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changing servers while upgrading

Started by remingtonk, November 21, 2017, 09:56:14 AM

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remingtonk

Hi,

I am trying to help our Forum group upgrade from 1.1.11 to latest SMF while also migrating to a new server.

I have tried several approaches:


  • install latest SMF on new server (worked ok) and then try to upload the datadump from the old (1.1.11) server - no go - there is a MySQL complaint about ENGINE vs.

  • install the version of SMF that was on the other server (1.1.11), then clear all data, and then try to import the dumped data, with the hope that upgrades on the new server can be managed, but the new server complains about "ERROR 1062 (23000) at line 13: Duplicate entry '1464' for key 'PRIMARY'" .

  • install an intermediate version of SMF (the one just before the skip to 2.0) and see whether that gets over the MySQL version incompatibility


Bottom line is that I can install SMF (any version) on the new server (and have done that thrice over [v1.1.11, 1.1.21,2.0.15], times two), but the uploads from that 1.1.11  data dump fail.  Doesn't seem like a corrupt file - just unhappy compatibility issues.

I have googled (a LOT) and checked this forum's message boards.  And tried many iterations on these themes. Most of the forum postings and google findings are for either moving from one up-to-date server to another, or just updating an existing SMF installation in place. 

So, a meta-question:  Is there a good approach to what I am trying to do? Were any of the above the right way to do it?   We have a retiring administrator with his server set-up to 1.1.11.  Trying to move to a different server,  with the latest SMF, but the data dump is from v. 1.1.11, and seems very stubborn about being imported.  And maybe MySQL isn't as backward compatible as it should be.  I am not experienced with SMF, though I'm getting more so.  But things worked as expected for installing -  was able to install each version just fine - so I think I just need some advice about the path to take to get the previous data properly incorporated.

Any big picture advice? 







Newbie, getting older by the minute

Sir Osis of Liver

Best approach would be to upgrade to current version on old server (assuming forum is working correctly there), then move everything to new server.  You may not be able to upgrade from 1.1.11 to 2.0.14 directly.  Go from 1.1.11 to 1.1.21, make sure everything's working, then upgrade 1.1.11 to 2.0.14.
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

Dzonny

Hello there and welcome to SMF community.

The best would be to actually firstly migrate your existing forum (without upgrading it) to new server, and have it working there. Please see the manual about that here:
How do I move my SMF forum to a different host?

After you have working copy of your forum, meaning it's connected to database, paths are correct etc, then you should proceed to actual upgrade process.
Please check the manual for that as well:
Upgrading SMF

Let us know if you have additional questions, we're always here to help! :)

EDIT: Or as Sir Osis said, you can upgrade current forum firstly and then move it to new server, whatever you prefer.

Sir Osis of Liver

The problem appears to be with the 1.1.11 database on the new server, that's why I suggested upgrading first, then moving.  Either method should work, assuming the db isn't damaged, which doesn't appear to be the case.
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

remingtonk

Thank you folks.   I think I'll have trouble with the first suggestion (update on the old server, then move), because that server isn't mine, and the retiring admin asked me to do this for our group because he doesn't have the time to do it.  He's also halfway across the globe from me, so we are always a little out of sync with communications.

I'm going to try from scratch again with 1.1.11 on new server.  I did get that install working fine, and the fresh install database with welcome message and first user looked fine, its just that the data upload seemed to hit a wall because the sql isn't compatible with my server's MySQL running the database.  Maybe I can find a flag that will allow the deprecated SQL. 

I will try again.  It is nice to know that I was following the right train of thought.

And thanks for the tip about trying intermediate upgrades, instead of 1.1.11 straight to 2.0.14 (14 changed to 15 since I started this, so since I have 2.0.14 already, I might just try to get there first.  1.1.11 -> 1.1.21 -> 2.0.something. 

Thanks again.   I'll let you know how it goes.  (And write a help page if I can get it going)

Newbie, getting older by the minute

Dzonny

How are you trying to import the database to the new server? Do you know which database engine and version you were running on old server, and which one you have on new?
Are you using phpMyAdmin to import database? How big database is? Which error are you getting exactly? If it's the same as what you wrote in your first post, please paste the line 13 of your database sql file, so we can take a look at it.

