I've been thinking about setting up a forum for our office here, since the internet here is down most of the time, and everyone relies on email to communicate, lots of things get dropped. So I thought that a good idea would be to have a forum on the intranet, so that even if the internet goes down, everyone can still communicate. They're also totally clueless with anything more than basic, so the original idea of FTP and shared directories went out the window.

So I've been recommended to use SMF as a simple and free forum software, but as I have almost no understanding of it, I have a few questions.

Can I install it on windows XP Pro, and have that computer be the host?

What else do I need to install? I was told XAMPP or WAMPserver. Is that all I need to install?

Then once I get to actually installing it, how would I set the forum url? Would I put in the LAN IP address of the computer I'm running it on?


Currently all the computers have XP Pro on them, and support for the 2000 and 2003 server versions isn't very good here, so if it's not absolutely necessary to run in on one of those it'd make life easier.

Hi Grafitti,

You would first need to get a web server and database back-end up and running for your Windows machine. Prepackaged collections like XAMPP and WAMPserver might be good for rapid set-up, but if you have the time and is willing to learn, I strongly suggest you install the actual required software instead (i.e., Apache, PHP, and MySQL). Not only this allows you flexibility in the versions you want to install, but it is also a very enlightening experience where you can learn many things. You also become self-reliant; if there is a problem, you can fix it yourself and not depend on whoever made the package for you.

After this is set-up and is successfully running, you may install SMF. The URL would be your IP Address; your coworkers can access your server by going to, say, <http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/>. You can also use the box's computer name instead of the IP, that might be better since it is easier to remember.

Hope it helps.

Yes, it does. Thanks. Let me get a couple things clear though. When you say "web server & database" you're talking like IIS or Apache, and MySQL?
Or are you referring to something different?
Then if I were to install the different applications separately, would I run into more problems than if i were to use a prepackaged collection?

Also: You didn't say if it will run on XP, or if I need to use a server version. ?
Thanks!

Hey Grafitti,

Anytime, man. Yup, more specifically, by Web Server I meant Apache, and MySQL for the database. Excuse me for the confusion. Installing the applications separately is not really that difficult; each program has very detailed installation and configuration instructions to get you up and running in no time. This, for me, is the biggest advantage over prepackaged ones---you're the one setting the configuration, hence you know precisely how it is set-up. Prepackaged collections like XAMPP gets you in the action fast and easy, using configuration the creator has chosen (most likely for the reasons that it is the most desirable set-up over a wide range of users).

Don't let this pressure you though; if all you really need is a working system, and you're very sure that all access is limited to your intranet, then by all means use a prepackaged collection. It will save you a lot of time and effort. =D

And finally, yes, XAMPP (and hence the applications it has bundled---Apache, MySQL, and PHP) has versions for a multitude of operating systems, including Windows XP.

Have fun!

This post has been edited by altimit: Jan 2 2008, 07:07 AM

I installed Wampserver, and then extracted the SMF package to C:/SMF

so Apache, MySQL, and PHP are all running, according to Wampserver.
But when I type the address for installing SMF,

it gives me an error saying "Sorry, this installer requires PHP!"

why?

Hi,

It looks like you are accessing the files itself, and not via Apache. Remember that with WAMPserver, you now have an actual web server, hence to access it, you use your IP address or machine name (i.e., <http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/> or <http://computername/>). You may also use <http://localhost/> for testing locally, but this address always points to the computer it is on---your coworkers cannot use this to connect to your server.

Kindly follow the post-setup instructions for WAMPserver; there should be a section there on how to verify that your installation is successful.

Don't lose hope!

This post has been edited by altimit: Jan 3 2008, 07:04 AM

Yes, you're right, I had used the wrong path to the file. Now it works fine, and the forum is set up.

How though am I supposed to get to the forum from a networked computer? Let's assume that my machine running this forum has an IP of 192.168.0.1 and has Simple File Sharing enabled.

I'm able to access it through <http://localhost>
but not through <http://192.168.2.99> (my IP address)
on my own computer

Trying to access it through another computer on the network, I also get an error, trying both <http://192.168.2.99> and <http://server/>
I've opened port 80, but no luck so far.

This post has been edited by Grafitti: Jan 3 2008, 04:42 PM

Hi,

I'm very glad you set it up successfully. May you kindly post what exact error you are getting from the other machines?

My hunch is that your WAMPserver configured Apache for local access only. Did you put the server online already? This can be done by left clicking the WAMPserver tray icon, then put it online.

You may also opt to edit the httpd.conf file to always allow access; look for a line saying "Allow from 127.0.0.1" and kindly change that to "Allow from all".

Don't forget to restart the HTTP service!

If you're interested, 127.0.0.1 is (like "localhost"), you loopback address. It will always point to the system it is on. "Allow from 127.0.0.1" essentially means, then, to only allow connections from yourself. "all" in "Allow from all" is a special keyword that tells Apache that it's all right to let others access the server.

Did that do the trick?

The server is online... I left everything at the defaults --
Apache running on port 80
MySQL running on port 3306

The error I get from other machines is the typical "page not found" browser error.

My httpd.conf file is already set to "allow from all"

I think it might have changed now from a SMF install problem (my ignorance) to a networking problem (cause?)

I see; that's quite interesting.

Are you able to ping your server from your coworker's computer? You would need to open a Command Prompt on your coworker's box, and enter:



Don't forget to replace the "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" with your IP address!

The result should be something like:



You'll see here that the machine I'm pinging (192.168.1.1) is answering back correctly and there's no problem with the connection. In your case, this should return something similar (most important is the "0% loss" message) as you are in an intranet, and packet loss is a very rare occurence.

After this, make sure that if your machine has a firewall active (remember that Windows has a built-in firewall), set it so that incoming connections to your HTTP port (80) is allowed. A quick test to see if it's your firewall that is blocking the connections would be by temporarily turning the firewall off and attempting to access your server from your coworker's PC.

Please do update if there's any development.

This post has been edited by altimit: Jan 5 2008, 12:17 PM