500Eboard Forum Software Conversion to XenForo

[nocfn]

GVZ, have you considered new E500E photos for the banner?

Isnt this on a hat somewhere: "Make 500Eboard Great Again!"

 

[gerryvz]

GVZ, have you considered new E500E photos for the banner?

Isnt this on a hat somewhere: "Make 500Eboard Great Again!"

Sure, I've considered it. But no plans to change the photos. I like the ones we have. Though, I would consider adding a couple of new ones to the rotation to make the variety greater.

The banner rotation code chooses an image at random to display at each screen refresh, out of the pool of them.

 

[gerryvz]

I just updated the XenForo installation from version 1.5.6 to 1.5.7, and the Xenforo Enhanced Search module from 1.1.3 to 1.1.4 at the 500Ecstasy.org domain. These will be the stable versions of the software that I'll use when we migrate from this forum to the new software. Stay tuned, as we're going to begin with the changeover very soon !!

 

[gerryvz]

New news on this front, coming soon.....

 

[gerryvz]

I purchased a one-year extension for the XenForo license today, so that we continue to have full support for the software once I get it installed.

XenForo has finally released an unsupported version 2.0 of its forum software, which is a long-awaited update that will add significant new capabilities on top of the regular updates they are already doing. The current supported version of the software is 1.5.13. I expect they will move to version 2.0 by the end of this calendar year, if not before.

Now that my divorce is over (which I've been dealing with for the past year), I can finally bring this project closer to the front burner and onto the radar screen.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

It's been a while since I updated this thread, whew!!

XenForo finally today released the "general availability" version of XenForo Forum version 2.0. I've been waiting quite some time for this version, as I had decided about 2 years ago that I was going to wait until it was released as GA, as the version of the software that we would transition this vBulletin forum over to.

The recent step I did to get all possible externally hosted photos in threads, into our forum image database and the appropriate URLs converted to point to the images on our server (rather than the external photo links) was also a HIGHLY IMPORTANT step to the conversion to the new software, as the conversion will retain these newly obtained photos on our server (all 23+ GB of them) !!

Now that I'm moved, and my long personal divorce saga is (99%) over, I will raise the conversion of the forum software back up to the "front burner" of my priorities.

The first step will be to wipe the dedicated XenForo server that I've been running the past 18 months as a test server, and to do a new install of the XenForo software on top of fresh/latest copies of the php language and the MySQL database. This is going to happen tonight.

Then in the coming days, I'll update the key add-on software with the latest versions, such as the Wiki software (I've decided to keep the Wiki on the new platform), Tapatalk software for you smartphone/tablet users, and other plugins as needed (such as the one that rotates the site banner image every time the page refreshes). I'll also add the hugely powerful ElasticSearch software, which is REALLY going to up our game in terms of being able to do powerful, effective searches of the site for topics and keywords. And lastly, the powerful ImageMagick image processing and resizing software -- again which will really make things nice for handling uploaded images.

A lot of work to do, and a lot of boning up on the conversion processes that I'd begun and largely perfected almost two years ago. Luckily I took very good notes at the time and have everything here with me and ready to go.

I'll continue to keep everyone updated on things. I am expecting the actual conversion to begin around Dec. 15, when I will have time off my job to devote to sweating the details. Hoping that we'll start 2018 on the new platform.

Cheers,
Gerry

============================

XenForo 2.0.0 Released

We are very excited to announce that XenForo 2.0.0 is now available to all customers with active licenses. XenForo 2 is a major update from version 1. It includes many new features and significant changes under the hood, with the core code having been completely redesigned. Some of the new features include:

Navigation management
Widgets
Emoji support
Retina avatar and smilie support
Custom thread fields
Customizable member stats
Generic payment framework
The "what's new" system
Extended media embedding features
Quick thread creation
... and much, much more. For more details, see our What's new in XenForo 2.0 thread.

The official add-ons all have new features too. These include albums in categories and audio uploads in the Media Gallery and multiple file upload support in the Resource Manager. For more details, see our What's new in the official add-ons thread.

Please be aware that XenForo 2 is a big upgrade from XenForo 1. Existing add-ons and customizations are not compatible.

As always, new XenForo releases are free to download for all active licenses. If your license no longer has active support and updates, you can purchase an extension from your customer area and download XenForo 2.

To learn more, please see the XenForo 2.0.0 release announcement.

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/xenforo-2-0-0-add-ons-released.137930/

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/whats-new-in-xenforo-2-0.133426/

 

[gerryvz]

I'm sorry for the continued promises and no action on the site's migration to XenForo. Please know that the migration still remains a very high priority for me.

