Usual questions of a beginner

sparrowhawk66

Hi, I've been attracted to Vanilla by its design and appearance. Just about to install my first forum software. Before I begin, let me ask the following questions:

• I was going to use discourse, but it dawned on me vanilla might be more economical on the resources (always a problem on budget ventures) and it looks just as good or even better. Do you think it is really the case?
• Is there a beginner's guide other than the Readme file?
• I've seen large gains in speed offered by utilising the Varnish cache here https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/21044/vanilla-and-varnish-cache-some-lessons-learned. Could somebody provide a working configuration for 2.3 for a typical install scenario (1 domain, 1 server)? That'd be extremely helpful.
• Can vanilla do hidden categories, forums, threads? I mean really hidden, even if somebody has a link. Couldn't figure from docs. I've seen a "Premium zone" plugin, but it's flagged as "not stable".
• Last but not least, what's the current status of wordpress integration? I've seen some daunting remarks next to the WP plugin. I guess I can set up a feed on a wp site using the universal method?
  Best from a white Kraków, Poland

vrijvlinder

I was going to use discourse, but it dawned on me vanilla might be more economical on the resources (always a problem on budget ventures) and it looks just as good or even better. Do you think it is really the case?

Both are different. Vanilla is for communities. It is a stand alone Forum. People can create discussions not just post comments. It has many features and customization capabilities. User friendly .

Is there a beginner's guide other than the Readme file?

Of course there is , under documentation. There is also a Tutorial category and millions of discussions that serve as documentation as well.

Could somebody provide a working configuration for 2.3 for a typical install scenario (1 domain, 1 server)? That'd be extremely helpful.

What does this mean ? Are you asking how to install ?

Can vanilla do hidden categories, forums, threads?

You can do this via permissions and there are plugins to aid in this. Plugins that can redirect a user without permissions even if they have the link.

Last but not least, what's the current status of wordpress integration? I've seen some daunting remarks next to the WP plugin. I guess I can set up a feed on a wp site using the universal method?

This is called embedding , when you are going to embed your entire forum into a wordpress page. Comment integration, only uses the comments aspect of the forum.

It can be tricky but can also be successfully done.

R_J

With PHP7, OpCache and memcached enabled, your forum should be pretty fast already.

Here are some links to varnish discussions
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/21044/vanilla-and-varnish-cache-some-lessons-learned
https://blog.bigdinosaur.org/adventures-in-varnish/
I know that @Kasper had a varnish config on his GitHub page, but it seems to be gone...

But this might also be of interest:
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/210645/#Comment_210645
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/232436/#Comment_232436

vrijvlinder

I was going to use discourse, but it dawned on me vanilla might be more economical on the resources (always a problem on budget ventures) and it looks just as good or even better. Do you think it is really the case?

Both are different. Vanilla is for communities. It is a stand alone Forum. People can create discussions not just post comments. It has many features and customization capabilities. User friendly .

Is there a beginner's guide other than the Readme file?

Of course there is , under documentation. There is also a Tutorial category and millions of discussions that serve as documentation as well.

Could somebody provide a working configuration for 2.3 for a typical install scenario (1 domain, 1 server)? That'd be extremely helpful.

What does this mean ? Are you asking how to install ?

Can vanilla do hidden categories, forums, threads?

You can do this via permissions and there are plugins to aid in this. Plugins that can redirect a user without permissions even if they have the link.

Last but not least, what's the current status of wordpress integration? I've seen some daunting remarks next to the WP plugin. I guess I can set up a feed on a wp site using the universal method?

This is called embedding , when you are going to embed your entire forum into a wordpress page. Comment integration, only uses the comments aspect of the forum.

It can be tricky but can also be successfully done.

sparrowhawk66

Thanks for joining in @vrijvlinder
Basic configuration shouldn't be a problem. I just wished to know how to do some advanced caching to squeeze as much as possible out of the server. At the moment I'm on OVH's basic VPS SSD 1 with 1 core and 2GB RAM just to get the project going, which I intend to scale up as the project grows.
1. How many concurrent users can a server like this accommodate (if used for vanilla forums only)?
2. Should the next step be something with lots of RAM or lots of cores? What's an ideal ratio?
Thanks

R_J

With PHP7, OpCache and memcached enabled, your forum should be pretty fast already.

Here are some links to varnish discussions
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/21044/vanilla-and-varnish-cache-some-lessons-learned
https://blog.bigdinosaur.org/adventures-in-varnish/
I know that @Kasper had a varnish config on his GitHub page, but it seems to be gone...

But this might also be of interest:
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/210645/#Comment_210645
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/232436/#Comment_232436