phpBB Forum on NAS?

[tekguru]

Back when I first got the NAS I thought I saw an article on running phpBB on a Synology NAS. I've now decided I know enough to give it a go. However I've scoured the internet and can't find any article on it at all. Was I seeing things or could such a thing be possible?

Thoughts folks?

 

[Rusty]

Thoughts folks?

One word. Docker .

You can run it that way no problem.

 

[tekguru]

Oh god...... docker again........ Sigh..... I'm really going to have to give it a go aren't i? Looks pretty complicated though from what a web search has shown me.

 

[Rusty]

Trust me... once you get the hang of docker, you will not want to install anything else on a bare metal NAS via pacakge center if you can get it running that way.

 

[SynoMan]

@tekguru
As Rusty said, once you get used of it, you'll love it. I run a lot of containers now, but one year ago I didn't know what to do with Docker and was “scared” to try it. Our Docker experts will help you out.

 

[tekguru]

Okay if I can find a phpBB Docker tutorial I'll give it a go.......

Well I found this: phpBB Containers and read the Read.me and configuration sections. It looks hellish to me. The phpBB config I'm good with as I did run forums for 20+ years, but the rest.....

 

[Rusty]

Okay if I can find a phpBB Docker tutorial I'll give it a go.......

Well I found this: phpBB Containers and read the Read.me and configuration sections. It looks hellish to me. The phpBB config I'm good with as I did run forums for 20+ years, but the rest.....

There are only 2 containers that you need for this. DB one (MariaDB as an example) and the actual PHPBB

Those 2 code snippets and you are ready to go (via SSH): bitnami-docker-phpbb

 

[tekguru]

Right so then I'd need to install the Docker package and then I go into that system and run those two script snippets (somehow) and they set it all up so I can then go into phpBB (somehow) and configure it?

 

[Rusty]

Correct.

So the basic principle here is:

1) Docker install

2) SSH into your nas and elevate to root (sudo -i)

2a) run docker network create phpbb-network - to create a dedicated phpbb-network for these 2 containers

3) Alter the snippets to match your needs

3a) 1st snippet needs to be altered regarding env parameters such as maria user, pass, and the database name as well as volume parameter. This one need to be something like /volume1/docker/mariadb:/bitnami/mariadb. Make sure to create the mariadb folder inside your docker folder (this one will be added upon Docker package install) BEFORE you run the command.

3b) 2nd snippet needs to be altered for env and volume parameters as well to reflect the previous one. In this case, PHPBB* variables need to match your mariadb container values regarding name, pass and database name so that PHP can connect to your Maria instance.

4) connect to your php instance via: http://your_NAS_IP:8080 (mind you the documentation is missing the port 8080. If you do not specify it in the url you will try and connect to port 80 and PHPbb will not be there.

 

[tekguru]

Right baby steps here......

• I assume 2) is turned off somehow once 2a) is run?
• So the snippets run in the Docker interface?
• Once docker is loaded and I want to create the mariadb folder within the docker folder is this just done with the standard DSM file manager?
• So once yup and running the phpBB will run on port 8080 instead of the more usual port 80? Thinking here of when it's be accessed from the real world?

If it all goes awry i removing it all as simple as removing the Docker package?

 

[SynoMan]

See also this:

Tutorial - How to SSH into a NAS?

In DSM go to Control Panel > Terminal & SNMP > Terminal tab Check Enable SSH service and set your port (it is strongly recommended not to use port 22, but to change it to something else). Open Terminal (Mac) (on Windows machine open CMD...

www.synoforum.com

You can try installing it with Docker UI if you're not comfortable with CLI.

For instance, here's a tutorial for MariaDB:

Docker - MariaDB - one of the most popular database servers

Mariadb is one of the most popular database servers. Made by the original developers of MySQL. In this tutorial, we are going to use this image: linuxserver/mariadb In DSM go to Docker -> Registry and search for mariadb: Download the second...

www.synoforum.com

Or maybe try installing Bitwarden first with Rusty's great tutorial:

Docker - BitWarden - self hosted password manager using vaultwarden/server image

UPDATE (30/04/2021) Changed the article to reflect on using the new vaultwarden/server image UPDATE (03/12/2019): Added SMTP parameters UPDATE (10/08/2019): Added steps for activating LiveSync item feature UPDATE (28/05/2019): Edited name...

www.synoforum.com

With that, you'll get to know with Docker UI a bit more.