I have been running test installs of XenForo in three different types of virtual servers offered by the hosting company, 1&1, and have been testing things. Mainly testing the administrative and flexibility of each type of server.

Currently I'm spending about $45 a month in hosting fees for these servers, but I will be ramping down after the testing phase, to just one server that I'll decide on and go with. That should happen this week when I make the final decision.

In other news, XenForo has issued three security/bug-fix updates since late in 2017, which I'm happy to see. Every new update means that more bugs are squashed and more features are enabled/working, which is great.

One note, which prompted this update post, is that Tapatalk yesterday FINALLY released their plug-in software for XenForo 2.0. This has been a key hurdle and hindrance for the migration to the 2.0 version of the XenForo forum software, because I didn't want to migrate without having immediate support for Tapatalk enabled. A lot of folks access the forum via Tapatalk on their mobile devices, so migrating without Tapatalk access was a non-starter, and I was not going to migrate to the 1.X version of the software given that the much more full-featured 2.0 is out (although 1.X did have Tapatalk support).

I have also decided -- after a long period of pondering -- to renew the site's license to VaultWiki (the Wiki software). The VaultWiki people will assist with the migration of the Wiki to XenForo+VaultWiki, and this should clear up the problems that we've had with the Wiki on vBulletin over the past couple of years. It's going to be around $100 to renew the license, but I think it's worth the investment.

That's all for now.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

I've spent probably 40 hours in the past week, doing final research on server setup and configuration for the new web site. Totally picked this project back up with gusto, and made my final decisions on what we're going to do moving forward.

I also did one final test install of the latest version of XenForo, which is version 2.0.4. Added Tapatalk for XenForo and other extensions, as well, as part of the test installation procedure. A lot of command-line work (server root access, etc.) to upgrade the database version, php language version, implement a SSL (for security) certificate, and otherwise lay the groundwork for the new install. I also purchased a second "skin" which will provide an alternative "look and feel" for the new XenForo installation, so you'll be able to choose between two different looks once the new forum is activated.

Below you can see the standard XenForo interace, and the new (green) one that I purchased.





I'll be entering into a new server contract as of Friday, March 30th. At that time, a new (temporary) domain will be activated for the forum, something along the lines of 500Eboard.net. This will be the URL for the new forum (https://www.500eboard.net/forums). The data import and migration will commence at this time. The current forum will be frozen (not deleted), and once everything is up and running, eventually the existing domain (500eboard.com) will be migrated over and will become the proper domain for the new forum. I don't expect this domain migration will happen for a week or three, until I know that everything is up, running and configured properly.

During this transition time, when the existing vBulletin forum is frozen, I will redirect the 500Eboard.com domain to the new forum, so you shouldn't see anything differently in your bookmarks (i.e. the old domain will point to the 500eboard.net forum/web site automatically). The new forum should open up and be ready for business once the data is imported, things are configured properly, and things are generally working correctly.

As I found with the transition from phpBB (remember 500Espot.com back in 2012?), there is likely going to be a period of some days and weeks when the forum settings and configurations need to be tweaked, so that they are equivalent to the settings that we have in vBulletin. Because all of your passwords are encrypted, and I do not have access to them, you will probably have to log into the newly transitioned forum with your password (and if you forgot it, I will be able to send you a password reset link). This will be a one-time deal with the password, if it comes up.

The final test install of the XenForo 2.0.4 forum is up and live at https://www.500ecstasy.org/forums if you want to see it. This test install will be removed in the future, but I'll keep it alive probably until sometime in April when I cancel the contract for this server that it is using. I have already cancelled the three other test server contracts that I have been using for the past few months to test server configurations, etc.

The new server contract that I have settled on will provide much more overhead and capacity, so that the site can handle more simultaneous users. It will also use a dual-processor configuration, and will have up to 9 GB of memory (the current server has up to 2 GB of memory). This will give a lot more overhead for future site growth. We will also have unlimited storage capacity for images (currently totaling more than 23 GB of images and growing).

This project has been long in the making, and it's time that we get it done once and for all. This should position us well for the next 10 years of the forum's life and growth, and on a new forum software platform that is being regularly updated and actively developed by the XenForo folks. vBulletin has been totally stagnant for the past 4-5 years, and even vBulletin says that it is at the end of its life.

In the past few weeks, the XenForo folks have significantly updated and upgraded the importation capabilities over what they used to be. This should make the migration go much easier, as the capabilities when I did this same full "test" migration a couple of years ago were much more crude and a manual process, and I had to do some custom coding (working with the XenForo developers directly) in the php language to accommodate the test imports of the forum. It's much smoother, better and easier now, thanks to the efforts of the XenForo folks.

