Forum Upgrade #5
- JT
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10 Nov 2026 21:20 #350573
by JT
Forum Upgrade #5 was created by JT
Due to a couple of mistakes I made on upgrade attempt #4 I'm going to do it again when I return in a couple of weeks.
Due to the Critical unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerabilities—known as php2shell— the forum must be upgraded ASAP.
I have taken precautions to minimize the chance here but the forum must be upgraded ASAP.
The second issue we have is space, with 11-12 year old out of date posts taking up a substantial amount of disk space I must purge enough posts and attachments to allow a backup to function. I will be more careful this time and only delete one year at a time until there is enough space for a backup. It's bad to have out of date information that new users find with search engines and get into trouble using information from very old versions of EMC.
Some history of the forum, Alex Joni created the forum in 2006 but the developers didn't want a forum. In 2008 I finally convinced the developers to allow the forum. So this is why we have a forum today.
I will outline the upgrade strategy later in this thread.
JT
Due to the Critical unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerabilities—known as php2shell— the forum must be upgraded ASAP.
I have taken precautions to minimize the chance here but the forum must be upgraded ASAP.
The second issue we have is space, with 11-12 year old out of date posts taking up a substantial amount of disk space I must purge enough posts and attachments to allow a backup to function. I will be more careful this time and only delete one year at a time until there is enough space for a backup. It's bad to have out of date information that new users find with search engines and get into trouble using information from very old versions of EMC.
Some history of the forum, Alex Joni created the forum in 2006 but the developers didn't want a forum. In 2008 I finally convinced the developers to allow the forum. So this is why we have a forum today.
I will outline the upgrade strategy later in this thread.
JT
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10 Nov 2026 22:11 #350574
by mwc
Replied by mwc on topic Forum Upgrade #5
Would you mind sharing the existing hosting and storage requirements?
I ran forums for many years, so know all too well the problems you face, both in actually migrating/updating things, and the inevitable user moans.
My thoughts around data retention, are any kind of build threads should be kept regardless of age, as they're the kind of thing that can be very handy when researching things.
Posts on old versions of LCNC not so much, however I'm going to guess that most storage is taken up by build photos, rather than anything relating to issues with a 10 year old version of LCNC.
In terms of the actual upgrade, is Kunena still the best fit?
I have no idea of the reasons why it was chosen, but if a change was wanted, now would be as good a time as any.
For doing the upgrade, just lock the forum down. Even it means it's unavailable for a few days, it's far better than the current loss of posts every few days.
If you want to discuss anything offline, then feel free to email me (I only access the chat via Discord, so I don't think direct messaging works that way).
And my offer to help stands.
I ran forums for many years, so know all too well the problems you face, both in actually migrating/updating things, and the inevitable user moans.
My thoughts around data retention, are any kind of build threads should be kept regardless of age, as they're the kind of thing that can be very handy when researching things.
Posts on old versions of LCNC not so much, however I'm going to guess that most storage is taken up by build photos, rather than anything relating to issues with a 10 year old version of LCNC.
In terms of the actual upgrade, is Kunena still the best fit?
I have no idea of the reasons why it was chosen, but if a change was wanted, now would be as good a time as any.
For doing the upgrade, just lock the forum down. Even it means it's unavailable for a few days, it's far better than the current loss of posts every few days.
If you want to discuss anything offline, then feel free to email me (I only access the chat via Discord, so I don't think direct messaging works that way).
And my offer to help stands.
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10 Nov 2026 22:49 #350575
by JT
Replied by JT on topic Forum Upgrade #5
My plan is the following:
Give 24 hours notice on this forum that the migration will start.
Power off the forum and make a snapshot that captures everything at that moment in the forum.
Power on the forum and lock it down so users can see something when they go to forum.linuxcnc.org
Create a new droplet from the snapshot.
Upgrade the OS, Joomla and Kunena in steps while tap dancing around their PHP requirements.
Purge the database of unused tables and search for NULL users and delete them.
Change the DNS records
Check for and delete orphaned attachments
Carefully purge outdated posts and their attachments.
The forum has 50G of storage and 13% free and is hosted on Digital Ocean.
To view and delete topics that are out of date takes a huge amount of time and that's where help is appreciated. I know I was too aggressive last time deleting posts and that's just a lesson I learned. Unfortunately it's a bumpy ride for a bit but I have a good handle on the upgrade path now having done it 4 times using different upgrade strategies.
I can turn on the other droplet if users want to copy posts from there to here while I'm gone so they don't lose anything. But that's up to the users. They would just have to use the IP address to view the forum.
