Upgrading from MySQL to Maria. No MariaDB upgrade option in WHM

[mark135uk]

perfect thank you, i prefer centos tbh

 

[Kent Brockman]

Right - you'd have to specify MariaDB before you even performed the cPanel install if you want that to happen.

Rex. MySQL being defaulted to v8 is the new default from now on? No more asking about choosing MariaDB, ever? Or does this happens only on AL8?
The MySQL/MariaDB should be offered as an option when you run cPanel installer without params, cause as you can see, vast majority of sysadmins didn't expexted this behaviour and you are forcing people to lose time reloading the entire OS ONCE they figure out what went wrong.

I would have planned this as follow: when you run "sh latest" the script should explain that YOU MUST specify the desired version of database server, being it MySQL o MariaDB, and that you won't be able to migrate from one to the other once cPanel is installed. So please rerun installer using one of the possible parameters:

1. sh latest mysql
2. sh latest mariadb

Want to use nicer parameters, be my guest.
This should be obvious, you should file an internal case and it should be super easy to implement, don't ask me to open a feature request cause this should be working this month, not in 2024. Sorry the wording, but I find this "feature" really nuts.

 

[cPRex]

Let me reach out to the database team and see what their thoughts are and I'll let you know!

 

[cPRex]

Alright, I have a couple thoughts on this.

I did reach out to the database team and they are aware of a need for *something* - what that something is hasn't been decided just yet, but a way to select the version at install time without need to manually pre-configure files would be ideal for sure.

What we aren't going to do is change the installer to prompt the user as the install has to be able to run completely unattended.

I do like the option of having a "--mysql" or "--mariadb" flag that is optional, as that would allow people to just run the installer normal or they could specify the option if they don't want the default.

That's where things are at this point - the team is aware and has been looking into it for a bit, but nothing has been officially decided just yet. For now, using the installation customization tool ahead of time is the only solution.

 

[Kent Brockman]

Alright, I have a couple thoughts on this.

I did reach out to the database team and they are aware of a need for *something* - what that something is hasn't been decided just yet, but a way to select the version at install time without need to manually pre-configure files would be ideal for sure.

What we aren't going to do is change the installer to prompt the user as the install has to be able to run completely unattended.

I do like the option of having a "--mysql" or "--mariadb" flag that is optional, as that would allow people to just run the installer normal or they could specify the option if they don't want the default.

That's where things are at this point - the team is aware and has been looking into it for a bit, but nothing has been officially decided just yet. For now, using the installation customization tool ahead of time is the only solution.

Ok, if the installer must not prompt for options, then make it exit if run with no params, being --mysql or --mariadb mandatory. Thus, that would be a great opportunity to provide awareness of this database situation to those who were unable to reach the docs before actually upgrading to new OS. Think that there are still a lot of minor hosting providers billing every OS reload. So this option would help people save TIME... AND MONEY. And THAT is a feature my friend ;-)

Another option...? Well, if MariaDB is considered a downgrade, then don't default to MySQL 8! Install MySQL 7 so that you can provide UPGRADE, to MariaDB or MySQL 8. People MUST be able to choose, or at least, have awareness. Those are features we thought we was paying for

I bet both alternatives make sense to almost everyone. Just choose one and improve this chaotic scenario.

 

[Reado]

This article makes it sound like a migration is possible. If all we're doing is exporting a backup from MySQL, removing MySQL, installing MariaDB and then importing the backup, would that not be a suitable way to migrate?

 

[cPRex]

@Reado - I suppose that's technically possible, but cPanel doesn't support removing MySQL. There is always a version of MySQL present on the system to make things work.

 

[HostT]

This is quite annoying especially after doing a full install, setting up easyapache, and then finding out that natively MySQL 8 was installed and there's no easy way to use MariaDB instead which is what all my other servers I was going to transfer accounts from are using :facepalm:

Completely empty server with no databases or anything.

Not to even add to the fact with all the price increases as well and now I have to start all over again ... VERY annoying especially KNOWING a lot of people are using MariaDB and NOT MySQL

 

[xpy-xpy]

This is quite annoying especially after doing a full install, setting up easyapache, and then finding out that natively MySQL 8 was installed and there's no easy way to use MariaDB instead which is what all my other servers I was going to transfer accounts from are using :facepalm:

Completely empty server with no databases or anything.

There's an unofficial way of switching an empty Cpanel server from MySQL 8 to MariaDB:

DO NOT transfer from MariaDB to MySQL

We are trying to migrate from a 60+ account server: CentOS 7.9 cPanel 106 MariaDB 10.3 To a new server with: AlmaLinux v8.7 cPanel 106 MySQL 8.0 Assuming that since MySQL is the default option for new cPanel installs and MariaDB option is no longer present, it would be a better tech stack for...

forums.cpanel.net

 

[cPRex]

@HostT - this is outlined in the installation documentation here:

Customize Your Installation | cPanel & WHM Documentation

This document describes how to customize your cPanel & WHM installation.

docs.cpanel.net