In any case, just wanted to let folks know of the decisions I've made, what will be happening, and what to expect. The configuration process that will happen in the post-transition time frame is going to be the most grueling thing, because it's going to require many hours of fine tweaking and attention paid on very small, minute things.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[nocfn]

whoop!

 

[gerryvz]

The new annual contract has been purchased for $108, and the 500Eboard.net domain has been purchased and attached to the site.

I have also added an SSL certificate to ensure secure transactions from the get-go. The mySQL 5.5 database and php 7.2 language have been added and enabled, as the foundations for the site.

Installation of the base XenForo 2.0.4 software has commenced, and add-on files will be added throughout the afternoon.

 

[gerryvz]

All key software and add-ons have been installed.

Just was working on the "random" site banner header code. The rotating/random site banner code is working, but I've got some tweaking to do to make all of the banners the same size. This wasn't an issue with the vBulletin software, but things will look and work much better when all of the banners are of the same size.

I may - if motivated enough - create a few "new" banner header images for the rotation. I have a "retro" one that was originally used for the 500Eboard forum back in 2008/2009, that I also may add to the mix.

Everything is working fine up to this point, and the database import will be commencing soon.

When this happens, this site will be frozen and the normal "Don't Wig Out or Go Postal" message will be displayed. I'll try to give the best ETA that I can as to when the forum will be back up, but it may be a day or two. The problem is that I want to do a COMPLETE database import, and not miss any posts that would be happening if I turned the forums back on after the database import.

So, everything has to be ready, configured, and "just so" before the import, so that I can turn the new forum "on" when the import and initial configuration is complete.

I have confirmed that the encrypted+hashed passwords will be preserved in the move to the new forum, so y'all shouldn't have to change your passwords. You should be able to just log in using your existing user name and password, and you should be good to go.

Also, your first login with the new forum will have a one-time "Accept Cookies" banner that shows up, per European web regulations. This just means that the new XenForo (like the current forum software) will store a few cookies on your browser that will record your posts read, user name, and so forth.

More later.....gotta go solve the forum banner size equalization issue.

https://500eboard.net/forums

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

Today I renewed the one-year license extension for the XenForo software for USD $50. This will give us another full year of full customer support and access to new/updated versions of the software as they are released.

I did not renew the "Enhanced Search" license as I recently made the decision to use it (requiring the Virtual Private Server option, per the discussion in the recent thread).

I will be shutting down the VPS contract with the hosting provider in the next few days (it's $15 per month) and focusing on the high-end hosting server as the final home for the XenForo-based 500Eboard (the forum that's currently in test mode at www.500Eboard.net/forums). The contract for this is pre-paid for the next year, as is now the forum software license. Canceling this VPS contract will reduce the drain on my checking account a bit.

For the new forum, the Header Banner sizes have been equalized, although I have not yet uploaded them to the forum so that you can see them using the "random" function that this site has (you can see the non-equalized versions at the above URL, but they don't look right).

 

[gerryvz]

This morning I registered the domain "500Eboard.co" as an interim domain for the new forum.

I have picked back up the transition to XenForo software, and am testing out two Virtual Private Server (VPS) installs at the current hosting provider of this site (1and1.com), using the CentOS 6.1 version of Linux with Apache, and also a second VPS at Linode.com, using the Ubuntu 18.04 operating system with ngnix as the web server platform.

The new forum, once implemented, will use the 500Eboard.com domain. This forum's "500Eboard.com" domain will be forwarded to the new domain until things are up and running on the new site, and this forum is de-activated. At that point, 500Eboard.com will be transitioned, and will (again) become the default domain for the forum on the XenForo software.

There are a lot of things in motion, and a lot of moving parts that have to synch up for a successful transition. Mainly I have to ensure that certain "mods" found on this site, such as the rotating banner images, are successfully coded and implemented on the new software. I am going to have to "normalize" (equalize) the physical / pixel size of each banner image for the new site....things like that. Nothing insurmountable, but just work that has to be done.

I decided after months of research, discussions and mulling things over that I have to go with a VPS solution, rather than the managed hosting that this site currently uses. There are managed hosting services offered (I have a contract for one that expires on March 30) that offer higher levels of performance, for not a lot more money than this site currently has.

The major problem I've been having is there are hard restrictions on the number of files that all of these "managed" hosting services can have. These are collectively all of the image files, attachments, the vBulletin/Wiki/Tapatalk code and program files....everything that the site comprises.

