Question In need of PHP 8.1 on oldUbuntu 16.04 LTS system

[Olray]

Server operating system version

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Plesk version and microupdate number

Plesk Obsidian Version 18.0.34 Update #2, 29. März 2021 07:40:29

Hello all,

I am currently a customer of the company STRATO in Germany and received the Plesk system there with a root server Ubuntu 16.04, with which I am actually very satisfied. However, STRATO has decided to drop support of Plesk für Ubuntu 16.04 and blocked access to the default update paths.

Unfortunately, I only have basic knowledge of Linux (a few backup scripts, little customised website configurations). However, I have managed to configure Subversion. The article can be found somewhere here in the forum - so I usually fumble my way through it.

My Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is actually still supported for a few more years, i.e. it probably still receives security updates, so it doesn't necessarily need to be replaced, especially that I would have to carry out an elaborate replacement of the server.

I have so far tried in vain to compile PHP 8.1 from the source code, which I would quite like to have, since I have no idea about Ubuntu, but know a bit of PHP and have created my website by hand (I would like to have Symfony 6.1, unfortunately without PHP 8.1 only version 6.0 works, which limits me quite a bit).

Therefore, I would like to know if it is possible to add PHP 8.1 to Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, as a move would probably take 3-4 days!

I found some instructions on the net, but I was not able to implement them.

Any hints, also on services that I have to pay for, would be very welcome if it would allow me to use the old system for another 4 years.

 

[IgorG]

Support for PHP 8.1 has been available in Plesk since Plesk 18.0.41: Change Log for Plesk Obsidian
You have a much older version of Plesk installed (18.0.34).
You also cannot update your Plesk version because Ubuntu 16.04 has not been supported by Plesk for a long time: Software Requirements for Plesk Obsidian
Thus, you will need to migrate your obsolete Plesk to the newest version if you want to use PHP 8.1: Introduction

 

[Olray]

Thank you very much for the answer. I am aware of the outdated version of Plesk and Ubuntu. I had hoped that PHP 8.1 could be compiled from source and manually entered into the Apache configuration if necessary.

 

[Liwindo]

Hi Olray, there are multiple sources online which provide you an answer to your question, e.g. Install php8.0-mbstring on Ubuntu 16.04.7 | DigitalOcean (yes, it's for 8.0 and not 8.1 but the underlying topic is the same).
Even that Ubuntu is providing extended security maintenance does not mean that new software can be implemented quite easy. In general Ubuntu 16 should be considered even in an extended security maintenance phase as EoL.

If you have a vServer product you can perform a migration with the help of the Plesk Migration Tool. If you have a dedicated Server you can perform an inplace OS upgrade, even that it has some risks.