Sir Osis of Liver

Look in Admin -> Support and Credits, post the version info from both servers.
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

remingtonk

Still working on this - collecting more info.



Old serverProposed new server
SMF 1.1.111.1.11
MySQL5.6.365.6.28
PHP5.25.6.182.0

I think I'm probably getting twisted around because I'm trying to preserve my server's (the target's) working Wordpress Multisite - and don't want to accidentally mess that up by tinkering with the MySQL and PHP versions.

I cleared out the SMF database, and started from scratch, with SMF 1.1.11 (to match the data-dump from the old server).  Went through the install steps. 

I get this error:   

Quote
Some of the queries were not executed properly. This could be caused by an unsupported (development or old) version of MySQL.

Technical information about the queries:
Line #22: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'TYPE=MyISAM' at line 16
Line #40: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'TYPE=MyISAM' at line 13
...
for a couple pages worth.

Which I see might reflect that I need to update my server's MySQL - but it is tangled with that Wordpress multisite installation, which was a big pain to set up, and I don't want that to break.

Any ideas?  I was thinking about just starting from scratch with a new free-tier server, but to get the right version combination to match the database dump seems like a real pain.

I'm wondering whether any of you might recognize what is going on from experience (I am new to SMF, and really not an admin - just competent enough to understand the issues and try things). Would be nice to avoid extra work if you could point me to another post or something for a quick fix.  I did hunt around and Google.   

Would appreciate any ideas to try. 

Thanks very much.





Newbie, getting older by the minute

Arantor

The problem is not that you need to update MySQL. The problem is that 1.1.x is so old it doesn't support newer PHP or newer MySQL.

I'd be inclined to do the upgrade to 2.0.13 (specifically) before moving, then move, then use the patches to move to 2.0.15.

remingtonk

Quick question:

I'm still working on the process I asked about in this thread - not constantly, though, so I'm sorry about the delay.

When going through an installation process (which I've done successfully several times now on a different server, with several versions), I'm getting this error:

     "Cannot connect to the MySQL database server with the supplied data.

     If you are not sure about what to type in, please contact your host."

         No such file or directory



Earlier in this thread, I was describing installing on an AWS instance, and this time I am on my local machine, a Mac laptop.

I can get to the MySQL server easily with the credentials, both from the command line, and through MySQL Workbench, which is my preferred interface. So I don't think it is mistyped creds that the message is complaining about.

That last part of the error message makes me think it could be file permissions, rather than the credentials. 

Does this look familiar?  I am following the Installation support information, including the file/directory permissions.  I tried searching for existing topics, but didn't find anything.

Just wanted to check quickly whether this rings a bell with you folks.   
Newbie, getting older by the minute

remingtonk

And I forgot to mention than the MySQL version on the Mac is:  "Server version: 5.7.20 Homebrew"

The MySQL logs show complaints if I try to log in without credentials, but nothing turns up in the logs for this SMF install failure.  So, I can see the logs. 

I know there are various combinations of file permissions mentioned in the installation guide.  So I'll keep trying to jigger those, but thought maybe one of the experts would recognize what this is quickly and save me from having to pull my hair out trying everything.  I couldn't find this problem mentioned in the support pages, or with Google, but possible I missed something.

I'm surprised that after installing three versions multiple times successfully on a remote AWS server, this install on my local machine is failing. 

Ideas?  Anyone installed on a local Mac?  (OS Sierra 10.12.6)
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

Hi, where are we with this? Have you been able to figure out what was failing, or do you still need assistance with this? :)
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

remingtonk

I haven't solved it yet, but I'm now guessing it is the php.ini configuration and file permissions.

I usually don't host web services on my Mac, so it's taken me awhile to figure out where things are

I'm trying to go through these requirements:
Quote
The following must be changed in the php.ini file:

  • The engine directive must be set to On.
    The magic_quotes_sybase directive must be set to Off.
    The session.save [nofollow]_path directive must be set to a valid directory or empty.
    The file_uploads directive must be set to On.
    The upload_tmp_dir directive must be set to a valid directory or empty.

If anyone recognizes the complaint, and could save me time, that would be wonderful.  I was hoping it would look familiar to someone with a Mac installation. 

