Upgrading a Learning Platform Through Three Operating Systems in Two Days

An online learning portal, run for an overseas university through one of our partners, was on Moodle 4.0 and CentOS Stream 8, an operating system that had reached end of life. An earlier upgrade attempt had failed and left the server half-changed.

The challenge

The application and the operating system had to leapfrog each other. Moodle 4.0 needs an old version of PHP that newer operating systems don’t include, while current Moodle needs a version of PHP the old server couldn’t run. Course data, the certificates already issued to students and the off-site backups all had to survive the journey.

What we did

• A clean start: The failed attempt cleaned up and the server converted to AlmaLinux 8
• Step by step: In-place upgrades to AlmaLinux 9 and then 10, with a snapshot and full backup before every step
• Always working: The old PHP version kept running on each new operating system, so the site stayed up between steps
• Moodle brought current: Moodle 4.0 to 4.1, 4.5 and 5.2, and PHP 7.4 to 8.4, including the certificate plugin and every certificate already issued
• Tightened up: The web server reconfigured for Moodle 5’s new layout, with internal files blocked from public access, and the off-site backup tooling rebuilt for the new system