Upgrading my WAMP server

My moodle instances are currently sitting at 2.6.11.  Moodle is now at 2.9.x as current release.  I have to plan a moodle upgrade soon.  In the summer of 16, I will plan to update all 10 moodle instances to 2.9.x on 4 moodle servers.

BUT, in order to upgrade beyond moodle 2.6.11, I have to upgrade the PHP and the MySQL.  I have to update my WAMP software from 2.0 to 2.5.  WAMP 2.5 uses Mysql 5.6.17, PHP 5.5.12 and Apache 2.4.9.

I am upgrading the WAMP first, then moodle later.  Why not focus on the infrastructure, make sure there is no impacting the moodle.  Then later, focus on the moodle upgrade.  This is a sound plan.  The more I think about it, write about it, process the from a conceptual level,  is very logical.

In January, plan the WAMP upgrade - its under the radar to my moodle customers.  Nothing changes to them.  One moodle server after the other.  Each needs the upgrade.

Create a list of environmental checks, post upgrade.  A checklist of 10 things to check in the upgraded environment.  Most of those things would be checked in the moodle, but some would be checked at the server level, not the application (moodle) level.

I have an RD server that was set up for me to practice on.  I upgraded the WAMP software AND one of the moodle sites from 2.6.xx to 2.9.xx.   But, i like the idea of separating those.


Proof! - see the moodle 2.9.2 below.

I just finished downloading the wamp 2.5 exe (installer) to each of my moodle servers and placed in the root level server downloads folder.

WAMP upgrade steps checklist

1 - Take wamp service off line (Systray - WAMP - put offline)

• rename the wamp folder to wamp22 (Keep the old stuff !)

2 - Execute the wamp25 installer, in the \server_downloads folder

3 - Update the mysql data folder in the new install.

• Rename the data folder wamp\bin\mysql\mysql5.6.17\data to wamp\bin\mysql\mysql5.6.17\data-backup
•  Copy the wamp22\bin\mysql\mysql5.4.26\data folder into the wamp\bin\mysql\mysql5.6.17\data to wamp\bin\mysql\mysql5.6.17 folder

4 - Update Apache in new install

• Activate vhost directive in new conf file, c:\wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.9\conf\httpd.conf - line 513

• Rename the vhost file c:\wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.9\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf to httpd-vhosts-backup.conf

• Copy the vhost file httpd-vhosts.conf from wamp22\bin\apache\apache2.2.22\conf\extra to wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.9\conf\extra

• Edit httpd-vhosts.conf - using updates apache 2.4 style directive

    Directory "c:\wamp\www\student"
                Require all granted
    Directory

5 - For both Mysql and Apache services.

• Remove the old services for both (using the wampserver 2.5 systray)
• Create new services for both - using the wampserver systray options.  

6 - Update the php.ini file located in wamp\bin\apache\apache2.4.9\bin.  Update the following settings

post_max_size = 1024 M
upload_max_filesize = 1024 M
max_execution_time = -1
max_input_time = -1
add this line :max_input_vars = 5000, to the end of the file
un-comment this line: ;error_log = "c:/wamp/logs/php_error.log"
 
The first two are for file upload size.  The moodle instances inherit from this file and can be set lower in the moodle settings.  These file sizes come from us dealing with large, very large customer - vendor course files.  At least until LTI started becoming the preferred method of sharing content.  The max time settings are for kinda the same thing.  Very large files take a very long time to load or restore.  The -1 means no limit of time for an executing script.  I am sure this could be problematic if a bad script just keeps running, but that is a little abstract to me while a script timing out was not.  The max_input_vars is to prohibit lengthy moodle courses from running out of memory during an install or upload.


That might be it.  No moodle upgrade issues at this point.  Simplified.