I'll post back if I happen upon the solution. 
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

Ok, I see multiple possible issues in this topic - which one are you currently working on specifically? 

MySQL login problems locally - I would start by making sure and double checking that the address and user credentials for database connections is actually valid and working.
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

remingtonk

Quote from: Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen on December 21, 2017, 10:17:52 AM
Ok, I see multiple possible issues in this topic - which one are you currently working on specifically? 

MySQL login problems locally - I would start by making sure and double checking that the address and user credentials for database connections is actually valid and working.


Hi, thanks - this thread is a running description of things I've been trying so that I can transfer a old version (1.1.11) forum to a new server, and upgrade to the SMF 2. And started just by asking what the best approach would be from people who might have had experience.

Quick summary:
I've tried:

  • installing SMF 2.0.14 (was latest version at the time) on an AWS bitnami server.  Install worked fine, but I couldn't get the data backup loaded. There was a repeated MySQL complaint. (documented earlier in the thread)
  • installing the version running for the forum currently (on the server we want to replace) - that is version 1.1.11, then attempt to upload the data dump, but that didn't work either. The install went find, but the import didn't work - complaints about "Duplicate Entry" for a primary key, but looking into that made me think I would be chasing that around forever.

So, came back here, and asked about other ways to try.
They were:

  • installing SMF 1.1.21 on that server.  Install worked fine, but again, the import of the data failed. Again a repeated complaint, but this time about "TYPE=MyISAM"
    upgrade on the original server to at least 1.1.21, and then try moving the data. This option doesn't work for us, because original admin can't provide support access right now (which is why I am trying to do this), and we don't want to keep falling further and further behind.
Then: I thought maybe I could try getting the old version up on my local machine, a Mac Laptop. 
My webserver experience is with AWS EC2 standard LAMP configurations, and most recently bitnami's servers, so it took me some time to get my local server setup and working, but that is now working, and I can get to the first page of the SMF install, but now I get this:
Quote from: remingtonk on December 15, 2017, 08:47:12 AM

When going through an installation process (which I've done successfully several times now on a different server, with several versions), I'm getting this error:

     "Cannot connect to the MySQL database server with the supplied data.

     If you are not sure about what to type in, please contact your host."

         No such file or directory



Earlier in this thread, I was describing installing on an AWS instance, and this time I am on my local machine, a Mac laptop.

I can get to the MySQL server easily with the credentials, both from the command line, and through MySQL Workbench, which is my preferred interface. So I don't think it is mistyped creds that the message is complaining about.

That last part of the error message makes me think it could be file permissions, rather than the credentials. 

Does this look familiar?  I am following the Installation support information, including the file/directory permissions.  I tried searching for existing topics, but didn't find anything.

Just wanted to check quickly whether this rings a bell with you folks.   


As I mentioned, I can get into MySQL with the credentials, but from command line, and my MySQL Workbench app.

I am currently working on the last thing I mentioned, because the previous approaches seemed to be hopelessly time consuming so we've left those behind (unless you recognize the issues mentioned in any of those scenarios, in which case I could revist.  I'm mostly just asking if anyone recognizes why that MySQL connection page would include "No such file or directory".  I've been trying to check file permissions, checking logs for errors, related to that connection complain, but I thought maybe someone could point me to where to look. I'm making some logical guesses of what to try, and restarted apache more times than I can recall now. 

So any suggestions are welcome.  Otherwise, I will just keeping thrashing away until I figure it out.  As which time, I will post here about what finally worked.  Thanks
PS> On the plus side, I'm learning more about SMF.  Previously, I'd just been a user with what is a small closed group of old friends. I'm a new member, and hadn't used SMF before.  I can get by fine with sysadmin things and troubleshooting, when I need to, but that is not my day job. 
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

Quote from: remingtonk on December 23, 2017, 09:42:54 AM
  • installing SMF 1.1.21 on that server.  Install worked fine, but again, the import of the data failed. Again a repeated complaint, but this time about "TYPE=MyISAM"
For MySQL 5.5 and up you would have to use ENGINE = MyISAM
TYPE is no longer available.
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

remingtonk

Quote from: Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen on December 23, 2017, 09:55:53 AM
Quote from: remingtonk on December 23, 2017, 09:42:54 AM
  • installing SMF 1.1.21 on that server.  Install worked fine, but again, the import of the data failed. Again a repeated complaint, but this time about "TYPE=MyISAM"
For MySQL 5.5 and up you would have to use ENGINE = MyISAM
TYPE is no longer available.

