Can I get 3.6.8 if I buy a new 4.0 license?

[NickFitz]

I want to do some experiments using vBulletin with the goal of helping the owners of an existing forum (for free). They are still running version 3.6.8, and won't be upgrading to version 4 for a little while.

If I buy a version 4 license, will I be able to download a copy of 3.6.8? There isn't much point in my working with a version that doesn't match theirs, as anything I do may prove to be useless to them if done with a different version.

[Jerz]

If I buy a version 4 license, will I be able to download a copy of 3.6.8?

Yes.

[Zachery]

No, he would not have access to 3.6.8. You can download 3.8.4PL1 because thats what your license has access to.

[NickFitz]

No, he would not have access to 3.6.8. You can download 3.8.4PL1 because thats what your license has access to.

In that case, how can I get hold of a legitimate copy of 3.6.8? I should add that I won't be using this for an active forum accessible to the public; it will be running on a private server so that I can test some things out.

[Jerz]

No, he would not have access to 3.6.8. You can download 3.8.4PL1 because thats what your license has access to.

Really? I bought a license when v3.6 was the current version, and I got (and still have) access to v2.3.x. Interesting that this has changed.

[Zachery]

Because you have access to any versions released during the life of your license.

Why would you need 3.6.8 specificly?

[Jerz]

Because you have access to any versions released during the life of your license.

As in, the v3 license structure? v2 was not released any time during the life of my license.

[NickFitz]

Because you have access to any versions released during the life of your license.

Why would you need 3.6.8 specificly?

I'm looking to help with some problems an existing forum running on 3.6.8 is encountering with some database-bound stuff; they don't really have the resources to deal with it themselves at the moment, so I've offered to help. However, it's obviously not possible for me to start experimenting with the live forum, so I want to set up a development server where I can do some proper analytics. I think they have a suboptimal mySQL configuration, so I'll be setting up a mySQL server mirroring their existing configuration and seeing what I can do about tuning it up.

I only need vBulletin so I can throw some realistic scenarios at the mySQL server; it's obviously no good if I optimise for a pattern of DB access that's different from vBulletin's behaviour.

Are there any major changes from 3.6 to 3.8, specifically in the case of the database structure and the SQL used? If not then 3.8 may be a viable option.

[Zachery]

So why havent they just put in a support ticket?

[NickFitz]

So why havent they just put in a support ticket?

It's not a problem with vBulletin, it's a problem with their DB server configuration causing occasional connection timeouts when the forum is very busy. We've narrowed it down and it's definitely not a problem with the forum software - that works excellently as long as the DB keeps its cool

I just want to be sure that I'm throwing the same general pattern of activity at the test server; the quickest and easiest way to get started is to buy a vBulletin license, but only if I can be reasonably sure that I'm testing the behaviour that causes the DB to start struggling. If 3.8 is basically carrying the same activities as 3.6 when connecting to the DB then I can use that.

[Zachery]

Nothing really changes as far as the mysql connection stuff between versions.

[NickFitz]

Nothing really changes as far as the mysql connection stuff between versions.

Ah, that's good to know - I should be able to get going then

My plan is to set up an Apache/PHP server and mySQL server that replicate the current live setup as closely as possible, then set up some scripts on one or more other servers to replay the kind of traffic that has caused problems in the past (based on the HTTP logs) in a controlled environment: that way I can tune the DB server for the kind of activity it's facing in reality and retest such that I can get meaningful comparisons against different tunings, hopefully with positive results for the forum.

Thanks for your help

[NickFitz]

...and bought