Urgent Migration Required for CentOS 7 Users: What You Need to Know

centos 7 migration

Greetings from the HostDime team! We wish to bring to your attention some crucial updates regarding your server environment, necessitated by recent changes in the CentOS operating system by Red Hat. While we have sent out notices about this transition to all clients affected, we have also made this concise guide on how Red Hat’s decision with CentOS affects your cPanel servers and what HostDime is doing about it.

 

The Situation

Due to Red Hat’s shift from a downstream (stable) to an upstream (development) branch of their Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system, CentOS 8 has already reached end-of-life and will not be considered an eligible upgrade target.

This shift affects all cPanel servers, prompting a required migration to a new cPanel-supported operating system.

The operating systems we will be able to offer continued managed support for are AlmaLinux 8, Rocky Linux 8, and CloudLinux 8, all of which are binary-compatible RHEL forks based on the RHEL source code with official support as installation targets for cPanel.

 

Your Upgrade Options

Considering these changes, the previous upgrade paths don’t apply. If your server is using CentOS 7, you need to opt for one of the following upgrade options:

Option #1: cPanel ELevate Upgrade: cPanel ELevate is an in-place, offline OS upgrade. We will perform an audit to identify any changes that need to be made to the server before the upgrade. Before proceeding with the upgrade, a complete block-level backup of your server is created on a temporary disk and set aside in case any issues arise during the upgrade process.

Option #2: New Server Deployment: Rather than use cPanel ELevate, you can instead purchase and deploy a new server with your desired OS and transfer your old server to the new server via cPanel transfer tools. We recommend this option if you are utilizing legacy hardware and would like to deploy to a newer hardware server. If this option interests you, contact our Sales team before proceeding. Please note that this option includes a change in IP address; you will be responsible for ensuring your sites are resolving to the new server once we provide you with its DNS nameservers/IP address.

Important: If the upgrade under Option #1 fails and you haven’t provided backups, data might be lost PERMANENTLY. If you do not have off-site backups, please make them before choosing an option. Explore our remote storage services here.

 

Software Requirements

Before any upgrade, ensure:

  • You’re on MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.3+.
  • Your sites use PHP 7.2+ (as 7.1 or lower isn’t supported).
  • Your nameserver is PowerDNS (BIND isn’t supported).

 

Closing Thoughts

While migration may seem like a hassle, missing out on the upgrade can have more severe long-term implications. If you have concerns or need more details, please get in touch.

Let’s move forward together, ensuring that your business remains secure, efficient, and ready for the future. Schedule your upgrade today.