Hi, yeah, and thanks.  I know that - figured that out from the obvious message. So, I tried just swapping out the the various "TYPE=MyISAM"' lines to "ENGINE=MyISAM", but that just seemed to make more things unhappy (including me), and following that line seemed to be a rabbit hole worth going down anymore.  Once I stray down that road, I really run the risk of not being able to ask confident questions - because as I start editing, it's gets ever more difficult to describe.  Other advisors on this thread said that trying to fix that issue was probably hopeless.   

Fortunately, I do know how to keep troubleshooting, but I was just hoping that someone would immediately recognize this error page, given the circumstance we'd been through in the thread, and save me more head banging, if possible.  But if not, I'll eventually figure it out and will repost what magic combination I found that eventually worked.

Thanks, Lex
PS> I understand that it our group's "own damn fault" for falling behind. I'm just a newcomer to my forum group (and never of SMF before six months ago),  but when hearing the plea of the current admin in one of our threads, saying he couldn't afford the time to figure out the upgrade, and couldn't afford the server - I'm just trying to help so that our group can keep going.   


[/list]
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

#17
OK, then the obvious questions - sorry I'm not trying to be a pita. :)

When you fire up the install script on local, and see the "No such file or directory" error - have you already created a database in advance, and made sure the user account has rights to it? The script will set up contents of a database, but will not create a database if one doesn't exist.

Also, trying 127.0.0.1 instead of localhost - or the other way around - may work.

If these fail, there are similar issues all around stackoverflow, with plenty of different approaches to check.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4219970/warning-mysql-connect-2002-no-such-file-or-directory-trying-to-connect-vi
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/23191625/mysql-connection-refused-and-mysql-no-such-file-or-directory
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

Just Another Member

Please, the answer to this question is too simple!

Just either:

1.) Change servers then upgrade

or

2.) Upgrade then change servers

Your mistake is trying to do two things at the same time. I doubt it makes any practical difference which you do first.

Kindred

Except that you clearly did not read all of his posts as he has tried to do both of those, based on our suggestion to do the same thing....   I know that you were trying to get your post count up, but please read the entire thread before posting like this.
Слaва
Украинi

Please do not PM, IM or Email me with support questions.  You will get better and faster responses in the support boards.  Thank you.

"Loki is not evil, although he is certainly not a force for good. Loki is... complicated."

Irisado

Off topic discussion removed and merged with https://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=556652.0.  Let's stay on the topic outlined in the first post of this topic from now on.  Thank you.
Soñando con una playa donde brilla el sol, un arco iris ilumina el cielo, y el mar espejea iridescentemente

remingtonk

Hi folks:

I was able to get 1.1.21 installed and working on my local machine (a MacBook).  Not sure which alignment of stars got it to work (sorry - I wanted to document the particular issue(s) involved, but am not sure what the magic combination was.)

So, I have a working 1.1.21, and try to import the 1.1.11 data dump from the old server, and get this complaint:


  • 07:25:07 Restoring /Users/remingtonk/SMF Bawdy/David.sql
    Running: /Applications/MySQLWorkbench.app/Contents/MacOS/mysql --defaults-file="/var/folders/y4/hvshll2s207_wcj9lh4tm1b80000gn/T/tmpHaHCZj/extraparams.cnf"  --protocol=tcp --host=127.0.0.1 --user=root --port=3306 --default-character-set=utf8 --comments --database=smf  < "/Users/remingtonk/SMF Bawdy/David.sql"
    ERROR 1062 (23000) at line 8917: Duplicate entry '-1-0-poll_view' for key 'PRIMARY'

    Operation failed with exitcode 1
    07:25:08 Import of /Users/remingtonk/SMF Bawdy/David.sql has finished with 1 errors


Does this look like something easy to remedy?  Or does it look like the start of a cascade that would just lead to similar complaints?  I'm looking around for a thread that addresses this, but if you recognize this and can point me to the right place, that would be great.

