Tried my hand on PhpBB which is a Open Source bulletin board with a very simple to use administrative panel.
PhpBB is written on php scripts on front end and with a database which may be postgresql, MySql, Microsoft Access, MS-Sql etc....
PhpBB Administration Panel Features :
- Easy database backup and restore
- Disallowed usernames
- User authorisation
- Word censoring
- Complete member management
- Emoticon setup
- Optional new post verification
- Extensive ban management, ban by email address, username or single/multiple IP address or hostname
- IP tracking of posts and posters
- Mass emailing of groups and users by the administrator
Lets look at the installation part :
What you will need before installing :
- PHP Support ( I had PHP 5.0.4 )
- Apache Server ( I had Apache-AdvancedExtranetServer / 2.0.47)
- Mysql Server (I had 4.0.15)
All i did was
#urpmi phpBB (to install the phpBB)
This installed phpBB2-2.0.5-1mdk
If you do not have urpmi/yum/up2date/apt-get to pull and install softwares then I would recommend you to click here and download the zip file phpBB-2.0.18.zip
Now untar the same in your webserver's document root path mine was /var/www/html (which is standard)
Now you will have a directory phpBB2 in /var/www/html
change its permission to apache's group, mine was apache so I set it as
#chown -R root.apache phpBB2
Just point your browser to
http://localhost/phpBB2 this will redirect
to
http://localhost/phpBB2/install/install.php
Now Configuring Mysql to use phpBB
Login to Mysql with root user :
[root@mybox sriram]# mysql -uroot -p
Enter password:
Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 3 to server version: 4.0.15
Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer.
mysql> create database phpbb;
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)
mysql> grant all privileges on phpbb.* to phpbb@"localhost" identified by 'phpbb';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
mysql> show databases;
+-----------+
| Database |
+-----------+
| kplaylist |
| mysql |
| phpbb |
| test |
| tmp |
| wiki |
+-----------+
6 rows in set (0.22 sec)
What I have done here is created a Database name phpbb and added a user phpbb with password for database phpbb set as "phpbb" and given permission to access the database phpbb.
wow too many phpbb's huh !!
Now you can go back to the page that you have opened to install phpbb
and fill the information as follows
Basic Configuration
Default board language: English
Database Type: Mysql 3.x
Choose your installation method: Install
Database configuration
Database Server Hostname / DSN: localhost
Your Database Name: phpbb
Database Username: phpbb
Database Password: phpbb
Prefix for tables in database: phpbb_
Admin Configuration
Admin Email Address: your@email
Domain Name: mybox.sriram.com
Server Port: 80
Script path: /phpBB2/
Script path is the directory untarred in /var/www/html
Administrator Username: admin
Administrator Password: admin123
Administrator Password [ Confirm ]: admin123
Click on Start Install
This should show you.
Welcome to phpBB 2 Installation
Your admin username has been created. At this point your basic installation is complete. You will now be taken to a screen which will allow you to administer your new installation. Please be sure to check the General Configuration details and make any required changes. Thank you for choosing phpBB 2.
That it you are done with phpBB, do not forget to read the FAQ !!!
