MariaDB (MySQL) database server update from 10.3 to 10.5

Over the next three weeks, we’ll be updating the MariaDB (MySQL) database server software on all our servers from the MariaDB 10.3 series to the MariaDB 10.5 series (equivalent to the Oracle MySQL 8.0 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 it 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.

At the moment the software is updated on a server, WordPress and other database-backed sites on that server will have 30-60 seconds of unavoidable “downtime”. To minimize the impact of that, we do these upgrades only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights between 9 PM and midnight Pacific time (midnight-3 AM Eastern time). We expect this process to be complete on all servers by September 6.

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.

Update 9:24 PM Pacific time September 5: This upgrade has been completed on all servers.

PHP versions 7.4.22 and 8.0.9

The PHP developers recently released versions 7.4.22 and 8.0.9 that fix several bugs. We’ve upgraded the PHP 7.4 and 8.0 series on our servers as a result.

Note that we still don’t recommend using the PHP 8.0 series in production, as it still has numerous compatibility issues with third-party software. PHP 8 is suitable only for testing and experimenting right now. Most customers should use PHP 7.4 instead.

These changes should not be noticeable, but as always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any trouble.