Thanks
Newbie, getting older by the minute

remingtonk

Update:  (with good news - not complete yet, but getting there)

I did finally get 1.1.21 running on my local Mac, and just managed to successfully import the 1.1.11 data dump from the old server.

To get through this, I had to add to add column LastUpdated to the table structure for 'smf_boards',  and logTime to the table structure for 'smf_log_mark_read'.

Between each attempt, I needed to clear the table data to prevent ID conflicts when restarting the import.

So, I think from here I will be able to follow a migration path to 2.latest, and then transfer to the AWS server I'd originally intended to use.

I'd like to keep this open until I complete that, but I think that will go much more smoothly now that I've got the data from the old server successfully imported.

No victory lap yet, but definitely felt good to get the data imported successfully to 1.1.21 on a server I control.

Newbie, getting older by the minute

Kindred

In the 1.1.x series, there were database changes. Tha is why you need to run upgrade.php on the old database...   and then do the same for the 2.0,x upgrade
Слaва
Украинi

Please do not PM, IM or Email me with support questions.  You will get better and faster responses in the support boards.  Thank you.

"Loki is not evil, although he is certainly not a force for good. Loki is... complicated."

Just Another Member

Remingtonk, I like reading your posts. I can see the progress you are making and I'm pretty certain you will get your forum fixed and back on the Internet.

Just one thing, remember that hosting service you are with and make plans to kick them to the curb.

You're clever enough that you'll be fine without a hosting service that sabotages your sites.

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

Quote from: remingtonk on December 29, 2017, 07:27:48 PM
I'd like to keep this open until I complete that, but I think that will go much more smoothly now that I've got the data from the old server successfully imported.
That's fine, just let us know how it goes :)
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

remingtonk

Quick question:

The dump file I uploaded didn't contain the data for the actual posts - the topics show on the home page, and counts are there, but the posts themselves are not.

I was looking for where these are in the database, and I think they would be in "smf_messages"  (not to be confused with "smf_personal_messages")     I just want to check that with someone here before trying to figure out why that table wasn't exported as anticipated.   Is "smf_messages" where the posts are stored? 

I now know way more about SMF than I had intended to know, and apparently still less than I need to know.  So thanks for just a quick answer.  With Googling, I think I have the right impression, but want to check before running down a rabbit hole. 


Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

Yes, the actual posts are in smf_messages. :)
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

Sir Osis of Liver

If you used phpmyadmin to dump the database, export can fail without error, giving you a partial dump.  Most commonly chokes on smf_messages, that's usually the largest table, unless there's a huge smf_log_errors (I've seen two forums with gb error logs).  If dump fails at smf_messages, all following tables will be missing.

Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

remingtonk

Quote from: Sir Osis of Liver on January 03, 2018, 11:38:22 AM
If you used phpmyadmin to dump the database, export can fail without error, giving you a partial dump.  Most commonly chokes on smf_messages, that's usually the largest table, unless there's a huge smf_log_errors (I've seen two forums with gb error logs).  If dump fails at smf_messages, all following tables will be missing.

Hey, thanks.  That might be the key.  I wasn't the one who did the data dump, so I'm not sure about this past one, but I think I'll be able to control the next one.   So I will be alert. 
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

If something seems to be missing, anything at all, it may be a good idea to compare the database structures, it should be fairly easy to see if all the tables are there. Most commonly export functions will also include a last row in the dump to signify in clear text that the dump was complete.
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

remingtonk

Here's an unfortunate thing that happened - and I'm searching around for help, but want to mention it here for completeness:

My co-administrative buddy (the one who is retiring and trying to hand this admin task to me) seems to have inadvertently messed with the SMF credentials used to launch the server while he was trying to give me access to the DB.  He and I both recall the initial SMF set-up step which calls for a initial user-name/password during the install.   We aren't seeing that in the DB, so we aren't sure how to recover.  Is there a post about recovering an install password? 

Please be kind - we are just trying to muddle through. 
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

That step only setups the first user in the database, user ID 1, that is the default admin of the forum.
What are you trying accomplish with it? Is there a reason you need this specifically?
It shouldn't really be needed for anything if there are other admin accounts,
and just to move the forum from one place to another it isn't needed at all.



Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

remingtonk

What happened is that my partner's attempt to give me access to the DB seems to have broken the board.  So, while I can now see the DB, the users aren't able to get in.  David (previous admin) says he thinks he was asked for those old credentials, which are about 10 years in the past for him, and he isn't sure where the process went wrong.

If I have database access, can I help repair it?  We have a lively community who has just become disconnected, so I'm trying to fix as soon as possible (earlier, we were just trying to migrate smoothly).
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

Why are the users not able to get in? Do they get an error or a maintenance message?

Without knowing what your partner actually did, and without knowing what was the end result exactly it's a bit hard to say how you could fix it.
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

Illori

i think they need to run repair_settings.php and set the correct password for the database assuming that the username as not changed.

remingtonk

Here's what I see (which I think is what other forum members are seeing):



I will try to let David know about trying to run "repain_settings.php"   I don't think he changed user names.  Maybe was adding one (for me). 
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

Most probably the database information used for connecting to the database has changed from the time the forum last worked, and would need to be changed in settings.php, where SMF keeps the information.

Easiest way to do this is repair_settings.php like Illori said.

What is repair_settings.php?
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

Sir Osis of Liver

It's possible other admin tried to create a new db user in cpanel and borked the existing user that's been in Settings.php.  Look in mysql section of cpanel, check db users, and that they are assisgned to your production database.  $db_user and $db_passwd must agree with a valid user for that db.

Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

remingtonk

Quote from: Sir Osis of Liver on January 04, 2018, 03:51:10 PM
It's possible other admin tried to create a new db user in cpanel and borked the existing user that's been in Settings.php.  Look in mysql section of cpanel, check db users, and that they are assigned to your production database.  $db_user and $db_passwd must agree with a valid user for that db.

We think that is indeed what happened.  We tried a couple of different things to fix, but then decided to just run with the accidental "maintenance window" and get things moved while everyone was already off-line.  The group is loosely attached through Facebook, so we're keeping them apprised.

Good news:  I managed to get a full database dump from the 1.1.11 server, and it's now up and running on a new server with 1.1.21.
Notes:   
I think the comment from Sir Osis about exports sometimes choking in smf_messages without warning was spot on.  I did the dump from the command-line, and got all of the data. 

I had to tweak a few things to get it imported to the new (intermediate) server (my mac):

  • had to preserve the newly installed smf_settings table (by deleting it in the dump file), and
  • had to add LastUpdated and logTime columns to tables for smf_boards and smf_mark_read, respectively, and then
  • drop those added columns from the 1.1.21 install, so that the database would reflect the 1.1.21 structure.

So, I'm moving on to upgrading from SMF 1.1.21 to SMF 2.whatever on this local server, and then will try exporting and moving the forum to the intended Amazon server.  I'm not yet very aware of the upgrade processes, but will look up the support information, and hope that the move from 1.1.21 to 2.something is more smooth now that I'm on a server I can control.

Thanks for the comments. I really didn't intend to learn this much about SMF, and since this isn't my day job, and my mental cache isn't huge, I'm going to try to wrap this up as soon as possible.

Still, please keep this open for now.  There might be another issue between now and the full migration, and having this log open helps.
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

The upgrade should be smooth sailing really, but let us know if you come across something surprising. :)

Upgrading SMF
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

Kindred

You could also have used the repair_settings.php tool instead of dumping the settings table... that's what the tool is for
Слaва
Украинi

Please do not PM, IM or Email me with support questions.  You will get better and faster responses in the support boards.  Thank you.

"Loki is not evil, although he is certainly not a force for good. Loki is... complicated."

remingtonk

Unfortunately, we couldn't get the repair_settings.php tool to work.  I understand that is what it was meant for.  It might be because we tried it at the wrong point.  I was happy enough to figure out the dependencies myself, since there is still more work to do.  Self fixing seemed a bit easier that troubleshooting whatever was going on with our version of repair_settings.php. 

