(Originally announced in the News section on the 16th August 2007)

In this announcement:

Mailbox software update, advance notice.
  Mailbox delivery software update, this weekend.

PHP software update, advance notice.
  PHP v4 to v5 migration, 1st October 2007


Mailbox software update:
This coming weekend, sirium.net will be updating the software that delivers the e-mail to your mailboxes. This is due to the fact that cPanel is dropping support for the current software for a more efficient alternative. As the current software will no longer be supported, it may cause problems in the future, and no updates for security and/or bugs will be applied.

You may see a delay in e-mail delivery, but all e-mails should be stored on the backup server if they cannot be delivered during the update.


PHP software update:
At the end of this year (31st December 2007), The PHP Group will be dropping support for version 4 of PHP. After this date, they will only be providing updates for critical security issues as and when they are found, and then, only for a few months.

There is also a movement afoot where many PHP software projects will be dropping support for PHP v4 in February 2008. After this date, if you use software from any of these projects, you will no longer be able to update them to the latest versions, unless v5 is installed on the server.

What does this mean for sirium.net users? It means that time has finally come to upgrade PHP on sirium.net from v4 to v5. The advantages of this includes continued support from PHP in the form of updates and security fixes, as well as more features and improved speed. The scheduled date for this upgrade is 1st October 2007.

However, there is a chance that some PHP based applications you use on your site may not function properly under version 5, hence the 6 week (approx) notice period to enable you to check compatibility of your software, and to carry out any upgrades and/or fixes that will ensure your site works under v5. If you require it, you can request a temporary, free, test account account on a separate server to test and update any software you use, before the update is carried out.

If you have continued problems after the upgrade, Sirium.net will help you get your site up and running again, at no extra cost.

Some frequently asked questions can be found on the sirium.net support's FAQ section at http://support.[...]categoryid=6

The GoPHP5 project web site has details on projects that are dropping support for PHP in February 2008: http://www.gophp5.org