We are upgrading our hosting infrastructure to keep your services secure, stable, and fully supported. The operating system will upgrade from CentOS to AlmaLinux, and on CloudLinux servers from v7 to v8.
In the past, upgrades of this scale often required migrating services to entirely new hardware. With advances in cloud technology, we can now separate hardware upgrades from operating system upgrades. This allows us to carry out this upgrade in-place, resulting in significantly less disruption and a controlled maintenance window.
This upgrade forms part of our ‘ELevate’ upgrade programme and has involved two years of planning, along with extensive internal testing and simulations to ensure a smooth and reliable transition.
Summary:
• We are upgrading our hosting platform to a newer operating system
• There will be 2–4 hours of work by our technicians, including multiple server reboots
• All hosting-related services (including websites, databases, email, FTP, and cPanel access) will be intermittently unavailable
• No action is required, but we recommend avoiding work on your website or cPanel during the maintenance window
• Your website and email should continue to work as normal after the upgrade
We’ll handle the entire process for you, but here’s what you need to know:
Why the Upgrade Is Necessary
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Security and Support: These upgrades are important to ensure we do not run on outdated operating systems at any point, as older systems can become vulnerable over time. While extended support has been in place, moving to a fully supported platform is the correct long-term solution.
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Modern Platform: AlmaLinux 8 and CloudLinux 8 provide improved performance, stability, and compatibility with newer technologies.
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Compliance: Running supported operating systems helps meet industry and security best practices.
What to Expect During the Upgrade
This is a significant system upgrade carried out by our technicians and will take approximately 2 to 4 hours, including multiple server reboots.
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Downtime: There will be a period of downtime during the maintenance window (typically 1–2 hours within the overall window), during which your website, email, and control panel will be unavailable.
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Scheduling: As this is a major upgrade, some maintenance windows will fall during business hours. We will do our utmost to minimise disruption and keep downtime as short as possible.
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No Action Required: You don’t need to take any steps for the upgrade itself. Our team will handle everything, including backups and post-upgrade checks. As a precaution, you may wish to keep your own external backups.
What’s Not Changing
- Your website files and databases
- Your email accounts and passwords
- Your current PHP and MySQL/MariaDB versions
Your website and email should continue to function as normal after the upgrade.
After the Upgrade
Once the upgrade is complete, we recommend:
- Checking your website loads correctly
- Sending and receiving a test email
- Email from other providers will be queued and be delivered after the maintenance (potentially with a short delay)
- Contacting us if anything looks unusual
How We Are Managing the Upgrade
- Full backups are taken before any work begins as part of a standard process
- System preparation is carried out to ensure compatibility
- Operating system upgrade is performed using a tested process
- Service checks are completed after the upgrade
- Status updates are posted on our network status page so you can follow the progress
Conclusion
This upgrade is an important step to keep your hosting environment secure and reliable. It follows a well-tested process, and we have carried out extensive internal testing to minimise risk and downtime.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team.
Updated by SP on 13/03/2026 and WR on 26/03/2026