Here's the next question, just asking for a pointer:   

The 1.1.21 version is up and working - data transferred fine, eventually.  But I'm getting confused with the documentation for "upgrading" to 2.0.15.  I have a backup of the database, and a backup of the file structure.   I have the 2.0.15(large upgrade) downloaded in a new folder.   I think I'm missing a step of merging that with the existing folder, perhaps?  I'm having trouble telling whether that must happen before running upgrade.php, or if that's part of the upgrade.php process.  Running smf/upgrade.php fails with a screen that doesn't look right (see attached), and talks about YaBB, which I know nothing about.

I've been reading through the upgrade support documentation, but I might be missing something obvious you could point me to.

I'm probably going to try to transfer the 1.1.21 forum to the intended target server, because the group has been out of commission and they need to have the group working again, even if the SMF version is still out of date - at least it's not as out of date as it was last week.   

If you have any ideas about what I'm missing with upgrading, please let me know.  It's probably just my lack of familiarity with the SMF lingo, but I'm trying!

Thanks for the patience and help.
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Illori

upload the 2.0.15 files to override what you have now, then run upgrade.php. dont use a new folder at all.

remingtonk

Will try - I'm not actually "uploading", I'm on a local server, so I have to, I think, copy in the Large Upgrade files to the existing directory so that they will clobber any existing conflicting files, while preserving other non-conflicting files.  Does that sound right?  I'm working with command line linux - so "uploading files to override" gives me a hint, but doesn't quite match my environment.  I think, from what you said, is that I need to copy the upgrade files into the existing directory, which will overwrite some files, but leave others intact.

Newbie, getting older by the minute

Sir Osis of Liver

The usual way to upgrade from 1.1.21 -> 2.0.15 is to upload the upgrade package into existing forum directory, overwriting 1.1 files, then run upgrade.php, which ups the database to 2.0.  If you want to be cautious and retain the 1.1 install untouched, rename existing directory (i.e., /forum -> /forum_sav), create a new forum directory with same name as original install (/forum), upload 2.0.15 upgrade package to new directory, copy Settings.php and Settings_bak.php from old to new, run upgrade.php in new directory.  This will result in a clean 2.0.15 install connected to upgraded production database.  You can then copy attachments and custom avatars from old to new.  I've done this quite a few times on damaged forums, the 1.1 install is still intact when you're done.
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

Illori

you really should copy over the attachments and avatars before running upgrade.php if the upgrade process were to need to modify those files for some reason if they are not present the change will not be applied.

Sir Osis of Liver

For what reason would it modify attachments or avatars?
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

Arantor

The original install was 1.1.11, right? That *should* be past the point at which the upgrader would need to do some work on the files (1.1.9 would be that point)

remingtonk

Quote from: Arantor on January 07, 2018, 04:55:20 PM
The original install was 1.1.11, right? That *should* be past the point at which the upgrader would need to do some work on the files (1.1.9 would be that point)

Original was 1.1.11. Yes. But we have a working install of 1.1.21. 
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Sir Osis of Liver

I've never had a problem doing it this way, but I would never attempt a direct upgrade from 1.1.9 -> 2.0, it doesn't work.  You have to go 1.1.9 -> 1.1.21, which would make any necessary changes to attachments or avatars, then 1.1.21 -> 2.0.15.  Since OP is already at 1.1.21, it's good to go.
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

Quote from: Sir Osis of Liver on January 07, 2018, 05:07:02 PM
I've never had a problem doing it this way, but I would never attempt a direct upgrade from 1.1.9 -> 2.0, it doesn't work.  You have to go 1.1.9 -> 1.1.21, which would make any necessary changes to attachments or avatars, then 1.1.21 -> 2.0.15.  Since OP is already at 1.1.21, it's good to go.
As far as I know, the upgrade should work from older versions of 1.1 just as well.
It is originally designed to work on any earlier version, is there really a problem with it?
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

Sir Osis of Liver

I've had it fail a couple of times, I believe others have as well.  Don't remember offhand how far back the start versions were, but upgrade to 2.0 fails midway.  1.1.x -> 1.1.21 -> 2.0.15 works on these installs.  Don't know what causes the problem.
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen

OK, it's been a while that I've used the upgrade package for real, but I have upgraded old 1.1 installs to 2.0 in past without any problems.
If someone can pinpoint a failure point in the script, it would warrant a bug report IMO. That is why I was asking.
Slava
Ukraini!


