Nothing stays the same. Life is a constantly moving forward, and software moves forward faster than most things. vBulletin is constantly changing as new versions are released. Sometimes these are big changes (such as from version 2 to version 3), and other times they are just bug fixes and security updates (such as 3.5.2 to 3.5.4).
The updates to vBulletin generally contain security fixes rather than cosmetic tweaks, so it is important to install them in a timely fashion so as to eliminate security vulnerabilities in your discussion board.
Tip
License issues
Purchasing a license for vBulletin (either leased or owned) entitles you to a year's worth of updates. After this, you will need either to renew your license (if you leased the license) or to pay a nominal fee for updates (if you bought an owned license).
In this chapter, we're going to look at how to upgrade a vBulletin discussion board from version 3.5.2 to 3.5.5. In particular, we will look at:
- How vBulletin automatically tells you when to upgrade
- What preparations are necessary before you upgrade
- Migrating the changes that you have made to your bulletin board
- How to upload the files to your server
- Testing the upgraded version of your board
- Getting the upgraded version up and running
vBulletin will tell you when it needs upgrading. When you access the AdminCP, you will see messages telling you whether a new version is available. This happens automatically and requires no input on the part of the administrator.
This has two advantages:
- It spreads the word about updates quickly and easily.
- It encourages people to upgrade licenses!
Clicking on the link takes you to the members' download area. (You will need your customer number and password to access this area.) From there, you'll be able to download the latest vBulletin installation package (in the form of a compressed Zip file about 1.5Mb in size).