How to install Discourse on Apache server with existing site

Installation
1

Hi, I have a Wordpress site on my server and I need to install Discourse. I followed this guide but it assumes I have a running instance of Discourse, which I do not have. I tried google, but I keep coming up with the same error every time I run ./discourse-setup

This is the output:

Port 80 appears to already be in use.

This will show you what command is using port 80
COMMAND PID USER FD TYPE DEVICE SIZE/OFF NODE NAME
apache2 16511 root 4u IPv6 123057 0t0 TCP *:http (LISTEN)
apache2 16514 www-data 4u IPv6 123057 0t0 TCP *:http (LISTEN)
apache2 16515 www-data 4u IPv6 123057 0t0 TCP *:http (LISTEN)
apache2 16516 www-data 4u IPv6 123057 0t0 TCP *:http (LISTEN)
apache2 16517 www-data 4u IPv6 123057 0t0 TCP *:http (LISTEN)
apache2 16518 www-data 4u IPv6 123057 0t0 TCP *:http (LISTEN)
apache2 16550 www-data 4u IPv6 123057 0t0 TCP *:http (LISTEN)

Any ideas?

2

You will need to edit the app.yml file by hand to install on a different port.

1 Like
3

I don’t have one since I can’t start the installation. Should I make one, and if so, what should it look like?

4

Discourse-setup created it. It’s in the containers directory.

1 Like
5

It didn’t.

root@LoadScreen:/var/discourse/containers# ls
root@LoadScreen:/var/discourse/containers# ls -a
. … .gitkeep

6

So true;sorry about that. The guide you linked to describes how to create it. Or you can quit apache and then run discourse-setup.

You might also see How to set up Discourse on a server with existing Apache sites

A good first step would be to turn off apache and get discourse working, then try to make the changes to have apache reverse proxy.

1 Like
7

Doing it, thanks! What would be the next steps? What specific changes should I make?

8

While we’re at it, I’d like to make one suggestion though, prefer moving to Nginx instead of Apache 2 as it is known to cause issues with discourse.

9

For that matter, for a low volume site, it’s easier to have 2 1GB droplets than a single 2GB droplet. A single 1GB droplet won’t have enough RAM. If you already have a server with 4GB or more, it might make sense. For most people, the only compelling reason to have both on the same server is if you want to do a subfolder install.

1 Like
10

I was experimenting with installing Discourse alongside Apache, but after a while I gave up as this was a challenge way above my skill level, and to prevent breaking anything more than I’d already broken, I decided it was a much better idea to setup a separate droplet for my forum, both to release pressure on my other server, and for a simpler management.

I believe that’s possible with proxies, or am I completely lost now?

11

Thank you all for your help.

And @nicrats that’s exactly how I feel and I think that’s what I might end up doing.