This interface allows you to define how your server performs software updates and upgrades.
cPanel & WHM Updates
This section of the interface allows you to select a release tier. The release tier that you select controls when the system performs an upgrade to a new major version of cPanel & WHM.
Additionally, this interface allows you to specify how your server performs an update within a major version.
Note:
If you perform an update that includes multiple major versions of cPanel & WHM, the update process upgrades your server to each intermediate version. The update process performs compatibility checks for each version prior to the upgrade to that version. If the process encounters blockers, it finishes on the most recent release of cPanel & WHM that is compatible with your system.
For more information, read our Upgrade Blockers documentation.
Release Tier
Select a cPanel & WHM tier that matches your requirements. For more information, read our cPanel & WHM Product Versions and the Release Processdocumentation.
Warning:
After you upgrade to a new major version of cPanel & WHM, you cannot downgrade to a previous major version of cPanel & WHM.
- For this reason, you cannot select a release tier that represents a downgrade.
- The
icon appears next to the description for tiers that represent a downgrade.
The following table describes each of the cPanel & WHM release tiers:
|
Tier
|
Description
|
Publication Frequency
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTS |
Long-Term Support (LTS). If you do not wish to upgrade cPanel & WHM, you can select a cPanel & WHM version for as long as cPanel supports it. The following table lists the LTS dates for the current versions of cPanel & WHM:
* cPanel & WHM releases that have reached End of Life:
|
Not applicable. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| STABLE | This version has received considerable public exposure, testing, and verification. | Published least frequently. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RELEASE |
This version is feature-complete and we test it thoroughly. It contains all intended features and functionality. New installations default to RELEASE. |
Published more frequently than STABLE. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CURRENT | We tested and verify this version, but it may not contain all of the proposed functionality of a release. This tier is similar to the "release candidate" tier that other publication schemes use. | Published more frequently than RELEASE. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EDGE |
We only perform rudimentary testing on this version. The features are subject to further modification. This version usually lacks official public documentation. Warning: Due to the dynamic nature of EDGE builds, only use EDGE to test for compatibility and functionality in a controlled environment . This tier is not recommended for production servers. |
Published most frequently (up to several times per week). |
Automatic upgrades to new major versions
To reduce support ticket influx, automatic upgrades to subsequent major versions of cPanel & WHM do not always occur immediately. In certain scenarios, the system applies a zero-to-four-business-day delay before your automatic upgrade executes.
The system applies a delay if all of the following statements are true:
- You use the RELEASE or STABLE tier.
- You do not run the upgrade interactively.
- Your current version is only one major version away from the target major version.
- You do not run the upgrade with the Force option.
The system randomly selects the length of your delay. For example, if the system detects a new major version on a Friday, the upgrade does not take place until the following Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
When we release a major version, you may perform any of the following actions:
- Use the Force option in the Upgrade to Latest Version interface (Home >> cPanel >> Upgrade to Latest Version) to upgrade immediately.
- Do nothing, unless your release tier is set to LTS, to allow the automatic upgrade to occur as described above.
- To prevent future automatic upgrades, change your selected release tier to LTS.
Warning:
Before an upgrade, ensure that the new version is compatible with any third-party software or customizations to your system. We recommend that you stage the upgrade on a test system before you upgrade your production system.
Daily Updates
Use this menu to select how you want cPanel & WHM to update. You can choose from the following options:
- Automatic — Select this option if you want cPanel & WHM to automatically update through a cron job every night at midnight.
- Manual Updates Only — Select this option if you wish to manually update cPanel & WHM.Never Update — Select this option if you do not want cPanel & WHM to update.
- Command line — Run the
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcpscript as therootuser. - WHM — Navigate to the Upgrade to Latest Version interface (Home >> cPanel >> Upgrade to Latest Version).
- Command line — Run the
Note:
The maintenance portion of the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script always runs as part of the nightly cron job, regardless of the update settings.
Staging Directory
The upgrade to newer versions of cPanel & WHM requires a minimum amount of disk space in order to stage the files necessary. This feature determines where the system places the staging files.
Note:
If the selected directory does not have enough disk space for the update, the system automatically selects a different directory for the next attempt. An email will notify you of the new selection, and you will have 24 hours to change the new directory.
To select the staging directory for the updates, perform one of the following actions:
- Keep the default directory. This defaults to the
/usr/local/cpaneldirectory. - Enter a new directory. If you enter a path to a different directory, the system will automatically create the
.cpanel__HOSTNAME__upcp_stagingsubdirectory at that location, wherehostnameis the name of the actual server. -
Select a partition. The path to the selected partition will appear in the Directory text box. The Available Partitions table displays the available disk space on each of your partitions.
Operating System Package Updates
This feature determines whether the nightly maintenance tasks will update the RPM packages from your operating system distribution. This is similar to the yum update command.
- Automatic — Select this setting to automatically update the operating system packages when the
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcpscript runs. - Manual Updates Only — Select this setting if you wish to manually run the
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcpscript to update operating system packages. - Never Update — Select this setting if you do not wish to update the operating system packages when the
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcpscript runs. If you select this option, you must run the/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/rpmup2script to update your operating system packages.
Note:
This setting does not effect cPanel-provided RPMs.
Apache SpamAssassin™ Rules Updates
This feature defines how you wish to update the Apache SpamAssassin rules.
- Automatic — Select this setting to automatically update Apache SpamAssassin rules when the
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcpscript runs. - Manual Updates Only — Select this setting if you wish to manually run the
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcpscript to update Apache SpamAssassin rules. - Never Update — Select this setting if you do not wish to update Apache SpamAssassin rules when the
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcpscript runs.
Notes:
- When the cPanel update script (
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp) runs, it updates Apache SpamAssassin through the Apache SpamAssassin update script (/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/sa-update-wrapper). - For more information about Apache SpamAssassin rules, read the Apache SpamAssassin documentation.
Send my settings to all configuration cluster servers
Select the Send my settings to all configuration cluster servers checkbox to send your Update Preferences settings to all of the servers that are currently in your configuration cluster.
Note:
The interface only displays the Send my settings to all configuration cluster servers checkbox if you have already added additional servers to the configuration cluster with the Configuration Cluster interface (Home >> Clusters >> Configuration Cluster).
If you selected this option, the interface may require several seconds to load when you click Save, and will then display a confirmation message:
- Click Show Details to view the status of each server in the configuration cluster.
- An error icon (
) in the Status column indicates that the server failed to receive the settings. - The Message column displays additional information about servers that failed.
