apache and php and mysql then I am sure those are not old versions and version 3 runs just fine with the latest stable releases.

It is just a matter of you setting your web server, database server and php correctly. Thankfully those services come with a manual.

If a file.html loads in your browser, then try to make a custom .php file to test things:

<?php
print "Hello there";
?>

save as index.php and load it in your browser. if you get that code, then php is not properly installed, if you get Hello there, then things are properly installed and if you get a 404 page, then you uploaded it to the wrong directory.

For your info: $85 is a one year license, the forever years license is $160

[aPEX]

that worked fine....thanks...now just the install thing....

[Shining Arcanine]

is there a demo board anywhere like a trial version i can download to try it all out....i have files in the zip folder i got from a friend....but like i said when i root it they dont show up....i just dont wanna waste my money
Do you have a license? If you don't, what you are doing is illegal.

[aPEX]

there to make you guys happy i just went a bought the god damm thing

[Joshs]

there to make you guys happy i just went a bought the god damm thing

Make sure you update your forums account profile to include your vBulletin license information.

[aPEX]

in these boards?

[Joshs]

in these boards?

Yes. It will verify you are a customer and allow you to obtain support. Otherwise this thread might be closed.

[HiveHost]

Well, it really depends Andrew, if he aleady has a server running then he may be able to if he is running the minimum software requirements to run vBulletin.

It would be best to start off with a few questions such as the ones below:

1). Is this a home set-up server, a colocated server, dedicated server or another?
2). Do you have at least the above mentioned software installed and working properly?


The reason I ask about the server type is because most ISP's will not permit you to run a server from your home and even if they do, a few users to your website will saturate your line and it will be dirt slow; especially a forum-based website since they require a bit more than that of a basic static page.

Tell us a little more about your plans, the server type and so forth and we can go from there :).
This really depends on who the ISP is, I know that most cable operators will allow this. DSL and wireless internet carriers don't though. You almost have to sign up for a business level of service from them to get this functionality. What's even more important than the ability to do it is the fact that you are more likely than not going to have a Dynamic IP address which changes. This means that you are going to have to invest in a piece of DNS software to assist you unless you want to pay the extra money to your ISP to have a static IP. Also, a few users won't saturate your line unless you are running on ISDN or a really bad 256kb connection.:)