For our current hosting provider, 1and1.com, this hard limit is ~250,000 files. It cannot ever be expanded per rules of the hosting provider. We are currently at close to 200,000 files, and this gives us perhaps a couple more years of headroom before we would literally run out of file capacity. This is not a FILE STORAGE (gigabytes) restriction, but rather a restriction on the NUMBER of files of any size that a customer can have.

With a VPS solution, this number is essentially unlimited, and I can define (or redefine) this number myself. 500,000 files is a starting point and would not be out of bounds -- this essentially doubles the number of files we can have.

One other benefit of a VPS (and I've talked about it here before) is the ability to implement the most powerful search engine in the industry, called elasticsearch. Pretty much all major and minor commercial web sites use elasticsearch as their base search engine. It's amazing what this software can do. And we can implement it on the new site.

No time frame yet for the transition (I've given plenty of those in the past and blown all of them), but I am in the final stages of implementation of the VPS installations and configuring them. It's a LOT more work than it has ever been running this site, because with a VPS, I will be responsible for all patching and version updates to the software (not just the Linux operating system, but also the php language, mySQL database, forum software, Wiki software, and all extensions that provide security to the server, and so forth).

With the current setup, I basically only have to worry about the forum software and things like Wiki, Tapatalk, etc. which are not updated all that regularly ... and much less frequently than they once were. With the new setup, updates will be coming in almost daily to various components, necessitating an almost-weekly maintenance session to ensure things are secure and running well.

Separately, as I referenced in the "Site Update News" thread, we are still on track for the major site announcement in about 4.5 - 5 weeks from now. Stay tuned.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[nocfn]

Once again, there must be a 501(C)3 foundation for the costs involved here. Good work Honch!!

 

[gerryvz]

Here's an example of the work I have been doing today, on setting up and configuring the VPS on Ubuntu Linux on the linode.com site.

All of the work is done through a terminal (green-screen) interface, using ssh (secure shell) to log into the server remotely from my home computer. It's sort of similar to the old DOS, but MUCH MUCH more powerful and easy to screw up if you don't know what you're doing.

In this screen, work I've been doing over the past half-hour that you can see on the screen includes (reading top to bottom):

• Re-starting (re-booting) the Apache web server after configuring it
• Setting up the directories (folders) that the XenForo web forum files will go into (uploading them to the server via FTP is the next thing I'm going to do after writing this post)
• Enabling the MySQL database server (starting it up)
• Setting up a new database that will back-end the 500Eboard XenForo site (the new database is called "xenforo" ... this site's database will be imported into this database when the switchover occurs
• Setting up new admin owner and user (called "500eadmin") for the new database
• Installing and enabling the php language on the server -- this allows the XenForo files to run on the server (this site uses the same php language for the vBulletin files)
• Installing a couple of extensions to enable Apache to access php and mySQL
• Creating a new folder for the system logs (recording what's happening with the server while things are running, for error checking if needed)
• Changing the ownership of the system log folder and the web forum folders so that the XenForo software, database, php and Apache can read and write to them
• Re-starting the Apache web server to enable the new site to serve up web pages again

The above work is a very small slice of the work that goes into creating the new site ... I'd say about 1/1000th of the work. If I type one character in wrong, it messes everything up and it either has to be redone, or things have to be deleted and re-installed. So, the utmost care is taken at this stage to get things right. It only has to be done once, thankfully.



GSXR will be very used to this screen, as that is the 20-year-old EPC and WIS system that he is using on his own home computer to look up parts.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Bogeyman]

Much better you than me...

Gerry, none of my business but when do you sleep??

I see your posts from all hours of the day and night??

 

[gerryvz]

Lol. I sleep much more than I used to, say 5-10 years ago.

 

[TerryA]

Gerry,

It’s all GREEK to me. I thank you for your knowledge and dedication to the success of the 500EBOARD!!

lol

 

[gerryvz]

The new XenForo-based forum is installed and up and running as of this morning. I am installing some of the "modifications" that customize the site to make it similar operationally to this one.

https://www.500eboard.co/forums/

I also spent $60 this morning and got a license for the VaultWiki software (which this site has) - I've gone back and forth on this for years after having it here, but it's significantly improved and specifically updated for XenForo, so why not?!? The guy who programs the VaultWiki software is going to translate all of the Wiki content in this forum's Wiki over to the new one, once the migration is complete. It's easier/better to do this AFTER the migration than before it, as then the folks here who have authored and updated content will retain credit for what they did on the old Wiki on this site.

