Conflicting recommended vBulleting Server configurations?
March 12th, 2010 | Posted by webmaster under enart.qthx.com withI should also take this opportunity to point out that while the ongoing vBulletin survey has revealed a very encouraging level of PHP 5 adoption, it has also highlighted a large number of customers still languishing in PHP 4 land.
I recently updated the vBulletin recommended PHP and MySQL versions to PHP 5.2.5 (or later) with an opcode cache such as APC and MySQL 5.0.51 (or later).
If you know that you are running an old version of PHP or MySQL you will find that vBulletin runs much better with the newer versions. Perhaps you could find time before the release of vBulletin 3.7 to take the plunge and get your server up to date, or pester your host to do so?
To reiterate those recommendations, we would suggest the following:
PHP 5.2.5 or later
APC or similar PHP cache
MySQL 5.0.51 or later
Yet here Steve claims that upgrading from MySQL 4.1.22 is not really necessary:
You will not need to update until vB4.
Also, in many, many Server Optimization requests, Eva instructs users to uninstall APC, while kier recommends it. :confused:
Finally, there seems to be a memory limit bug when upgrading to PHP 5.2.5, to which I recently upgraded. This requires setting the memory_limit to a very high value (or unlimited) in includes/config.php. It seems this is not an ideal solution, yet many vBulletin users who upgrade to php 5 run in to this problem. A simple search here on vBulletin shows lots of results:
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/search.php?query=Allowed+memory+size+bytes+exhaust ed&exactname=1&starteronly=0&forumchoice=24&childforums=1
What part didn't you understand? Kier made it clear that 3.7 will work with the current PHP requirements and those requirements (PHP5 and MySQL5) will only be needed for vB4.
Ok thanks for the clarification.
However, for those of use running very busy forums, we are more interested in the "recommended" than the "minimial requirements" I suppose, so it seems upgrading MySQL to v5 would be ideal. Any tips on which specific minor version runs best for vBulletin? I have seen 5.0.51 recommended in some threads here on the forum, and other minor versions in other threads.
I am currently running 4.1.22 on a dedicated DB server, but would be willing to upgrade to 5.x.x if it would result in a significant performance gain.
Also, what about APC vs other caching options? kier recommends APC, while eva consistently recommends uninstalling APC in favor of xCache.
Also, what about APC as opposed to other caching options? kier recommends APC, while EVA instructs users to dump APC in favor of xCache in just about every server optimization request thread?
It is a matter of preference, nothing more. If Kier likes better APC is his choice, he owns the server and he can put on it whatever software he enjoys. The safest way is to run yourself some performance tests and see what is best for your server. I use a patched PHP version for improved performance. That does not mean everyone will do the same like me, just because I say is 40% faster. At no time Kier said that you should use APC, so I don't understand the agravation. Just do what is best for you. ;)
Yeah just a matter of preference, i've used APC and Xcache, but Xcache works better for my own vB server as well as the numerous vB customers I've consulted for. Basically, use what you're comfortable with.
Well I suppose my confusion comes from the fact that kier's recommendation was posted in the official vBulletin Announcements (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=1) forum.
which seems to be somewhat of an "official" recommendation from the vBulletin development team with regard to APC, not simply a preference of one webmaster.
Perhaps that supposition is incorrect, but I think you can agree that some vBulletin users could think the same about a suggestion made in an official announcement thread, no?
Nevermind.
As for performance gains, I have no idea. I upgraded this weekend and haven't seen anything dramatic.
It is a matter of preference, nothing more. If Kier likes better APC is his choice, he owns the server and he can put on it whatever software he enjoys. The safest way is to run yourself some performance tests and see what is best for your server. I use a patched PHP version for improved performance. That does not mean everyone will do the same like me, just because I say is 40% faster. At no time Kier said that you should use APC, so I don't understand the agravation. Just do what is best for you. ;)
Yes but he seems to be referring to vB 3.7 when recommending us to upgrade to MySQL 5, not vB 4.
Also, what about APC as opposed to other caching options? kier recommends APC, while EVA instructs users to dump APC in favor of xCache in just about every server optimization request thread?
#If you have any other info about this subject , Please add it free.# |