JT
Give 24 hours notice on this forum that the migration will start.
Power off the forum and make a snapshot that captures everything at that moment in the forum.
Power on the forum and lock it down so users can see something when they go to forum.linuxcnc.org
Create a new droplet from the snapshot.
Upgrade the OS, Joomla and Kunena in steps while tap dancing around their PHP requirements.
Purge the database of unused tables and search for NULL users and delete them.
Change the DNS records
Check for and delete orphaned attachments
Carefully purge outdated posts and their attachments.
The forum has 50G of storage and 13% free and is hosted on Digital Ocean.
To view and delete topics that are out of date takes a huge amount of time and that's where help is appreciated. I know I was too aggressive last time deleting posts and that's just a lesson I learned. Unfortunately it's a bumpy ride for a bit but I have a good handle on the upgrade path now having done it 4 times using different upgrade strategies.
I can turn on the other droplet if users want to copy posts from there to here while I'm gone so they don't lose anything. But that's up to the users. They would just have to use the IP address to view the forum.
JT
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10 Nov 2026 23:20 #350576
by JT
Replied by JT on topic Forum Upgrade #5
We have some other options we are looking into...
JT
JT
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10 Nov 2026 23:30 #350578
by Hakan
Replied by Hakan on topic Forum Upgrade #5
How about getting the storage you need for a full upgrade/conversion.
Then start trimming.
Then start trimming.
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10 Nov 2026 23:35 #350579
by mwc
Replied by mwc on topic Forum Upgrade #5
Just a quick thought, given how Kunena stores attachments, could you download enough attachments to free up server space for the uograde/conversion, delete them from the server, then reupload them after?
Would be a bit time consuming/bandwidth consuming though.
(I've got no idea whether the upgrade actually does anything with/checks attachments, so it may not be possible or cause more problems)
Would be a bit time consuming/bandwidth consuming though.
(I've got no idea whether the upgrade actually does anything with/checks attachments, so it may not be possible or cause more problems)
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10 Nov 2026 23:41 #350580
by JT
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Replied by JT on topic Forum Upgrade #5
You can't go down in storage size after you increase it. A straight across is no problem.How about getting the storage you need for a full upgrade/conversion.
Then start trimming.
JT
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10 Nov 2026 23:44 #350581
by JT
We are looking into ways to improve our storage and memory to make the forum run faster, but it has to be long term.
JT
Replied by JT on topic Forum Upgrade #5
It would be a database hell to try that. There is no problem creating a new droplet from a snapshot of the current forum then upgrading the OS, Joomla and Kunena on the new droplet. I've already done that once with no problems.Just a quick thought, given how Kunena stores attachments, could you download enough attachments to free up server space for the uograde/conversion, delete them from the server, then reupload them after?
Would be a bit time consuming/bandwidth consuming though.
(I've got no idea whether the upgrade actually does anything with/checks attachments, so it may not be possible or cause more problems)
We are looking into ways to improve our storage and memory to make the forum run faster, but it has to be long term.
JT
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11 Nov 2026 05:17 #350592
by tuxcnc
Replied by tuxcnc on topic Forum Upgrade #5
In my opinion, the error lies in the very premises.
The forum contains knowledge that should be preserved.
Deleting content based on date makes no sense, as there is plenty of recent junk alongside a wealth of valuable, albeit old, information. Similarly, removing attachments is pointless; while the thread might remain, it would become either useless or even incomprehensible (for instance, a post saying "I have a machine like the one in the photo" when the photo is no longer there...).
If the forum is no longer usable, it should be closed, and a new one should be opened.
The approach should be to first disable create the new acounts, disable the creation of new threads, then gradually restrict the ability to reply to existing ones.
At the same time, a new forum—with a new name and a new address—should be set up for the creation of new threads.
The forum contains knowledge that should be preserved.
Deleting content based on date makes no sense, as there is plenty of recent junk alongside a wealth of valuable, albeit old, information. Similarly, removing attachments is pointless; while the thread might remain, it would become either useless or even incomprehensible (for instance, a post saying "I have a machine like the one in the photo" when the photo is no longer there...).
If the forum is no longer usable, it should be closed, and a new one should be opened.
The approach should be to first disable create the new acounts, disable the creation of new threads, then gradually restrict the ability to reply to existing ones.
At the same time, a new forum—with a new name and a new address—should be set up for the creation of new threads.
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11 Nov 2026 08:14 #350593
by sgd
Replied by sgd on topic Forum Upgrade #5
Please be patient. We are working on a solution that would retain all existing data.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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