I also this morning implemented an SSL certificate, so (as with this site) all content to and from the server to your browser will be encrypted. I'm doing it with the new site from the get-go, rather than slapping it on years after the fact as I did with this site. So when the new site is running and we're on it, everyone will be seeing the little green padlocks in their browser URL bars. Also, I am going to implement a script, so that if any unencrypted content is linked from the new site (for example, if someone has a Fuelly image that is linked from the Fuelly site in their signature), then the new site will reject it and not display the insecure content.



More final maintenance and preparation for the final import of the data from this site happens today. I've spent now about 24 hours and am about 75% done with the site prep and back-end work for the import/migration. I'll give people plenty of heads up before this site freezes and goes off-line for the database and image import process.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gsxr]

The new XenForo-based forum is installed and up and running as of this morning.

500Eboard

OK, what's the secret handshake?

• Home

500Eboard

Sorry, we're currently unavailable. Please check back later.
​

[video=youtube;DCXtGhtKk28]

 

[gerryvz]

The forum is currently closed via the Admin control panel. I have a "wirgin" database installed and I don't want people (yet) registering and posting. It will be a direct import as of when this forum is frozen and taken off-line.

On another note, I just installed, enabled and configured the advanced searching capability via elasticsearch. This required installing three key components on the server: Elasticsearch, Kibana, and Logstash. All three are done and everything is ready to rock and roll once the new database info is imported from this forum. Once that is done, I'll run a search indexing of this site's content, and then search will be off to the races. I had to open up a couple of ports in the server's firewall to enable this, lol.

Don't worry Dan, permissions are locked down tight as a drum, most everything is 655'd.

You guys are going to get serious woodies when you see how great and fast the new searching is going to be. No more embedded Google search!!

 

[nocfn]

I need a cigarette already....

 

[gerryvz]

Most recently, I've been adding "mods" to customize the site and get it prepared for the migration. Always easier to add things BEFORE the fact rather than AFTER the fact - particularly because I have a "wirgin" install of XenForo 2.1.

The following mods have been added, thus far:

1. Force HTTPS Images -- flags all images that are served from insecure/unencrypted sites, and tells the member linking them in his post that he can't do this. The reason for doing this is to keep the site 100% secure (green padlock in URL bar) rather than the mix of secure and insecure content like we have on this site (gray padlock with yellow warning triangle in URL bar).
2. Tapatalk 1.2.3 plug-in for XenForo -- provides same functionality as with this site for Tapatalk users on mobile devices.
3. XenForo Enhanced Search -- adds the search functionality based on elasticsearch, that I talked about yesterday. This is some cool and powerful stuff.
4. XenForo Importers -- this is the extension that will allow and facilitate the importation of this site's content, images, members, and everything to the new site. It's required for the transition to the new forum.

The following mods will be added very shortly:

1. VaultWiki -- this is the newest version of the Vaultwiki software add-on that this site has used since the 2012-2013 time frame. This should import all of the Wiki content from this site to the new site.
2. AdminNotes -- a small mod that will allow the admins to take any needed private notes on things they have done during their admin duties. This site has an admin notes area that I have used since first implementing vBulletin, in the Admin control panel, and I have found it very useful for documenting things I've done and how to reverse them, if needed.
3. Banner -- a mod that will provide the randomly rotating header banner functionality, which this site also has.
4. ChangeDate -- a mod that will allow moderators/admins to change the date on posts. This will be useful in some very limited situations.
5. ConvertImage -- a mod that will automatically convert images that people link in their posts, to attachments. We have this functionality in this forum, which I implemented last year. It allows us to preserve photos that have been posted out on the Internet and then are subsequently taken down (for example, an auction site, or someone's personal photo album).
6. ForumStatisticsPlus -- a mod that provides everyone with a few additional statistics in terms of the site's operation and numbers.
7. History -- an interesting mod that will allow members of the new forum to actually see what posts they have visited in the past, and when they last visited them.
8. MembersMap -- a mod that mimics the "Members Map" that Glen implemented here on this site. This mod will use Google Maps. I don't believe we will be able to import the current map to the new one, so once the new site gets started up, everyone will need to put their location on the new map (if they want to).
9. OpenPDF -- a mod that allows attached PDF documents to be opened in the member's browser directly, rather than requiring the PDF to be first downloaded to the member's computer. This is purely for convenience.

That's a lot of mods, but all of them should enhance the site considerably !!

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

I just set up the Administration e-mail server and it is current integrating/propagating with the 500Eboard.co domain. This will take about 45 minutes to spread across the Internet. Once it's done, then I can finish setting up the ability of the new XenForo software to use this email account to send and receive e-mails to members (for example, when a new private message is sent to you, or for your birthday).

