Upcoming PHP5 PHP upgrade

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

Upcoming PHP5 PHP upgrade

First of all, this update includes important information about the server software and PHP Upgrade. As this information is critical to all customers, please take a moment to read it.

Therefore, the updates to be performed have been listed below. More details on each update will be provided later in this info.

  • Update to cPanel v11
  • Update to Apache 2.2
  • PHP 5.2.5 configured as the PRIMARY PHP version
  • E-Accelerator Update
  • Update of Zend Optimiser
  • IonCube Update
  • Exim ACL updates

Due to the potential impact of these updates, we will be sending reminders to all customers multiple times over the next two months.

Furthermore, our maintenance is planned for February to allow the Christmas and New Year period to pass. Detailed information specific to each update to be performed is listed below.

cPanel v11

Most noteworthy is the extensive update that cPanel and WHM v11 bring, with upgrades in nearly every section of the control panel. This update enhances security, design, and usability. For more detailed information, release notes, or data sheets, please see the official cPanel website.

Update to Apache 2.2

Until now, all servers have been utilising the Apache 1.3 web server, and we are now ready to upgrade to Apache 2.2. Although the update does not include many new features, it does include a new codebase that is faster overall.

PHP 5.2.5 configured as the PRIMARY PHP version

The PHP upgrade will upgrade all shared servers to PHP v5.2.5 as the primary version. Because PHP announced the end of official support for PHP4 at the end of this year, all hosting providers (including us) need to carry out this upgrade.

If using applications that are not compatible with PHP5, please upgrade them to avoid problems after the PHP upgrade. For any homemade scripts, we recommend testing them in PHP5 to ensure that they will work fine after the upgrade. Please see the link, which provides additional detail on PHP5, script migrations, etc:

PHP 4.4.7 configured as the SECONDARY PHP version

Our PHP upgrade will provide PHP4 as a secondary install, but this is temporary and must not be relied upon. As a result, we do not have a set date for when PHP4 will be removed. PHPv4 will no longer be supported after the PHP5 install. Please do whatever is needed to use PHP5, which in most cases, requires nothing. Please let us know if you need any help with your own PHP upgrade.

Update of Eaccelerator,  Zend Optimiser and IonCube.

Eaccelerator is a PHP accelerator, optimiser and dynamic content cache. Because it increases the performance of PHP scripts by caching them in their compiled state, completely eliminating the need to compile. As a result, it optimises scripts to speed up their execution times. Along with this software, both Zend Optimiser and IonCube will be updated to the latest stable versions.

Exim ACL updates

Finally, our spam filters will also be updated to combat spam and lower the amount of spam that is received in your inbox. These upgrades will be performed on one server at a time. If anybody has any issues they would like to raise about this update, please do let our helpdesk know as soon as possible.

If you have any problems or questions regarding this PHP Upgrade, please immediately raise a support ticket or contact your web hosting company here.

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