phpBB Installation and Configuration

Download and extract the latest release of phpBB.

phpBB is available from http://www.phpbb.com/downloads/ as a .ZIP archive that you can extract on your own computer before uploading them to the server, and either a .TAR.GZ or .TAR.BZ2 archive that you can then upload to the server and extract directly, editing them on the server itself.

This guide will show steps when editing on your own computer and will cover uploading a little later.

Prepare a MySQL database for phpBB to use.

If you have not already done so, please contact support@eskimo.com to request a MySQL database with a password of your choice. The username and database name will be the same as your server username (sample: support). For added security, you should request a password that is specific to MySQL, different than the one used for email and others (for sample purposes: SamplPa$$).

If you've already done this, you're set to go. phpBB will use "phpbb_" as the default prefix for table names it creates in order to help avoid colliding with anything already in use. Check the step below for a way to change this if you have your own "phpbb_" tables for other uses.

If you've extracted files on your own computer, upload the phpBB directory to the server.

Open your FTP software to ftp.eskimo.com, logging in with your server login and password (real one, not the SQL-specific one). If you do not yet have a web directory, create one named public_html, and change to that directory.

Note: Due to differences between how Windows and Unix/Linux servers handle text files, be sure to set your FTP software to "ASCII" mode to auto-correct for this.

You can now upload the entire set of files and directories directly to this directory, or create a subdirectory if you wish with the same methods. FTP transfer should take care of file and directory permissions automatically when done this way.

File permission should only be for yourself (user), not the group or server, as PHP and other scripts will run under your own login id, and you won't want just anyone to be able to come in to change your site at their whims. Check the Other Resources below for more details that describe advanced edits that can be done in this way, keeping this bit of eskimo.com-specific security in mind.

Run the install script by pointing your browser to the "install/install.php" file.

If you uploaded it into your public_html directory wih the default name ("phpbb2" for the current version), this will be either (replacing support with your own login):

http://www.eskimo.com/~support/phpbb2/install/install.php

Or, if you're hosting a domain with us:

http://yourdomain.com/phpbb2/install/install.php

Following the on-screen instructions will lead you through all the necessary settings, which are (if installed in the default directory name):

Basic Configuration
Default board language:	English	(There may be plugins available for other languages.)
Database Type:	MySQL 3.x	(An upgrade will be performed "soonly".)
Choose your installation method:	Install
Database Configuration
Database Server Hostname / DSN:	mysql.eskimo.com
Your Database Name:	support	(Same as your username.)
Database Username:	support	(Same as your username.)
Database Password:	SamplPa$$
Prefix for tables in database:	phpbb_	(Edit if you need to.)
Admin Configuration
Admin Email Address:	your email address
Domain Name:	www.eskimo.com	(Or yourdomain.com if you host with us.)
Server Port:	80
Script path:	/~support/phpbb2/	(With your username, or /phpbb2/ of your own domain.)
Administrator Username:	...	(Your choice.)
Administrator Password:	...	(Your choice.)
Administrator Password [Confirm]:	...	(Same as above.)

When ready, click the "Start Install" button below these to create the proper tables, administrator forum username, and the rest.

There should then be a brief confirmation page with a "Finish Installation" button to take you the login page where you can configure forum names, sections, etc. But first, there's a bit of security to perform, which phpBB will tell you if you click this button now:

Please ensure both the install/ and contrib/ directories are deleted.

You can now remove the phpbb2/install and phpbb2/contrib directories (or move them to backups elsewhere such as your account's home directory not viewable from web browsers). This is to ensure that a "live" forum will not be overwritten by someone browsing to a still-existant "install" directory and rewrite all of your content.

After doing this, you can reload the browser window, login with the Administrator username and password that you chose, and configure your new forums.

Other Resources

phpBB and many users go into more detail in their own [2.0.x] Installation forum, with information for installing plugins, glitches in specific subversions, etc.