phpBB – A Complete Opensource Forum


–From Wiki–
phpBB is an Internet forum package written in the PHP scripting language. The name “phpBB” is an abbreviation of PHP Bulletin Board. phpBB is free and open source software.

Features of phpBB include support for multiple database engines (PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL, Oracle Database, Microsoft SQL Server), flat message structure (as opposed to threaded), hierarchical subforums, topic split/merge/lock, user groups, multiple attachments per post, full-text search, plugins and various notification options (e-mail, Jabber instant messaging, ATOM feeds).

Requirements:

phpBB3 has a few requirements which must be met before you are able to install and use it.
•A webserver or web hosting account running on any major Operating System with support for PHP
•A SQL database system, one of: •MySQL 3.23 or above (MySQLi supported)
•PostgreSQL 7.3+
•SQLite 2.8.2+
•Firebird 2.1+
•MS SQL Server 2000 or above (directly or via ODBC)
•Oracle

•PHP 4.3.3+ (>=4.3.3, >4.4.x, >5.x.x, >6.0-dev (compatible)) with support for the database you intend to use.
•getimagesize() function need to be enabled.
•These optional presence of the following modules within PHP will provide access to additional features, but they are not required. •zlib Compression support
•Remote FTP support
•XML support
•Imagemagick support
•GD Support

If your server does not meet the requirements above, phpBB3 is not for you.

Step 1: Installation

[root@server ~]# yum install mysql mysql-server httpd php php-mysql php-gd php-imap php-ldap php-odbc php-pear php-xml php-xmlrpc phpmyadmin
[root@server ~]# wget https://www.phpbb.com/files/release/phpBB-3.1.3.tar.bz2
[root@server ~]# tar -xvjf phpBB-3.1.3.tar.bz2
[root@server ~]# mv phpBB3 /var/www/html/
[root@server ~]# cd /var/www/html/
[root@server html]# mv phpBB3 forum

Step 2: Start Apache and Mysql

[root@server ~]# /etc/init.d/httpd start
[root@server ~]# chkconfig --level 35 httpd on
[root@server ~]# /etc/init.d/mysqld start
[root@server ~]# chkconfig --level mysqld on
[root@server ~]# mysql -u -p

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

mysql> create database phpbbdb;

mysql> grant all on phpbbdb.* to 'phpbbuser'@'localhost' identified by 'welcome';

mysql> flush privileges;

mysql> exit;

Now open web browser and type “http://localhost/forum or http://ipaddress/forum“, enter the below details to complete installation.

Database Type: mySQL with mySQLi Extention
Username : phpbbuser
Password : welcome
Database : phpbbdb
Database port:
Server/Host :
DB Prefix : phpbb_

Click “Proceed to next step“, now you should get “Successful Completion” message. In next screen you will ask to enter the admin details (Please give valid information).

If you didn’t get any error then your installation is successful, you are ready to play with phpBB. Thanks!