We ’re making the power of PHP 7.1+ available to all of our customers.
From December 2018, PHP versions 5.6 and 7.0 will no longer receive security updates from the PHP Group. We want to ensure that you always receive the highest level of security support, therefore PHP 7.1+ or higher will need to be installed on servers running the Jadu software by this time.
From July 2018, Jadu Continuum will support PHP 7.1, so you have plenty of time to install it if you host your website yourself or use a third party hosting provider. We’ll support you to ensure the needed actions are applied before the end of December so you’re able to receive patches for security issues.
The following actions will need to be taken:
(note: these differ depending on the server you’re currently using)
- Customers hosted by Spacecraft will be upgraded as part of your platform management agreement. You don’t need to do anything and the team will be in touch.
- Linux customers on Centos 6 should upgrade to PHP 7.1.
- Windows customers on Windows Server 2012 should upgrade to PHP 7.2.
- If you have any PHP code on your website not provided by Jadu or Spacecraft, you will need to ensure it is PHP 7.1/7.2 compatible prior to upgrading.
Some of the benefits of upgrading include:
- A more modern and secure option for your hosting environment
- Longer term, ongoing security support
- Faster performance
- Estimated more than 30% memory consumption improvement
- Better concurrency - up to 3x as many requests can be served per second
Remember, if you have any in-house or bespoke development work, it’s important that you confirm this is PHP 7.1+ compatible prior to upgrading your hosting environment, and that you have any necessary software licenses in place.
You will also need to ensure that you have patched your Continuum software with the compatible release. You can do this by raising a support ticket, or downloading the relevant patch from the support portal.
When you’re ready to go, either follow our easy upgrade instructions (coming soon) if you self-host, or reach out to Support.
If you have any questions in the meantime see our FAQs below, or get in touch.
FAQs
Q1. Why do we have to upgrade PHP version?
PHP is the programming language used by Jadu Continuum products. Periodically new versions of PHP are released that offer new features and other enhancements. Over time, support for older versions of PHP are dropped.
The version of PHP installed on the majority of our customers' environments is PHP 5.6. PHP 5.6 is approaching the end of its life, and security support for this version will end 31st December 2018.
In line with our security policy and the tenets set out by GDPR, we are upgrading our software to support a version of PHP that will receive longer term security updates, PHP 7.1 and PHP 7.2.
Q2. When can I upgrade to a PHP 7.1 or PHP 7.2 environment?
Support for PHP 7.1 and PHP 7.2 is due to be release by the Continuum CMS team on Friday 8th June 2018. Support for PHP 7.1 and PHP 7.2 is due to be released by the Continuum XFP team on Friday 29th June 2018.
Customers will be able to commence the PHP upgrade process after the relevant point dependant on the Jadu software that you are running.
Q3. Who pays for the support for PHP 7.1 & PHP 7.2 updates?
| Required support | Coverage/payment |
|---|---|
| Upgrading your server to PHP 7 + | Covered by your hosting and platform management agreement with Spacecraft if you have one. |
| Changes in CMS software | Covered by your support agreement. |
| Changes in XFP software | Covered by your support agreement. |
| Changes in your front end templates | Not covered. |
| Changes in custom developments provided by Spacecraft | Covered if you have a separate support agreement for this software. |
| Changes in customer developments created by you | Not covered. |
Q4. What are the benefits of PHP 7.1 and PHP 7.2?
PHP 7 is much speedier than PHP 5. Upgrading to PHP 7 is estimated to bring about a >30% improvement in memory consumption More concurrent users can be served, up to 3 times as many requests per second Long term support and lower technical debt with ongoing support of bug fixes, security patches and maintenance updates.
Q5. Can I run multiple versions of PHP concurrently?
No, we require that only one version of PHP is run on your supported environments.
Q6. Where can I find PHP 7.1 and PHP 7.2 documentation?
- Please remember that customer code written by you or a third-party is outside of your Spacecraft support agreement.
- We do not provide technical services to help customers become compatible with PHP 7.1 and PHP 7.2.
- Check that any code you manage is PHP 7.2 compatible, you can use the open source PHPCompatibility library to help identify any issues.
- Raise a Spacecraft support ticket to initiate the PHP 7.2 compatibility check of any code Spacecraft manage.
- If you are self hosted, download the upgrade documentation and instructions (coming soon) to initiate your PHP 7.2 upgrade process.
- If you are Spacecraft hosted, or use code that Spacecraft manage, reach out to support to initiate the PHP 7.2 upgrade process.