COMPLETED : Scheduled Windows Shared Hosting PHP & MySQL upgrade - 72.18.131.252 (HELM)

================= This maintenace is completed =============================

Dear Valued Clients,
 
We have received an update from our server technicians indicating that they will be performing maintenance in Windows Shared Hosting servers to upgrade PHP & MySQL versions. This upgrade will require an approximate 4-5 hours of a maintenance window. Following are the scheduled maintenance:
 
Maintenance Date / Time / Server:

Date: 21th July 2014
Time: 12:00 AM MDT
Affected servers:
Earth (72.18.131.26)
Edison (72.18.131.59)
 
Date: 22th July 2014
Time: 12:00 AM MDT
Affected servers:
Einstein (72.18.131.73)
Hawking (72.18.131.85)
 
Date: 23th July 2014
Time: 12:00 AM MDT
Affected servers:
Mercury (72.18.131.37)
Neptune (72.18.131.104)
 
Date: 24th July 2014
Time: 12:00 AM MDT
Affected servers:
Newton (72.18.131.114)
Philips (72.18.131.240)
Saturn (72.18.131.128)
 
Date: 25th July 2014
Time: 12:00 AM MDT
Affected servers:
Solar (72.18.131.144)
Uranus (72.18.132.6)
Venus (72.18.131.252)
 
Maintenance Description:

PHP 5.2 and Frontpage have been obsolete for many years. As a result, we're beginning the process to remove PHP 5.2.17 and Frontpage from our servers and encourage customers to switch to PHP 5.3.x.  We will be upgrading the MySQL server from MySQL 5.1.x to MySQL 5.5.x as MySQL 5.1.x will be deprecated by end of 2014.
 
Maintenance Impact:

1. For customers who are using custom script/Open Source application that runs Zend Optimizer, Zend Optimizer will be replaced by Zend Guard Loader in PHP 5.3 and above. You should upgrade your script to support Zend Guard Loader.
 
2. Customers who are running the old version of the application should upgrade to the latest version IMMEDIATELY to avoid version incompatibility which could cause your site to stop running or not showing proper content as PHP changes. (eg. Joomla 2.5 and lower version should be upgraded to higher version in order to support PHP 5.3.x).
 
3. Customers who are running MS Frontpage should change to File Transfer Protocol (FTP) as an alternative way.
 
4. For customers who are using custom script/Open Source application that runs the following PHP features
- define_syslog_variables
- register_globals
- register_long_arrays
- safe_mode
- magic_quotes_gpc
- magic_quotes_runtime
- magic_quotes_sybase

If any of your script contains the above features, you should replace it with alternative feature or reinstall them through PHP PECL as not all features are maintained in PECL.
 
5. PHP Incompatible changes. If you are using any of the incompatible changes listed by PHP, you should replace the changes with alternative features.
 
6. PHP Removed Extension. If you are using any of the removed extension, you may replace it with alternative features in newer versions or reinstall them through PHP PECL if it is a maintain extension.
 
7. Mysql 5.5 Password Hashing has changed from 16 to 41. The old password is no longer supported. Any application that connect to MySQL database may get connection errors and fail to connect. If your application fails to run upon the completion of the upgrade schedule, please walk through the following steps to reset your MySQL user password
           a. Log in your Helm via http://cp.domain.com
           b. Click on "Database Manager"
           c. Select your database user that you use for the database connection then change the password.
           d. Apply the new password at your application database connection area or connection string.
 
8. This upgrade is mandatory and it’s not reversible once the process is done.
 
9. If you're unsure of all the above changes, you are advised to seek the help of your in-house webmaster/IT personnel. Alternatively, you may contact our Support Helpdesk for more information.
 
During the four hours of maintenance window, the website (and other data) hosted on the mentioned web servers will be inaccessible. However, your mail services will be intact and will be operational during this maintenance. We will be doing our best to ensure that service is resumed as quickly as possible.
 
Technical Assistance:

If you have any questions feel free to write an email to support@stpwebhosting.com or open a ticket from billing area.
 
We thank you for the co-operation.
 
Sincerely,
STPWebHosting.com
Management