Server Viper Upgrade 2018

Essential maintenance upgrade scheduled for early in 2018 on server Viper.

Date: to be scheduled. Expected late February 2018

Server: Viper

Background:
To maintain quality of service, dependability, security and resilience it is important that servers and websites remain current since without periodical maintenance to both, websites will become dysfunctional and vulnerable to attack.

Software that underpins the server functionality needs to be updated since the existing versions will no longer be supported after January 2018. With this update very old versions of a programming language will also no longer be available and this will have implications for very old websites.

For anyone with a site developed in the last two years, and many going back further than that, there will be no impact whatsoever. For older websites, there will be the need to upgrade the website code for the website to continue to function after the server upgrade.

Will I be affected?

This is a technical look up. Your website must be running PHP5.4 or greater as previous versions of PHP will be no longer supported. If you have a website running an older version then it will need to be upgraded to 5.4 or greater to continue to function correctly .

There is a quick test that will work on most sites at http://browserspy.dk/webserver.php. Add your domain name and it will report on your website server. In the results it should include “x-powered-by:” and the PHP version.

What next if I have an old version of PHP?

Depending on the facilities in your site the code may or may not need updating for it to continue to function correctly on a later version of PHP and this will need to be assessed on a site by site basis.

If you develop your own site then you will need to upgrade your site code to function with a later version of PHP and we currently support up to 5.6. Next year we will make available 7.0, 7.1 and 7.2.

If Toucan is also your webmaster we will be able to make these tests and website upgrades for you such that your website is brought up to date and functions with today’s software. We will plan with you individually how best this website upgrade is done in line with your individual needs and estimate accordingly.

This is a critical upgrade that underpins your website and cannot be delayed beyond February 2018.

 

Queries to admin@toucanweb.co.uk