[Omniscient]

The situation is this. HF needs to upgrade our entire backed. Upgraded PHP, MySQL, Nginx, Apache, NodeJS, and the OS. It's vital because without the upgrade of the server we can't really do modern development and improvements to HF. Our backend is out of date, so much so it's now becoming a liability. I can't do the integrations and usage of new libraries without this.

I have a new server with excellent specs already provisioned. I now am faced with the task of building up the new server. The last time I did this seems like a decade ago or more. I do have anxiety about the process but I have no choice, this must get done. I'm choosing this week to really push through because my wife is on an 8 day vacation and this is my chance to work without family interruption.

This is my workflow plan.

1. Install OS.
2. Install Control Panel and services.
3. Customize server for security and special needs of HF.
4. Move HF to new server (but not change DNS records).
5. Use my Hosts file to point my computer to new server as HF.
6. Begin working to update the site.
7. Once HF is functional on new server, change DNS for everyone.
8. Continue fixing and upgrading anything broken (which is going to be a lot).


Very likely we're going to lose Convo. I just expect this. It's not the highest priority given the overall forums is more important. I won't give up on Convo but it's also just one feature and I'm fairly sure we can live without it for a week or more. Fixing on-site errors (PHP, MYSQL) will take priority.

I plan on changing how our web socket works which is notify and convo. Fairly sure I'll be able to fix notifications quicker than Convo. It's a simple system. Or I'll just rebuild it from scratch. They are actually integrated and going forward I may attempt to completely separate them. Both run under NodeJS as app.js but would be better imho as notify.js and convo.js instead. Currently the socket is on a different port. Nginx does have a proxy forwarding for WS but as I stated, our version of Nginx is outdated and doesn't support that. This causes some strange issues like Cloudflare blocking the port because of not passing Captcha, which doesn't ever display on web socket. Integration of the WS to port 443 (HTTPS) will fix that ongoing issue.

I will be using AI through much of this. It's a very useful tool for coming up with configuration files like my.cnf (MySQL Configuration) and firewall (UFW/IPtables) rules. And then I have to consider if I'll install an Agent Assistant to go through all of HF's codebase to update to PHP8. That's going to be very experimental for me.

The good news, I've done this a few times, the bad news, not with NodeJS which is where I anticipate most of my struggling will come from. Some members have offered to help but I am not relying on that. Forum member help is always unreliable and in the end, it's best that I have full control and understanding of how HF works. If I can build it and fix it, then it's always going to be part of HF.

I'm both confident I can do this and apprehensive about the unknown. But this must be done and we're long past due. I'll keep you all posted as I progress. It will be point 5 where I'll feel most energized. That's when the real work begins.

Thank you.

[Hackers]

Point 5 sounds great and is probably one of the best little tricks to get things done on a dev server.

Plan sounds solid. Maybe without relying on us you could share any problems you face and then if people happen to be helpful, that's a win. Happy to look at anything you share in the future.

Best of luck




Will HF lose threads/posts/activity/changes or will you have a way to sync databases?

[CL1B]

Goodluck, I'm sure it will be all right.

[◔ßorder╙ineExtrⒶ]

*in Stanley's voice* NOT THE CONVOOOOOO

JK. Not a big loss. Good thing we can go a week without giving each other the opportunity to start a flamewar.

My advice would've still been to run a parallel testing site for all the back-end features, then port the front-end and initialize staging. Run a controlled functionality test and then migrate the entire environment to live. This way there is no service disruption, we get all the perks of PHP 8 without much hassle.

Keep up the Good Work Omniscient

[Omniscient]

*in Stanley's voice* NOT THE CONVOOOOOO

JK. Not a big loss. Good thing we can go a week without giving each other the opportunity to start a flamewar.

My advice would've still been to run a parallel testing site for all the back-end features, then port the front-end and initialize staging. Run a controlled functionality test and then migrate the entire environment to live. This way there is no service disruption, we get all the perks of PHP 8 without much hassle.

Keep up the Good Work Omniscient

Yes, I've done this before remember.

Basically once the new server HF is running well enough. I turn old site off using MyBB Close Forum with a message like "we're finally moving" and at that point I grab latest DB dump, move it and then the DNS changes. For some it will be quick within 2-3 hours, for others DNS may take 24 hours or more. We won't lose any data. Basically the DB should experience no changes.

I do know what I'm doing overall. I did this multiples times years before AI help. Fairly sure with AI help, this will be even easier.

[Omniscient]

Server setup and hardening complete.

Lots of customizing for my own setup. Shells, logins, firewall....

Now onto the next phase which is services (Nginx, Apache, MariaDB).

[Omniscient]

Sticking this thread because I'll be using it for updates.

It's going very well so far. Sometimes I forget how capable of a sys admin I can be. It's been a minute since I've done a full server setup but it's all going so very well. Mainly because AI is guiding me through each step where in the past I had to just wing it.

When you're setting up a server there is a ton of small stuff to consider. Everything from the firewall to customizing your shell. Since HF is mainly PHP, I have to make sure it's not missing any custom configs that I might have setup years ago and forgot it's custom.

Me personally I like TCSH and I've had a nice custom config for nearly 20 years.

Cross your fingers because possibly in a few days we could potentially be on the new server. This should be huge for HF.

[Jamika]

Good luck, and I am more than happy that AI will make the process easy this time.

Hackers I know you pray the convo never comes back lol.

[R5N3T]

I hope your work goes smoothly

[Omniscient]

I hope your work goes smoothly

I'm feeling more and more confident about it. Going really well.

[Moooookie]

I've been anticipating this new server update for a while, nice to see that you're at the stage of getting it setup, and configured. Excited to see what new features will be brought to the forum over the this next year and beyond. Can't really give any input or advice on the technical aspect of things.. that's not my forte, but I'm sure you will knock the job out the park. Good luck with everything.

[R5N3T]

I'm feeling more and more confident about it. Going really well.

That's great if you're confident, but always remember to be careful

[casperr]

Nice work. This forum has always been a great place for discussions, sharing ideas, and building a strong community over the years. Because of that, it absolutely deserves a solid, modern foundation. Upgrading the backend, improving security, and making the system ready for modern development is an important step forward. Really appreciate the effort you’re putting into this.

[R5N3T]

Omniscient Will HF be inaccessible during the migration? If so, how long will the process take?

[Omniscient]

Omniscient Will HF be inaccessible during the migration? If so, how long will the process take?

It's really DNS that's the problem for users. We will almost certainly have 1-2 hours of downtime just for the server move. What I'll do is time how fast I can download HF's DB into a dump, move it, and insert into the new server. Because technically that's the minimum amount of downtime we'll experience. From past experience that should be just a couple hours. I can also try to time it on a slow day like Sunday.

I'm almost done for the day. I have a couple things to do and will resume in the morning but for a first day, very pleased with progress. The server coming along nicely.

I should be able to moves files tomorrow. That's when the real work begins which is debugging HF's backend for the PHP upgrade. 1500 PHP files have to be reviewed and updated to work with PHP 8.3 vs the 7.2 we run now. This is the first hard part, then the socket is the second, and lastly the most difficult will be Convo. But after that, we're going to be awesome.