XF 2.1 Thwarted by our existing php version... 1.x -> 2.x Upgrade suggestions

[tribedude]

We wanted to do a test upgrade of our site on a test installation before upgrading our production installation this weekend, so I could sort out the template settings before we upgrade the live site. It's a big database, but thankfully no attachments and only 3 simple addons we can disable.

Our existing php version is 5.6x and won't allow us to do the test upgrade. We seem to be in some weird double bind where we have to take the entire server down to upgrade php before doing anything. Then once the php is upgraded I don't know if the xf 1x version will work with the newest php version that so we can proceed with a test upgrade.

Is there a workaround or any way to do an upgrade on a test installation without having to take everything offline like this? Something less traumatic?

Thanks for your help,

 

[Paul B]

XF 1.5.24 works with PHP 7.3.

XF 2.1 only requires PHP 5.6 as a minimum.

 

[Kirby]

XF 1.5.24 does work just fine with PHP 7.3

Assuming you've got enough resources:
Clone the DB and test the upgrade on the clone.

That said, normally you can install multiple PHP versions on the same server and use different version for each project/website.

 

[tribedude]

XF 1.5.24 works with PHP 7.3.

XF 2.1 only requires PHP 5.6 as a minimum.

So what we were trying to do should've worked then (using our existing php and upgrading in a test location)?

Trying to understand what is the best way to do this.

 

[Paul B]

Yes, it should have worked.

Our existing php version is 5.6x and won't allow us to do the test upgrade.

What error/message was there which prevented the upgrade from running?

 

[tribedude]

Can my admin set up an account so he can also post in this forum?

 

[jeb35]

He just needs to create an account here and you need to add his username to the forum users if you are the license holder.

 

[tribedude]

He just needs to create an account here and you need to add his username to the forum users if you are the license holder.

I will tell him. I may have doe this already years ago, is there a way for me to check if I have added him already (I own a license).

 

[jeb35]

Access your license area look under forum users on the right side.

 

[andym]

@tribedude's admin here...

The error message is because PHP 5.4.16 is installed (CentOS' latest version), and so it's blocking the XF2 upgrade.

Current:

• CentOS 7.6
• PHP 5.4.16
• MPM: Prefork
• MySQL (Percona) on same host
• XF 1.5.10

Interim:

• CentOS 7.6
• PHP 5.4.16 (CentOS repo) and PHP 7.3.7 (remi-safe)
• MPM: Event
• MySQL (Percona) on same host and MySQL (Percona) on a new droplet; easiest way to backup/restore a database snapshot using xtrabackup
• XF 1.5.10 (live w/PHP 5.4.16) and XF 1.x->2.x upgrade (for testing only, w/PHP 7.3.7)

Target:

• CentOS 7.6
• PHP 7.3.7 (remi-safe)
• MPM: Event
• MySQL (Percona) on same host
• XF 2.x

Basically, my plan today is to run two concurrent fcgis (one for each PHP version), switch over the MPM from prefork to event (worker), and scope the apache vhosts to the appropriate fcgi pool, so that I can keep the current XF1 live site running, while giving @tribedude the flexibility he needs to test XF2 fully.

There's a number of other (non-XF) sites being supported by this host, so the only real risk here is likely the MPM switch. I'm hoping that the overall better performance purported by switching to event from prefork will allow me to skip over having to do any performance tuning while I'm dealing with the upgrade, but we'll see.

 

[Paul B]

The error message is because PHP 5.4.16 is installed

Yes, XF2 requires 5.6 as a minimum.

Considering the constraints you are facing, your plan sounds reasonable.