upgrade to phpbb3 progress

[admin (no pm's please)]

Seem to have got it sorted and fixed an issue with resetting the database if you want a complete reset.


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[admin (no pm's please)]

To try and make this as flexible as possible I have added options to force forum links, overriding the phpbb2 or phpbb3 forum address with a redirect to the forum of choice.

e.g. If I was to change forum type of this forum to phpbb3 and add a "force", then until the change had propagated, attempts to access this forum would go to the phpbb2 version of the forum but get sent on to:

http://forum.zaphod3.myfreeforum.org/

This allow you to simply and instantly force people onto your phpbb3 site. It is completely flexible you can unforce the link, or force from phpbb3 to phpbb2 should for any odd reason that be desired.
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[admin (no pm's please)]

I spotted another missing DNS address, each domain needs phpbb3 addresses set for each server where their forums might reside. I think I have them all now, and as soon as the missing one resolves I am going to try and fully complete an upgrade of an existing forum of mine.

Assuming that works, I may make the upgrade button available a little more widely.
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[admin (no pm's please)]

http://servermasters.myfastforum.org/

does seem to have gone through all the process of upgrading and final link setting, the link is currently "forced" whilst the DNS propagates. But the right address does appear to be set for propagation.

It is hard now to think of any excuse not to hit the switch?
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[Symon]

[admin (no pm's please)]

It will have to be turning the tap on slowly. I know there are more bugs, but we need people to find them.

People are not obliged to make the switch official until they are happy things run, and we have seen no fatal bugs since we allowed phpbb3 forums to be created. e.g. there have been glitches, but no forum contents have been lost.

All the same I hear what you are saying and it does concern me.

But the more the upgrade process is delayed the more it delays actually doing other things. e.g. whilst the upgrade is being juggled, nothing beyond the really trivial can be started on phpbb2 or phpbb3.
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[admin (no pm's please)]

Spotted a small but not insignificant typo   and I'm still waiting for my own DNS cache to catch up with the fact that a server address has propagated, but then I think I will have to kick off this live.

Another question is forum creation in general, we have:

myfreeforum.org
myfastforum.org
myfineforum.org
myfunfourm.org
myfanforum.org
myfinefourm.org
myfabforum.org

it makes little sense for only myfabforum to be on phpbb3.

The system can allow a choice when people create, but I don't like the idea of choice at this stage, I think choice makes people pause and so can stop the "sale" and one choice is always going to create an address that to start with would redirect to one of the "zaphod3" type addresses that would confuse the heck out of people.
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[admin (no pm's please)]

Tomorrow should see some tweaks to the nameserver completed in readiness for the state of domains to be changed.

It is going to be a tricky business anyway and currently the nameserver code is simply geared for the updating of the odd record. The sort of mass update needed here clobbers things badly
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[admin (no pm's please)]

touch wood this is now sorted.

Nameserver records are now refresh hourly if changes have occurred. This prevents the files being churned out continually or of them needing a locking mechanism to deal with the potential of simultaneous requests.

The only downside is that it may add an hour on to propagation times.
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[admin (no pm's please)]

Testing seems to have worked out.

This area always makes me nervous as if peoples DNS record go up the swanny they may have problems for days

I think I will try and make myfunforum.org a phpbb3 system by default.

I think the procedure is:

1) Turn off default address wildcarding at the dns server for the domain. The wildcarding ensures that any forum on the default address never ends up with its own DNS record. Useful for tidyness as a rule. As part of this change I have made this flag work a bit differently. the default address will always be written as a wildcard address and the flag will only enable filtering.

2) Rig the nightly run on myfunforum.org to update all forums DNS records, this should populate the DNS with records pointing them to the default address set for phpbb2.

3) Disable myfunforum.org forum creation.

4) change the default address to phpBB3.

5) Wait 48 hours.

6) Set myfunforum.org forum creation to phpBB3 and reenable.
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[admin (no pm's please)]

Stage 2 now completed in this process.
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[admin (no pm's please)]

I have just improved the converter to help it deal with people doing silly things like changing forum type or adding forced redirects before they have actually settled on phpbb3.
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[BjornkeGeish]

So if I understand all of this...your basically going to slowly fix known bugs and then slowly ease more and more people onto Phpbb3 type forums, so you can:

1. Keep servers running effiecently

2. Find bugs and errors not already Know

However, I have already tried the Phpbb3 forum type and have been trying my best to get my forum back to a Phpbb2, because some of the topics and forums were not transferred and, some of the basic features are not working. It hasn't been 48 hours yet, but, are you sure that WITHIN 48 hours my forumk will be back to normal? We admins cannot acces the admin panel during this either....it puts a strain on everything.

The website: http://chat.myfastforum.org

So, over time, all forums will be on Phpbb3 once most bugs are fixed, and it is a fact, that your forum will be transferred within 48 hours, because, it does say 48 hours, I just want to make sure, IT WILL be fixed back to normal WITHIN this 48 hour time frame?!?!?

However, I do like this, and I will gladly accept Phpbb3 type forums once it is absolutely needed for any reason. I would have stayed with Phpbb3, if it wasn't for the fact that some of my posts and topics were not transferred.

My Opinion: It seems as if this will go smoothly and will be great thing once we all see what the outcome is.

Did I miss anything??

(I program software and websites, that is why I am interested in this topic)
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[BjornkeGeish]

well, never mind about changing it back to Phpbb2! I finally fixed it!! I love Phpbb2, but Phpbb3 will work for now, and I think I will keep it, so I can help with your bugs. Also, I would like to see what it has to offer anyways...

Thanks
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[admin (no pm's please)]

well when you first transfer, the link for your forum will goes to phpbb2, so if there were issues with something not being copied over you should have simply reported exactly what was missing here, so we could take a look. That is the way bugs can be dealt with.
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