XF 2.1 UTF8mb4 Conversion?

[b94]

I'm hoping to convert my tables over to UTF8mb4 using the provided conversion script, but i'm just curious about what that involves and how "safe" the process is.

Is it safe to run the script while the forum is still active, should it be done in a quiet period if so etc.?

 

[djbaxter]

It depends on how busy your forum is and how big the database is.

Back up the database first, as always, just in case.

For a smaller forum with light activity, you probably don't even have to turn off the forum but it's not a bad idea to do that. It shouldn't take very long. The script works well and I haven't seen any errors or problems on four separate forums.

 

[brunoa]

Any idea how long it'd take and how safe it is to convert the tables of a huge forum (over 17 million posts and thousands of active users)? Would like to try if it's doable during early morning (between 2 AM and 6 AM or so).