Doctacosa

As I've alluded to in my past two updates, I've been dedicating a lot of my time recently on background updates. Part of what allows everything to keep on running smoothly (that prized long-term stability) requires me to review and upgrade some components over time. It's thankless work that's usually completely invisible, but it needs to happen to prevent downtimes and disasters! Here's a quick tour of some key elements that I've been focused on lately.

PHP 7

Everything I've got available on the web runs on PHP. The version currently running on the servers is 5.6; however, PHP 7 has been available for some time now. Upgrading isn't a simple matter of switching versions, as 7 comes with a lot of improvements along with retiring old, outdated methods that I still rely on in several places. Notably, all database connections and queries need a review.

I've chosen to do this now rather than later so I don't get surprised by a forced update announced on short notice. I'll be able to make the change on my own schedule. Some elements, like the website for the Creeper's Lab and its control panel, have already been silently updated about two weeks ago. Others, like the forums, are still being worked on. I've got an internal prototype of the latter up and running.

Dedicated server

The dedicated server that hosts the Minecraft and Starbound servers is currently running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, which is four years old at this point. It's still supported and receives security fixes, but it's time to bring it up to a more modern version. I'll be doing that next Sunday, taking all services offline for a few hours (at least) so that the dedi ends up running the latest and greatest 2018 version of Ubuntu. Sticking to the LTS (Long Term Support) editions allows me to go through this only every few years rather than sticking to their twice-a-year schedule.

Minecraft 1.13

That's not available yet, but it's coming, and soon. Part of the reason why I'm doing the above right now is to clear the way to properly handle the new Minecraft version when it gets released. Between all the new content and the technical updates it holds, it's likely to require a lot of plugins work to get fully working and stable, so I'm clearing up everything I can before we get there!

– Doctacosa