PHPBB Help

[Aden]

I'm going through an on going struggle here trying to get a nice website for my freinds and I. If you have read the last thread I started you will find that I had great difficulty getting Apache server to work.
This all steams from me reading h3r3tic's tutorial on phpbb.
So i've finally gotten all the way through the tutorial and the forum has been set up.

Here's my problem though. It's slow. Sometimes pages won't load. Sometimes it's only half the page. I've even seen it go to some type of text script page once.
So i've got some bugs.

I'm running cable internet.
My computer has a AMD Athlon XP 3000+ 2.1Ghz Processor 1 1/2 Gigs of Ram.
I have Linksys Wireless G Router Broadband.
MY Local Area COnnections Status tells me my speed is 100.0Mbps

I have three other compouter on my network but even after disabling them the problem was still the same.

So how can i get this site to work better. I mean when i post something and some one replies i'll go to that page and only half of it will load so i won't see the reply.

P.S. how do i get that APache test screen the one that says, "Seeing this instead of the website you expected?" off. I figured it's just a file where i can program with HTML. Well i think.

[Striek]

Simply entering the IP address of the webserver should produce the apache test page until it is replaced with something else.

When compiling apache and PHP, make sure that apache was compiled with --enable-so (to allow loadable module support) and also make sure that PHP was compiled with support for whatever database backend you're using, and --with-apache (I think that's the option), to tell it that it will be used as a module for apache and not as a CGI script. PHP use as CGI scripts (which you will be doing if PHP was not compiled as an apache module and/or apache was not compiled with loadable module support) is not tested and is unsupported. You might not be able to get it to work that way. Both developers recommend using PHP as an apache mod.

Sometimes pages only half load because only half the page is written in php, or because some of it can be interpreted as HTML.

Check the permissions too... make sure that whatever user PHP is running as can access the apache DocumentRoot (you can find that out in the httpd.conf file) and all of its subdirectories. If PHP is started by apache, that shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure that whatever user apache started as can access all of its content.

If you're using binary distributions, or missed those configuration options, that might be the problem.

And my big snafu today was wasting 2 hours troubleshooting an apache/PHP/ACID installation when I forgot to uninstall the old one... I installed the new one in a new location and totally missed the fact that I was running the 1.3 version and not 2.0.5. Make sure you don't do that too.

I don't have time to check h3r3ic's tutorial right now (I will though... I will be installing apache w/ PHP on an IDS tomorrow), so I apologize if he already covered this.

[Aden]

Simply entering the IP address of the webserver should produce the apache test page until it is replaced with something else.

Where do i replace that?

Some of this other stuff kinda went over my head Sriek. I'm sorry I'm new at this.

When compiling apache and PHP, make sure that apache was compiled with --enable-so

Where do i do that or figure out if i did that?

[Striek]

Where do i replace that?

Apache usually reads its web material from /var/www/htdocs. In there you should find a file called index.html. It can be replaced and then a new page should come up when the webserver is accesed.

Check out www.snort.org/docs for some good info on configuring, compiling, and installing apache and PHP. Most of the stuff there is specific to building a webserver for an IDS box with snort and graphing capabilities and snort database frontends. However, there are a few there you can use and just not do it all; stop after you get just the PHP, apache, and MySQL stuff done.

First time I installed PHP I was worse off than you are now. Absolutely no idea what I was doing. I followed a couple of the docs there step-by-step down to the letter and they walked me through it.

Where do i do that or figure out if i did that?

When configuring PHP , give the configure script the --apxs2=<apache root directory/bin> option. It will try to configure itself as a module. If apache does not support this, the configure script will puke and give you and error message telling you.

My best advice: start from scrath at this point. Not knowing what you're doing (no offence intended), you'll probably create as many problems as you solve while you're troubleshooting it.

[Aden]

My best advice: start from scrath at this point. Not knowing what you're doing (no offence intended), you'll probably create as many problems as you solve while you're troubleshooting it.

When you say that do you mean starting back installing PHPBB? How would go about delating all of this?

