Possible to share member database across multiple vb sites?
 

Is it possible to use the same member database across different vbulletin sites? So it means that when someone registers at one site, he can use the same login for other vb sites and keeps his profile, etc....

Would this be possible at all?

Well, you could *in theory* install 2 copies of vbulletin in the same database with each having a seperate prefix (ex: vb_ and vb2_) then just search and replace all of the calls for the user table in all of the files to call it from the other prefix (ex, if you want installation 1 to load users from installation 2 you would change it to load ONLY THE USER TABLES using vb2_ prefix instead of the vb_ one in the rest of the queries. that SHOULD work... in theory but ey who knows :S lol

Also, be sure to backup database and files before you do that :S lol

EDIT:
looking at the code, you could probably replace all of the:
with:
and the:
with
and the same with usergroups, and any other user-related table :) don't forget to back everything up though in case i'm wrong as i haven't tested this, just theory :p

just replace PREFIX_ with the prefix of the installation you want to load users from :P and change it on the other one (the one that doesnt use the prefix you want to load users from) and sorry if that's not explained well i suck at explaining. If you have any questsions just ask =) or drop me an e-mail at: booher[at]techsensation[dot]net

You could use the mod that was released here called vBFacades, you need two vBulletin licenses and it looks like two sites (but behind the scenes is one big one) with it's own unique style, boards showing etc.

Do a search for it.

tks booher. appreciate the effort. hoping to find something that is tried and tested though. but will definitely explore this approach.

vbfacades is no longer published unfortunately :(

It wouldnt cause any security problems as far as i can see, it doesnt modify the query, just changes where a few load from. it even loads from the same table, just a different prefix, I just might be missing a couple other tables you'd have to change. gimme a bit and i'll look

--------------- Added [DATE]1281105376[/DATE] at [TIME]1281105376[/TIME] ---------------

Some other tables you might wanna change in the same way are:

# passwordhistory
# picture
# picturecomment
# picturecomment_hash
# pm
# pmreceipt
# pmtext
# pmthrottle
# ranks
# reputation
# reputationlevel
# socialgroup
# socialgroupcategory
# socialgroupicon
# socialgroupmember
# socialgrouppicture
# strikes
# Structure user
# useractivation
# userban
# userchangelog
# usercss
# usercsscache
# userfield
# usergroup
# usergroupleader
# usergrouprequest
# userlist
# usernote
# userpromotion
# usertextfield
# usertitle
# visitormessage
# visitormessage_hash
# word

yah i guess the concern is the complications with tracking and allocation of post counts, reputation and the works. pretty sure that anything not set right will cause a serious db corruption.

The price of running two or more vbulletin sites on a single setup could turn high in my opinion. You should not ignore the growing potential of a portal website. A fresh vB install uses around 14.5Mb of database space on the server, and that will reach into hundreds of megabytes eventually. Now imagine what it would take to backup and restore databases if you were to run multiple vBulletin sites in one place...

That might be because the idea is good in theory, it's rather difficult to achieve.

Most probably.

I've thought about the idea of being able to share login data between vb installations on different sites. There's a huge advantage since users wouldn't need to register at each site, nor remember different logs/passwords for each site. You wouldn't necessarily have to share or agreggate post data, just the login/password date. The user might still have to modify their preferences for each site.

I wish I had a clue as to how to accomplish this...