"Before you allow people access to your forum, especially in an administrative position, you must be aware that that person can seriously damage your forum. Therefore, you should only allow people that you trust, implicitly, to have such access." -Douglas

How you can help SMF

remingtonk

Believe it or not, I'm still working on this.   I only have a little bit of time for it, so it's taking a long time to get everything sorted out.

Here's an interesting thing that happened the other day:

On the intended replacement server, after uploading a snapshot of current server data and current server files, I was running repair_settings.php.  Unfortunately, somewhere in there (I've not traced it yet), the browser managing the repair_settings skipped over to the old URL/server (I was logged in there in another browser, trying to compare settings, and didn't notice that the new server's browser redirected there), so when I hit "save" in settings, it saved the settings to the old server, which made that previously working forum inoperable.  Our forum users there were quite surprised to be suddenly cut off - and I had to scramble around to repair the settings on that server, which had been just fine until I tried to bring the new one up.   :P   

I'm lucky that the forum I'm working on has just a small, friendly user group (personal friends), and they know they have just volunteer admins who have other jobs and are working on trying to move the forum and update it.   My partner in crime and I are learning new things about SMF every day, so by the time we get our little forum moved/updated (about 2025 at this rate), we should be experts!
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Sir Osis of Liver

Quote from: Sir Osis of Liver on November 21, 2017, 04:20:28 PM
Best approach would be to upgrade to current version on old server (assuming forum is working correctly there), then move everything to new server.  You may not be able to upgrade from 1.1.11 to 2.0.14 directly.  Go from 1.1.11 to 1.1.21, make sure everything's working, then upgrade 1.1.11 to 2.0.14.

Did you ever try doing this?  If old install is up and running, you should be able to use package manager to patch from .11 to .21, then full upgrade package to upgrade to 2.0.15.  Problems with database import are most likely being caused by this -

Quote from: Arantor on December 02, 2017, 10:08:05 AM
The problem is not that you need to update MySQL. The problem is that 1.1.x is so old it doesn't support newer PHP or newer MySQL.

I'd be inclined to do the upgrade to 2.0.13 (specifically) before moving, then move, then use the patches to move to 2.0.15.

All of this has been explained several different ways by different people trying to help you, both here and via pm.  You should have been done with this over a month ago.  Don't really understand why you're still having problems.

Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

remingtonk

Here are some reasons I'm still having problems:


  • I have only recently inherited SMF, so the whole system is new to me. It is not as easy as you may think to understand what is going on.
  • It was only last week I got the credentials to log into the "old" (current) server to see what is there. Before that, I was trying a workaround with an intermediate server - it was all I could do without having the old one available to me.
  • The "old" server's web configuration is not one I'm familiar with, and quite different from the Amazon server we're moving to, which I do know. File ownership for the web-servers' files are very different on each server, so I have to map the ownership properly. And because the new server also runs a Wordpress multi-press installation that is important for my real job, I have to be very very careful about experimenting.
  • I learned through this thread that exports have been known to fail during the export of smf_messages silently, so I was getting only a partial export. I assumed that the successful completion of the query meant the export was complete when it was not. And only found out that messages weren't coming through because I asked here.
  • I did follow the advice of going from 1.11 to 1.21 to 2.14, and explained the problem points in each of many attempts in this thread.

I think you maybe haven't tried a migration from server to server - version to version.   It really isn't as simple as you want/intend it to be.
Newbie, getting older by the minute

Sir Osis of Liver

Well, everything's simple if you know how.  One of the problems in support is trying to determine the exact nature of the problem and the experience level of the poster, in this case someone who is new to SMF.  We've been trying to isolate your problem to just upgrading the forum, which can easily be done on old server if the forum is running, using package manager.  Once you've upgraded to 1.1.21, your database should be compatible with mysql version installed on your new server and import without error.  If you're getting a partial dump, that's a different problem, and can be addressed after upgrade is completed on old server.  As Arantor mentioned earlier, you can upgrade to 2.0.13 on server running php 5.2, then upgrade to 2.0.15 after moving to new server, but I'd be inclined to move 1.1.21 forum, then upgrade directly to 2.0.15 on new server.
Ashes and diamonds, foe and friend,
 we were all equal in the end.

                                     - R. Waters

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