Rather than setting up, operating and having to maintain our own email server on the site, I decided to just use Google's "G-Suite" setup to do this. This will be one less thing to secure, maintain and troubleshoot with the new system. Also, it should reduce spam problems for e-mail that the XenForo sends, because it will be coming from Google's servers, which are well protected and trusted. (We have been having a problem for the past few weeks with e-mail that this site sends to some email addresses, including gmail addresses, which think that email that this site sends out are spam and bounces them back). For $50 a year for a G-Suite account, it's worth it to me to just have this heartburn of hassling with email done and gone.

The e-mail address of the new site will be "site-admin@500eboard.co" for all official e-mails.

Cheers,
Gerry




E-mail sending test using new servers is SUCCESSFUL !!

 

[gerryvz]

The foundation for the site has now been laid from a technical standpoint. All prep work and hard-core technology work has now been completed for the migration.

I will be concentrating on the XenForo site configuration settings for the next couple of days, so that the basic functioning of the site is more or less equivalent to this site.

I will also be implementing the mods that I mentioned earlier, doing things like uploading the 500Eboard banner images and so forth.

After that, the actual migration of this site and the data can proceed. After that happens, then there will be a long, ongoing process of tweaking settings, but that won’t affect site operation.

I would say that we are at about the 40-50% mark in the overall migration of the site. After data is moved over, we’ll be at the 80% mark.

All of the research, numerous test installs and configurations, test imports of the information, and waiting for the XenForo software to mature further has paid off.

I have spent hundreds of hours over the past 5 years researching the migration process, reading about other forums’ failures and successes, and researching (and going back and forth on) the best solution as to how to do this.

We are taking the more technically difficult and challenging path, and a more expensive path, but we are also ensuring that we will have a technical foundation that will easily last another 10+ years.

For this next iteration, I am also giving a lot of thought and consideration into continuation planning. Meaning that if I am unable to continue running the site for any reason, our Admin team will have the full keys to the kingdom in terms of server access and ability to take things over if ever needed. This is not something I take lightly, because people come and go. Our admin team has literally been with this site since Day 1 and has been remarkably stable, and I do plan to provide them with all of the information they would need to keep the site running (or engage people who can) if this is ever needed.

If this site is to survive longer term, it’s going to require more than just me with the keys to it.

 

[gerryvz]

I recently did a comparison as to the versions of the key elements that underpin this (vBulletin) site, as compared to the new XenForo-based site.

This site is running on relatively dated (and even outmoded) versions of key software; the new site will be running on the very latest/secure/modern versions of everything.

Here is the comparison table.

Site Software	vBulletin (current) site	XenForo (new) site	Purpose	Notes
Language	php 5.6.40	php 7.2.15	php is the programming language that the vBulletin and XenForo code are written in.	php 5.6 was first introduced in 2014, and development ceased in the 2016-2017 time frame. It is now obsolete; official support in the form of security patches ended in Dec. 2018. php 7.2 is the current, mainstream version. It was first introduced in November, 2017. We will likely move to php 7.3 in the next 12-18 months for the XenForo-based site.
Operating system	Debian Linux 7.1	Ubuntu Linux 18.04.1	Linux is the basic operating system that underpins the web site. For this (vBulletin) site, it is owned, run and managed by the hosting company. For the new (XenForo) site, it will be owned, run and managed by me.	Debian Linux version 7 was first introduced in May, 2013, so it is fairly old, but is still maintained and widely used. The Ubuntu Linux version used with the new XenForo site is up to the minute.
Database	MySQL 5.5.6	MySQL 5.7.25	MySQL is the powerful and free database software that underpins millions of web sites worldwide. It helps keep the site's information organized.	MySQL 5.5 was first released in 2009. 5.7.25 (released on Jan. 21, 2019) is the current mainstream supported version of MySQL, though the latest (avant garde) version is 8.0.12. We will likely upgrade the XenForo site to MySQL 8.0 in the next year or so.
Web server	Apache 2.2	Apache 2.4.29	Apache is a free and powerful web server software platform that runs on the Linux operating system. It processes incoming requests and stores, processes and delivers web pages to browsers.	Apache 2.2 was first released in 2005, and was maintained until 2017. Apache 2.4.38 is the current stable, supported version of Apache, and was released on January 22, 2019.

 

[gerryvz]

Doing some tweaking and configurations for various options on the new forum. Having complete control of all settings is nice -- something I don't have full control over with this forum, because of limitations placed by the hosting company.