[Striek]

You don't specifiaclly need too. Just install a new one in a new location with --prefix=/opt/httpd or something like that in the configuration script for apache, or --with-prefix=/opt/httpd/php for PHP. Then make sure the right binaries get run when you tell them to, not the old ones.

If what you wave now is installed with RPM, the command is rpm "-(r or e) (I think) --allmatches --&lt;package name here&gt;", eith slack its "removepkg httpd" and "removepkg apache" (that's the one I forgot).

If your distro has a package manager and the stuff was installed with them, that is the best way to remove it. You just need to find the menu option or command that does it.

If you don't have it (the source code for whataver was installed) now, they probably weren't compiled from ysource on your system. If they were installed from the source code, then you're stuck with installing to a new location, as outlined above, and checking that the new one gets run and not the old one, unless you want to personally delete all the files these things placed everywhere. Some source directory trees may have an "uninstall" script in them tool use it with "make uninstall" in the istallation directory (the one you unpacked the source to).

Basicaslly, uninstall what you can (I gave you a few ways)_, and then reinstall, with the needed compiler flags, the rest, to a new location, and make sure the two don't conflict with each other

I would go into more detail on how to deal with the "original" copy you will have lyinmg around somewhere, but those little ablue pills are kicking in right about now so I'd better start getting ready for bed, seeing as how I've gotta be upat 6 oer 7 tomorrow. My typing speed is half ehat it was 30 minutes ago and my typo rate has quadrupled. The next step is loss of balance, then loss of spavial orientation, and then my legs start to feel week. And that bloody taste. Everything tastes like some king of bitter plastic; the drug stimulates the bitter taste buds more than the rest. I guess it's time for bed thenm... night all...

[Aden]

Wow wish i had some blue pills. I might be able to understand this all i little bit better.

Just install a new one in a new location with --prefix=/opt/httpd

SO do i add that --prefix=/opt/httpd to the APache httpd file?

Perhaps some one would just like to visit the site and check it out see if seeing helps explain.

My PHPBB page

I'm sorry Striek i'm tryin to keep up but your termonolgy and advice is still going over my head.

[cacosapo]

My computer has a AMD Athlon XP 3000+ 2.1Ghz Processor 1 1/2 Gigs of Ram.

Man you have a huge computer. doesnt like to be that. Im running phpnuke on virtual pc with 256 MB ram on a 2.6 atlhon and it runs ok.

ive tried to connect thru adress you gave us and i agree - its a crap.

question (easy ones ):

1) when you access on LAN, it is the same response time?

2) what O.S.?

3) do your cable provider restrict the number of concurrent sessions?

4) are you doing any kind of nat? if yes, post config here

[Striek]

It looks fine to me. The PHP and database backend are working properly if that page can display properly, so you don't need to worry about reconfiguring all that crap. I though the problem was a lot worse.

Next time you get an error, take a screenshot and post it so we have a better idea of what the *bad* stuff looks like and not just what it looks like when it does work.

[Aden]

cacosapo,

1) when you access on LAN, it is the same response time?

I'm kinda confused on the wording here. When i surf any other web pages respone time is great. Then when i go to my forum it's all sluggish. My friends who access the site also run into the same problems. I think thats what you mean. Is there something certain where i can look up my response time?

What OS?

Windows xp Pro

3) do your cable provider restrict the number of concurrent sessions?

My provider is Charter communications. I however do not pay that bill and have not seen any of the paperwork on it. Is there a way i can test that? Or a way i can configure my router around it?

4) are you doing any kind of nat? if yes, post config here

Nope Well at least none that i know of. I haven't configured any.

Striek,
Did all the pages fully load without refresh a half dozen times? As far as errors i've never really gotten any.
Take for instince though that first board where i posted something and my friend responded. If you try to look at the page it looks like i was the only one that responded becuase the second half of the page where my friends reply is doesn't load.

Other Questions.
I've asked about replaceing that APache test screen before and still don't know what to replace to make that go away. In that htdocs folder and theres a bunch of dofferent index.html files. SOme in different languages and such. So i how would i go about replacing that with say like something made with M$ Frontpage?

Is there better ways to make up a forum? I followed h3r3tic's forum using APache, MySQL database, and PHPBB. Is there better ways to do this?