Moodle upgrade process

Moodle upgrade process

Moodle upgrade process

What to expect from a Moodle upgrade

There are a number of reasons to upgrade your Moodle version. It might be necessary as part of a migration to bring your site into line with our standard server builds, or it could be part of a site refresh, bringing you back into line with competitor installations.

Alternatively, it could simply be because your version is approaching the end of active HQ support, so you need to upgrade to stay future-proofed. Whatever the reason, the process is exactly the same, and the only difference is in how you choose to prepare…

Version upgrade preparation

On shared hosting, a UAT (private test environment) is not provided as standard. But if you want to apply additional customisation in a UAT before going live, then it can be arranged for a monthly pro-rata charge. The upside (obviously) is that you can perfect your updates before making them visible to your users, but the downside is that there is a fee attached. The cost is based on your hosting level (as a UAT is a copy of your live site), and there are a couple of things to bear in mind when making a decision:

  • Theme version. Version upgrades apply to themes, too. Particularly if you have a paid-for theme, you’ll need to get a new version that is compatible with your new version of Moodle in advance of the upgrade. When you pay for the new theme, it will download as a zip file; you’ll need to pass that over so it can be applied as part of the upgrade process.

  • There will be downtime. Your site will need to be in maintenance mode during the upgrade process. We always coordinate a day/time in advance so you can let users know exactly when and for how long the site will be inaccessible. This also gives you time to customise the message shown if users try to access the site during downtime if you wish.

  • Multiple Moodle upgrades might be required. Because each Moodle version has specific PHP/operating system parameters, if your version is particularly old, the upgrade to your final version will need to be in multiple stages to accommodate the minimum/maximum system parameters associated with each version. This will have an impact on downtime and theme.

  • Multiple theme upgrades might be required. Because version upgrade parameters apply to themes too, you would need to confirm with the seller that it comes as a ‘bundle’ with all previous versions before purchase. If not, you will need to buy theme versions that ‘match’ the stages of Moodle version upgrades for the process to be completed.

Version upgrade process

With a dedicated server agreement, a UAT (private test environment) is provided as standard. Charges are based on usage, so if the UAT takes you over the recommended 89% maximum usage level, then extra disk space will be added (and charged). But if the UAT is built (and removed) before your renewal date, then no extra charges will apply.

Please note: For dedicated server clients, a same-server UAT is only possible if both Moodle versions (current and upgrade) support the same version of PHP. If they do not, then a UAT may need to be on a separate server, and pro-rata charges will apply.

If you choose to use a UAT, the process is staged as Step 1 and Step 2. If you upgrade without a UAT, only Step 2 will be necessary:

Step 1.

UAT created based on live site
UAT upgraded to new Moodle version
UAT theme upgraded to new theme version
Client tests UAT functions
Client confirms go-ahead for live upgrade

Step 2.

A time slot/date for live upgrade is scheduled
Live site put into maintenance mode
Live site upgraded to new Moodle version
Live theme upgraded to new theme version
Live site taken out of maintenance mode

Please note: A UAT is not a pre-requisite to upgrade. However, a UAT will be recommended if a site is particularly complex or the version upgrade pathway complicated. Before starting any upgrade, a full backup is always taken so the upgrade can be rolled back should there be any issues.

Moodle upgrade FAQs

Bug fixes for functionality and security issues are provided for all in-support Moodle versions. If your version is no longer supported by Moodle HQ, your site is at risk of unreported security issues, which could be exploited by bad-faith actors. For future-proofing and safety, upgrading to keep in-support is always recommended.

Moodle versions have associated operating system (OS) version parameters (PHP/MySQL etc.), so if your version is particularly old, there will be additional costs to migrate you as-is because your server OS will need to be on a lower level than our standard builds. For shared hosting in particular, this means using a server that isn’t shared with other users, increasing the costs accordingly.

Yes. If you simply need to migrate ASAP, then any additional costs will be charged pro-rata (per month) only for as long as it takes to upgrade and test in a private environment (UAT), and once your upgrade is confirmed and live, you’ll be back on a standard annual agreement.

* Extra disk space not included in discounted rates. Ts & Cs apply.

Got general questions about how things work? Our FAQ page covers the basics.

Want to ask something specific? You can raise a ticket directly in our Helpdesk system.

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