I have a long running and stable Ubuntu 18.04 based Virtualmin host. It is running the stock versions for 18.04 of Apache and PHP.
I need to have multiple PHP versions installed and operable essentially per domain without impact to existing domain.
Example. I need to install Nextcloud for a client the only version of PHP on the server is PHP-FPM 7.2.24 Server. I need 7.3+ to be able to install nextcloud for that client domain.
I have read a number of articles that seem to suggest it is a simple process such as this one:
However there are many many posts regarding broken systems once installing multiple versions under virtualmin.
Can you provide some assurance that following the guide above will now break my existing system and result in domain websites going offline due to broken PHP subsystem. Or can you provide direct support to assist me as a Pro customer in achieving the desired outcome.
Reason: Your OS (Ubuntu 18.04) will be end of life in 2 months. Whatâs more, php 7.2 was end of life November, 2020. PHP 7.3 was end of life December, 2021. Even php 7.4 was end of life as of November, 2022 although a lot of folks are still using it.
You are pretty much at the point that you have to simply try it and hope for the best. Constantly using old, outdated, end of life software is literally a âuse at your own riskâ proposition. Theyâre end of life for a reason. Nobody is going to guarantee or assure you that itâs going to work.
Our 18.04 system will be supported until 2028 under ESM.
But I take your point. So what would your least risk advice be for resolving this issue and getting another PHP version installed and would you suggest installing the latest PHP version or the minimum supported version for nextcloud which is 7.3X.
Iâm a little confused by your wording. One php per server I think. One client can have multiple servers if you want to use sub servers. I donât know of the web server being able to distinguish different php versions âper appâ.
I am using expecting the new PHP version to be installed at the VIRTUALMIN HOST level and then used at the individual virtualmin domain (virtual server) level. So the host will have multiple PHP versions installed.
So existing hosted domains (virtual servers) would be left untouched using their current PHP version and we could enable PHP NEW VERSION for one or more of them to satisfy application dependencies.
Ubuntu sucks the Debian teat. Extended is a somewhat fleeting term. It is a paid service IF someone wants it enough to pay for it. Donât be lulled into sitting on an old distro because you think it is safe. Probably the worst of the worst security vulnerabilities get patched but itâs probably on you to stay on top of it. Just understand the process.
That covers the default PHP version provided by the Ubuntu folks. All of the other third-party PHP versions will reach EOL on their own schedule, and it definitely wonât be in 2028. Most are only maintained as long as the upstream version is maintained, since the people maintaining those packages are mostly packagers, not PHP maintainers able to backport security fixes and such from maintained versions (which is what the OS vendors do in their PHP packages).
It is likely safer to run the old Ubuntu-maintained PHP 7.2.x package than a ânewerâ PHP 7.4, which reached EOL last year. If youâre going to chase the cutting edge, you need to really chase it, and stick to a maintained version of PHP (thatâd be some 8.x version right now).
If you need new PHP versions, running a new OS is recommended, since the OS provided packages will be better maintained and for longer than what any third party (like the Sury repos) could offer.
In order to minimise risk the prudent but not inexpensive option says start fresh on a 22.04 minimal base and install Vpro then recreate the domain and âmigrateâ the data and switch DNS over and then catch up any out of sync data and deal with all of the usual DKIM SPF ACME IP Reputation etc.etc. issues.
Which changes nothing of what I said. When I was looking at Ubuntu thinking it would be better for Mailman3, turns out nope. Debian 11 runs Mailman3 just fine. Ubuntu was waiting for Debian packagers to make changes because they got out front and couldnât run it yet. So, yeah. What I said is accurate.
Yeah. I was trying to show the OP that support may not be what they think it is. I was considering Ubuntu because of the âltsâ until I realized exactly what that meant. FOSS moves forward for a reason and it is with good reason they leave the old to wither on the vine. Product was $0. Upgrade is $0. Take it or leave it.
Seriously, the landscape being what it is now days? Why upgrade in place and risk breaking stuff? You can rent VMâs by the minute now days. Iâve spent long nights doing upgrades that didnât go well. Never again. Spin up new, test, migrate. Then you can prep the old and move back. $10 for a couple days on an AWS VM sure beats the agony of a failed upgrade.
Is that I have never had a problem (that I can remember) when following this. I use CentOS / now Alma Linux and have the very latest versions of php available to my customers (currently 8.2.4 as well as versions back to I think the default 7.4 that Alma 8 installs).
In short I would and do feel confident following the directions on that page.
they work fine, I use Rock9. Just replace the number you want. ie if you want 8.2 use
dnf install php82-php-{cli,fpm,pdo,gd,mbstring,mysqlnd,opcache,xml,zip}