The new XenForo forum is going to have very very generous file size limitations, as this forum has had. I will allow attachments of up to 8.5 MB in size. Most forums are less than one-fourth of that.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gerryvz]

Just as an FYI, the raw specs on the "new" server that is running the XenForo forum software are as follows:

4GB RAM
2-core AMD CPU
80GB SSD storage (solid-state drive ... no rotating magnetic disk drive)
4 TB of data transfer per month
40 Gb/sec network bandwidth in
5000 MB/sec network bandwidth out

Overall plan cost is $20 per month

(Current cost of this forum's hosting plan: ~$10/month)

 

[gerryvz]

Everything is ready and all technical groundwork has been laid for the migration and importation of this forum to the new forum at 500Eboard.co. I've got about 30 hours into the preparation, as of this point, to get everything ready.

The actual migration import process of the data will likely only require a couple of hours. The real issues will be in the clean-up and ongoing tweaking and configuration of settings AFTER the import.

I need to decide now as to WHEN I will do the import. This forum will be shut down during that process. I am hoping it will be only for a short period of time -- likely it would be an evening and overnight. I am sure there will be technical hiccups that will come up, as well as TONS of small configuration issues in the hours and days after the import is done.

This forum will be shut down during the process, with a "Don't Go Postal or Otherwise Wig Out" message to all members, and inability to log in. When the migration and import is complete, and things are confirmed to be up and running at the new site, then I will "freeze" and shut down this site (although I will leave all data and files on this site).

If things were to totally go south, then I would just re-open this forum, correct any issues relating to the import that made it go south, and try it again at a slightly later date.

Seeing as this site is pre-paid for another year-plus, I will leave this site "frozen" for a couple or three months until I know that everything is operating well and smoothly with the new site, and then I will take this site down, migrate the "500Eboard.com" domain to the new hosting provider, and cancel the hosting contract here.

One note -- all URLs in Google and other sites on the Internet will automatically be redirected to the corresponding threads/posts/pages on the new forum site. This is a technical step that I will do during the migration. Over time, cached Google entries will correct themselves to the new domain. Eventually, I will plan to re-migrate everything on the new site BACK to the 500Eboard.com domain, and keep the existing (new) 500eboard.co domain as well. Make them interchangeable, essentially. This is pretty easy to do, technically.

However....one thing at a time. We need to get a successful migration completed, first.

 

[gerryvz]

The major problem I've been having is there are hard restrictions on the number of files that all of these "managed" hosting services can have. These are collectively all of the image files, attachments, the vBulletin/Wiki/Tapatalk code and program files....everything that the site comprises.

For our current hosting provider, 1and1.com, this hard limit is ~250,000 files. It cannot ever be expanded per rules of the hosting provider. We are currently at close to 200,000 files, and this gives us perhaps a couple more years of headroom before we would literally run out of file capacity. This is not a FILE STORAGE (gigabytes) restriction, but rather a restriction on the NUMBER of files of any size that a customer can have.

With a VPS solution, this number is essentially unlimited, and I can define (or redefine) this number myself. 500,000 files is a starting point and would not be out of bounds -- this essentially doubles the number of files we can have.

I happened to look at notes that I took at the last time (March, 2018) when I did some test builds and imports of this forum to the 2.0 (previous) version of the XenForo software. This was using a higher-performance hosting account (i.e. same limits on number of files that the existing hosting package has).

The number of files a year ago, was 178,000+ out of a 262,000 mile hard cap. I just happened to look at the number of files that this site is CURRENTLY using (March, 2019), and we are around 201,223, and this is increasing fast. Every PDF or photo attachment is one more file that counts against this 262,000 hard limit. Thus, we would only have a few more years left of safe overhead before hitting the hard cap.

As mentioned, I am starting the new server out at a file hard cap limit of 500,000 ... pretty much double the cap that this site's hosting company places on it.

Thought I'd share the stat.

 

[gerryvz]

We are now 100% ready to go for the migration. I need to pick a date and time to do it. I’m thinking this coming Saturday morning, very early EST.

I’ll give people some notice before I schedule this.

 

[nocfn]

GERRY GERRY GERRY

 

[gerryvz]

It is now looking like the forum transition is going to happen TOMORROW (Saturday) morning, 4AM Eastern Standard Time.

This forum will be turned off as of that time. I expect that there will be no forum running for approximately 12 hours (if things go really well) or up to 24-36 hours (if things go horribly).

If things totally go sideways with the new forum migration, then I will turn this forum back on, and it will pick up where it left off. I'll have to do an analysis at that point as to what went sideways, and then re-schedule a new migration for the near future once any issues that come up, are solved.

