Hosting Package

[anne]

Hi
I am not sure whether I am allowed to put this up but am not sure where else to ask. I am in the situation where I have to upgrade my hosting package or move to another platform.

What would anyone recommend for a 3.0.10 version of phpbb with a database of 948 Mi, 35-50 concurrent users with my largest table being 573 Mb (php search word match).

So what I am wanting to know is the size of web space I require and size of RAM and whether it needs to be a VPS platform. A major problem is that large table which the host says is too large.

I tried asking one of the hosts who advertise as specialists in phpbb and all they could did was point me in the direction of the Business packages they offer (without any advice) which are over the top and very expensive for an amateur forum.

[HiFiKabin]

We cannot really recommend a host, but we do recommend that you visit WebHostingTalk.

[warmweer]

Hi
I am not sure whether I am allowed to put this up but am not sure where else to ask. I am in the situation where I have to upgrade my hosting package or move to another platform.

What would anyone recommend for a 3.0.10 version of phpbb with a database of 948 Mi, 35-50 concurrent users with my largest table being 573 Mb (php search word match).

So what I am wanting to know is the size of web space I require and size of RAM and whether it needs to be a VPS platform. A major problem is that large table which the host says is too large.

I tried asking one of the hosts who advertise as specialists in phpbb and all they could did was point me in the direction of the Business packages they offer (without any advice) which are over the top and very expensive for an amateur forum.

A host which says that that tabel is too large should specify that it is too large for them (although I do agree that that is a large table).
There are many hosting companies that offer hosting with no database size limits from 50€ per year (and there are deals including domeinname + SSL certificate). Just use your favourite search engine to find them ( and don't limit yourself to the UK).

I would recommend against continuing to use 3.0.10 which has been end of life for some time now. Better switch to 3.2.

[anne]

Thank you for your responses. I am not looking for a hosting recommendation just the parameters I need - hard drive space, Ram whether I need VPS etc.

Yes I do need to upgrade but I am terrified of doing it. It is not straight forward and the hosts I have looked at do not have the right files on their server.

[HiFiKabin]

Thank you for your responses. I am not looking for a hosting recommendation just the parameters I need - hard drive space, Ram whether I need VPS etc.

Yes I do need to upgrade but I am terrified of doing it. It is not straight forward and the hosts I have looked at do not have the right files on their server.

Whatever you do, DO NOT use any files that the hosting company has. They are modified from the files available here and cause more problems than almost anything else.

Upgrading a forum need not be daunting. Have a read of this article and if you have any questions post in 3.2.x support.

Notes:

• Your server must be running at least PHP 5.4 or higher.
• phpBB 3.2 is not compatible with 3.0 and most of the previous files will need to be removed prior to upgrading.
• Styles and MODs from 3.0 cannot be installed on phpBB 3.2. To upgrade, perform the following steps:

1. Make a back-up of the original files and database
2. Deactivate all styles except for prosilver
3. Remove all MOD-related changes from the database. The Support Toolkit's Database Cleaner can be used for this.
4. Ensure that the activated spambot countermeasure is one of the standard phpBB plugins (Simple image, GD image, GD 3D image, Q&A, reCaptacha).
5. Set British English as the only language pack and delete all other language pack directories from your server
6. Delete all of your phpBB 3.0.x files EXCEPT for the following:
   • The config.php file
   • The /images/ directory
   • The /files/ directory
   • The /store/ directory
7. Upload the contents of the phpBB3 directory from the uncompressed 3.2.x Full Package (EXCEPT for config.php) into your forum's directory (Note: you don't want to overwrite your original config.php file)
8. Browse to www.example.com/install/
9. Click the Update tab
10. Click the Update button
11. Select "Update database only" and click Submit
12. Wait for the progress bar to reach 100% and for a message indicating that the update has completed
13. Delete or rename the /install/ directory

[anne]

This is what I am refering to:

https://www.phpbb.com/support/docs/en/3 ... quirements

[warmweer]

Yes I do need to upgrade but I am terrified of doing it. It is not straight forward and the hosts I have looked at do not have the right files on their server.

If your forum has many modifications you'll have to look for extensions for 3.2 with similar functions or temporarily give up some modifications (perhaps request an extension).
You will have to start with a database from which all modifications have been removed, before upgrading.
Upgrading isn't all that dificult: I upgraded a very heavily modified 3.0.12 to 3.2.1 but I did test very single step to 3.0.14, then to 3.1.11 and then to 3.2.1, both on localhost and on a parallel online host. The only "problem" I had was the size of the database but even that worked flawlessly directly from 3.0.14 to 3.2.1 (database size ±600 Mb).
For upgrading you'll get all the help you need in the support section here, and you'll be able to test everything on your own computer.

[anne]

Thank you. The database is not heaviled modded but I still have the problem of knowing what parameters I need to look for in a host. I don't want to move host and then find 12 months from now that I have to move again.

[Mick]

Copy the requirements and give them to any prospective host, they should be able to help you. While you’re at it ask about free SSL, many hosts offer that these days.

[anne]

Thank you Mick. Good idea! I can also see that I need to focus on the requirements of the MYSQL hosting. I feel I have got a better idea now of what to ask for.