When is vBulletin going to support auto update?

[acdsystems]

It's getting a little bit ridiculous. V 5.1.9 Patch Level 3 ?? .

I'm a sysadmin and am constantly wasting time uploading update files to our forum server as I don't want to risk us being vulnerable to the next big exploit..

At the very least we should have the ability to enable auto update for small security patches like these, or the option to just click a button on the admin control panel which just says "Update Now"

I feel like Vbulletin is falling behind. Look at other PHP based systems like Wordpress.. You can update them at the click of a button.


/Rant

[William Thomas Jr]

I'd much prefer to upload the patch manually.

[IggyP]

the patches are easy, takes perhaps one minute to upload and no script to run...id much rather see devs focus on functionality issues

[acdsystems]

Yeah they are easy, and It does not take me much time to do I agree with that.

But Perhaps it get's left a few hours or days? It means that the forum could potentially be vulnerable until the update is manually installed. I must not be the only one who would enjoy this feature?

[William Thomas Jr]

Yeah they are easy, and It does not take me much time to do I agree with that.

But Perhaps it get's left a few hours or days? It means that the forum could potentially be vulnerable until the update is manually installed. I must not be the only one who would enjoy this feature?

Then we run into issues if updates go wrong. I prefer to backup the site's files and database before an update, having an auto update makes me cringe thinking that I could come back to the site after being away for a day or two just to discover error upon error. The amount of patches Vbulletin has released is nothing compared to open source platforms. I used Joomla and it wasn't uncommon to see security exploit warnings a couple of times a month. Not to mention there were issues with the updater. I haven't ran into a single issue with the patches thus far.... . if it isn't broken don't fix it.

[Craig]

I would agree, keep it manual, it doesn't get much easier, and safer.

[napy8gen]

I like single click update system like wordpress plugin and auto update wordpress core files. They are years ahead of everyone.

[Mark.B]

I would not want my site being auto-updated by anyone or anything, and I know many users will feel the same way.

Cloud sites are updated automatically by our team here, so for people who want this, that is one option.

[NytroRST]

There can be two options:
1. TRUE auto-update for security patches (critical ones)
2. Semi-automated update such as Wordpress -> Updates available -> Click to install

If there is a published 0day, your forum will be pwned before you even find out there is a vulnerability.
If it is automated, you do not have to worry about these issues. As soon as a patch is available, it will be on your server. Oh, you have to trust vBulletin for this.

[Paul M]

Auto update requires you go give apache write permission to all the core files and folders, not something you want to do.

[APMartinez]

Wordpress growth shows how useful auto-updates are.

[Mr Peabody]

Wordpress growth shows how useful auto-updates are.

If you wan't auto updates use the cloud version.

[Wayne Luke]

Wordpress growth shows how useful auto-updates are.

In order to do any sort of Auto-Update securely, you would have to store your SFTP information with your customer account on this site. This is a security risk that we simply do not want to take liability for. The method Wordpress uses is even less secure.

[eDaddi]

Wordpress growth shows how useful auto-updates are.

No it shows that simple to use software makes it easy to post your cat pictures.


Auto updates are a terrible idea for any device or piece of software.



I just did my first VB patch and was shocked and disappointed to see I had to copy files to the server and overwrite existing ones.

You guys have to be using Git, Svn or some version control on your end .... I'd love to see a patch file driven update so customizations don't get overwritten.

[Wayne Luke]

Customizations shouldn't be overwritten on upgrade or patching. You shouldn't be editing the vBulletin PHP files. We provide PHP Hooks, API Class Extensions, and a Template System with inheritance and history for customization purposes. The template system ships with dozens of Template Hooks where you can place custom code in your own templates and call it as needed. We also provide several blank templates specifically for customizations as well as hooks for adding your own custom CSS and JavaScript files. Finally, the template system has an auto-merge system that merges the majority of changes we ship into your customized templates during upgrade. If it cannot do accomplish this for some reason, it will keep your customizations and inform you of such in the AdminCP when you login. You can then do a line by line comparison of proposed changes to make sure your customizations are maintained. The majority of customers use the default storage of templates and store them in the database. Storing the PHP version of the template in the file system is an option but still takes into account all of the above.

In addition to this, the front-end is built on customizable modules which are not files but extend the template system.

We provide systems that work for the majority of our customers. Patch Diff files are not a system the majority of our customers will be able to use.