 

[tekguru]

Thanks for all the input guys, but I'm not going ahead. I talked with the guys last night who I'm using Teams with and it turns out only a few want to move back to a forum, so it's not worth the effort of putting the work / resources into. Sigh.

 

[tekguru]

Thinking on this idea and Docker........ and moving away from phpBB I'm wondering if Discourse might work better.

I've found this page How to Install Discourse in a Docker Container and it seems less complex to set up than phpBB within Docker?

I'm assuming I'd have to go from 2) onwards and instead of var/discourse I'd be creating a folder within docker (maybe)?

Am I understanding the process correctly?

 

[Rusty]

it seems less complex to set up than phpBB

Because the docker script was done to make it a "single" button click solution. The fact is that Discourse is running more containers in total than phpBB with its DB.

You have Discourse, Postgres (DB), Ruby, mail etc.., in this case, but it will be automated.

I'm assuming I'd have to go from 2) onwards and instead of var/discourse I'd be creating a folder within docker (maybe)?

Yes, just let it unpack somewhere on your nas.

Step 3 (mail configuration) is very important when it comes to Discourse.

 

[tekguru]

Okay understood. So containers within Docker are for each application / sub-system in effect and Discourse configures many of them when it installs. Right.

So would I need to create a special nest of folders on the nas or does docker create an initial docker folder when it is installed and then one should create a Discourse folder within that?

3) Understood, I'd likely either see if I can use a gmail address for that as I've had problems with relaying in the past when trying to use an Office 365 address.

 

[Rusty]

So would I need to create a special nest of folders on the nas or does docker create an initial docker folder when it is installed and then one should create a Discourse folder within that?

If you look at all yml files on its github you will see where it will create the volume locations so basically it will target specific locations by default.

 

[tekguru]

Right, looking to install the container and I'm stuck at what to put in for the Mount Path as I assume I need to set it within the discourse shared folder I've created? Or do I ignore the advanced setting and go with the defaults to install the container?

The install page lists the following, but I don't think that applies to this, or does it?:

sudo -s
git clone discourse/discourse_docker /var/discourse
cd /var/discourse

No ideas if I need to 'Execute container using high privilege?

 

[Rusty]

Right, looking to install the container and I'm stuck at what to put in for the Mount Path as I assume I need to set it within the discourse shared folder I've created? Or do I ignore the advanced setting and go with the defaults to install the container?

No ideas if I need to 'Execute container using high privilege?
View attachment 3047

You won’t be able to create this setup using synology ui. Best to run it via command line considering the amount of containers needed.

This Ui is not designed to run “stack” containers as docker-compose can via command line.

 

[tekguru]

Argh...... command line......... Okay I think I'll stop there and remove docker then. I hate command line stuff. Plus the only install instruction I can see is:

sudo -s
git clone discourse/discourse_docker /var/discourse
cd /var/discourse

Plus it looks like gmail is not valid for email which means for O365 you have to follow instruction here, which costs an extra O365 license so no go...

Ah well it was looking easy....... giving up again

 

[tekguru]

Well I decided to go teh non-Docker route. So Maria 10, Apache, PHP, Web Station, etc. All good until I look to, install phpBB:

Database type I have choices of MySQL with MySQLi Extension, PostgreSQL, or SQLite 3, I'm assuming Maria is MySQL compliant
Database server hostname or DSN, this install text says: "DSN stands for Data Source Name and is relevant only for ODBC installs. On PostgreSQL, use localhost to connect to the local server via UNIX domain socket and 127.0.0.1 to connect via TCP. For SQLite, enter the full path to your database file."
For the above I've tried localhost, 127.0.0.1, or the name of the NAS. No go so I'm presuming Maria 10 wants the full path to the database file? If so how do I find it? The error I get is No such File or directory.
Any ideas guys?