MariaDB (MySQL) database server update from 10.11 to 11.8

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be updating the MariaDB (MySQL) database server software on all our servers from the MariaDB 10.11 series to the MariaDB 11.8 series.

The MariaDB/MySQL database stores pages for WordPress and other sites that are run by scripts. Customers should not notice any difference after this change; we’re upgrading to a more recent version simply to make sure it’s as fast, reliable and secure as possible.

We’ve been using the new version on internal and test servers for some time, and we’ve also verified that each database on our servers can be successfully loaded onto the new version without errors (we do this by exporting each database from the old version into the new version on a test server).

We upgrade a small percentage of servers each day. At the moment MariaDB is updated on a server, WordPress and other database-backed sites on that server will have 30-40 seconds of unavoidable “downtime”. To minimize the impact of that, we perform these upgrades only between 9 PM and midnight Pacific time (midnight-3 AM Eastern time, 0400-0700 UTC).

Beyond that one-time brief interruption in service, customers should not notice any difference to how their site works, as we said. But as always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any trouble or questions.