Upgrade from EE v2.9.2 to current version … or ? ? ?
How Do I?
I have a site that has been running fine on a shared server, with Linux PHP 5.3.10.
We now have to move it to a new web server, so an upgrade will be needed … or is it possible to run the current version on my own hosting provider (Media Temple Grid)?
I am more a designer/scripter than developer, so the prospect of handling dozens of settings and migration details to an upgraded platform is daunting.
Any advice about the pros and cons of staying where we are, version-wise, would be welcomed. This is news site that has no transactions, so security is not the burning issue it is for some.
Thanks in advance for any guidance the community can provide.
I’ve moved many ee sites from server to server, it’s fairly straight forward with EE2,
You do need to be able to access the db with phpmyadmin to export it.
Heres what I do:
Download the files for the site (whole httpdocs/htdocs folder plus any other folders for e.g. if you have moved the site core folder above the web root).
Export the DB in phpmyadmin.
Edit the db.sql file - there are often comments at the top and bottom of the .sql file after I export it, that seem to break the import when I move it to the new server.
the comments look something like:
/*!40101 SET @OLD_CHARACTER_SET_CLIENT=@@CHARACTER_SET_CLIENT */;
/*!40101 SET @OLD_CHARACTER_SET_RESULTS=@@CHARACTER_SET_RESULTS */;
/*!40101 SET @OLD_COLLATION_CONNECTION=@@COLLATION_CONNECTION */;
/*!40101 SET NAMES utf8mb4 */;and
/*!40101 SET CHARACTER_SET_CLIENT=@OLD_CHARACTER_SET_CLIENT */;
/*!40101 SET CHARACTER_SET_RESULTS=@OLD_CHARACTER_SET_RESULTS */;
/*!40101 SET COLLATION_CONNECTION=@OLD_COLLATION_CONNECTION */;delete these.
then upload the files to the new server and import the edited DB.sql file.
then if you have a new DB name/username/password make sure to edit those in the database/config in the system folder.
if all was successful the site should be running on your new server.
might be worth upgrading to 2.11.9 at least (lastest V2 realease), but cant really comment on version security etc.
I would 100% plan on upgrading to the latest, preferably when you move.
The main issue determining how difficult it is to upgrade are your add-ons. When you upgrade to v3, EVERY add-on has to be upgraded. If you don’t have any third party add-ons or if you only have a few major ones that are already v5 compatible, upgrading is easy. If you have critical add-ons with no v3/5 compatibility, then they need to be replaced and that can be problematic.
Start by taking an inventory of your add-ons, that will give you a good idea of how tricky upgrading will be. But v2 is no longer maintained, you need to plan on getting current.