If things go well (or decently) with the new forum migration, then this forum will be put into suspended hibernation for approximately 3 months, and the URL for this forum will be re-directed to the new forum URL (https://www.500eboard.co/forums) when that forum is activated and accessible to everyone.

The new forum should just "work," and your existing password and information should merely carry over to the new forum with no issues. You will probably need to use your forum password (for this forum) to initially log into the new forum, and then things should carry over and you can stay logged in as folks typically do with this forum.

I am very sure that there will be a "rocky" period of configuration and adjustments, when settings have to be tweaked and such. That is to be expected, and hopefully the most major things that need attention are taken care of before the forum opens up.

There is a lot of data that has to come over with the migration ... around 36 GB of files, photos, PDFs, avatars, and signature images. Not to mention the database itself, which is about 675 MB. The database is the most critical thing. I will be making TWO backup copies of this forum's database as a precaution as the very first step I take after shutting this forum down. Of course, I've saved all backups of the database for pretty much the last decade.

In any case, the time and date are set, and this is FINALLY going to happen.

Please have patience and be nice, during this teething period.

 

[nocfn]

just think of the spiked traffic increase of TFTSNBN for the next few days.

You Really Ought to know how cool this will be...

 

[gerryvz]

Yes, the W124 V-8 sub-forum should be everyone's "go-to" place while this forum is out.

It is a virtual encyclopedia of .036 and .034-y goodness, and a very very well-moderated sub-forum, at that.

https://www.benzworld.org/forums/w124-v8-400e-e420-500e-e500/

Because, "Let's bump up the activity on this forum; share your daily M119 experiences"

 

[nocfn]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^


T H I S

 

[gsxr]

Gerry, don't forget the most critical part of the transition... migrating everyone's "thanks"!

Louis was thanked 2,820 Times in 1,619 Posts. He might be upset if he loses all those.

Whooo, Honch was thanked 9,715 Times in 4,013 Posts!!

 

[Trae]

Guess I'll have to add one more thanks before this forum is turned off just in case the thanks do not migrate. Your dedication to making this a great Forum does not go unnoticed!

 

[gerryvz]

Finishing one last, and finnicky and painful task .... taking all of this site's banner images (the randomly rotating images at the top of every page) and making them all the same size ... in the case of the new forum, 800 x 200 pixels in size. On this site, the banner sizes were all over the map. On the new site, they will all be of uniform size. This will help for display on tablets and mobile devices, in addition to desktop computers.

And ..... while I'm at it, I'm going to make a few new site banner images, so we will have a total of about 13-14 of them, up from the current 9 images or so.

I'll attach them all here when I'm done creating the new ones, so that you guys get a preview of what's in store....

 

[nocfn]

if you need a malachite sample let me know

 

[gerryvz]

Here are the first 13 site banners, for the new site.

We'll have a couple more added into the mix, probably after the new board debuts.

Enjoy !!

 

[nocfn]

Very cool but the malachite is missing.

 

[RicardoD]

What about one with a storm trooper humping the back the car?

 

[gerryvz]

I got up nice and early this morning to commence the migration, and immediately ran into a snag. I've been working the past four hours to find an appropriate workaround for it, but decided to bring this forum back up anyway while I'm doing this.

The issue is that the current hosting company (1and1.com) does NOT allow remote computers (i.e. systems that are not their own) to access MySQL databases for their hosted accounts. This is pretty much a show-stopper, because it means that I can't give the XenForo system access to the vBulletin database that runs this site.

So, appears that I have two options:

1) Create a parallel XenForo system on the virtual server that I have at 1and1 (a separate, test server that I've been using for the past couple of years for test migrations), which SHOULD allow a direct import as I've done before. Then, I can use this installation (I have complete control over it, unlike this site) to then open up the database for the XenForo migration at the other site (www.500eboard.co)

2) Do a database export, and then import it directly as a database at the new 500eboard.co server. Then I just have to connect the XenForo database to the imported database -- both would be on the same server.

Number 2 seems easier and much less work, but I'm going to have to work this out.

So, migration is postponed. I don't know for how long. Hopefully a matter of a day or 3. Until I get this figured out. Ugh.

This site will continue to be up and running as per normal.

 

[nocfn]

Tadaaaaaa!

 

[gsxr]

Gerry, when will the old emoticons be imported?

 

[emerydc8]

Thanks for all the work on this Gerry.

 

[8899]

Thank you for everything Gerry!!!

 

[nocfn]

woohoo looks like it is moving on pretty well. Just think how awesome it will be when she is completed with all the other bells and whistles.

 

[kofi]

wow looking great !!!