Upgrading Dovecot Concerns

[f1alan]

We were previously held on v76.0.13 due to EasyApache 3. Prior to the upgrade to EasyApache 4 I disabled automatic updates until later so we are still on v76.0.13.

I would like to get us onto the LTS version v78.0.18 but have a concern.

We use the dovecot SMTP server to send emails from our websites. Previously we used the IP address of the server as the SMTP host but PHP 5.6 onwards introduced OpenSSL changes (PHP: OpenSSL changes in PHP 5.6.x - Manual) and now we need to use the host name as well as update /etc/ssl/certs/cacerts.pem

I am concerned about the cPanel upgrade as it includes an update to dovecot. Can you foresee any issues?

 

[cPanelLauren]

Hi @f1alan


That's a really difficult question to answer without really knowing anything about your configuration. If you have customizations to the dovecot configuration you run the risk of potential issues but generally speaking we haven't seen anything serious be noted.

 

[f1alan]

Hi @f1alan


That's a really difficult question to answer without really knowing anything about your configuration. If you have customizations to the dovecot configuration you run the risk of potential issues but generally speaking we haven't seen anything serious be noted.

Thanks. There has been no customisation to dovecot. The only change that we had to make when upgrading to the latest version of PHP was to update the openssl.cafile field of PHP to get around the SSL changes that I mentioned (Fixing cURL SSL connection issue with php.ini - Server Management).

Have you tested the mail server on version 78 with a recent version of PHP?

 

[cPanelLauren]

Have you tested the mail server on version 78 with a recent version of PHP?

We test vigorously before anything is released to the public, so yes.

 

[f1alan]

We test vigorously before anything is released to the public, so yes.

Ok, thanks for confirming. In the event that the update goes wrong, what are our options for rolling back?

 

[cPanelLauren]

Once you update cPanel there is no supported method to downgrading, if you do end up having issues we're always more than happy to help and you can open a ticket with us any time.


Thanks!

 

[f1alan]

The update seems to have worked and hasn't caused any problems. However, in our daily update emails we get the error "cPanel & WHM update failure in upcp script".

This has been an issue for some time and we never got to the bottom of it. I was hoping that this update might solve it but it did not. As far as I can see, the update succeeded and we are now on v78.0.18. This is the email that we get:

Maintenance ended; however, it did not exit cleanly (512). Review the update logs to determine why the update failed.

Update log preview:

[2019-03-29 02:27:08 +0000] - Finished command `/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/modsec_vendor update --auto` in 0.960 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:08 +0000] - Processing command `/usr/local/cpanel/bin/check_cpstore_in_sync_with_local_storage`
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] - Finished command `/usr/local/cpanel/bin/check_cpstore_in_sync_with_local_storage` in 0.273 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] Processing: Purging old comet files
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] - Processing command `/usr/local/cpanel/bin/purge_dead_comet_files --quiet`
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] - Finished command `/usr/local/cpanel/bin/purge_dead_comet_files --quiet` in 0.083 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] - Finished in 0.000 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] Processing: Restoring compiler permissions
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] - Processing command `/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/compilers restore`
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] [/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/compilers] Compilers are enabled for unprivileged users.
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] - Finished command `/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/compilers restore` in 0.107 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] Processing: Cleaning up mailbox trash
[2019-03-29 02:27:09 +0000] - Processing command `/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/dovecot_maintenance --background`
[2019-03-29 02:27:10 +0000] - Finished command `/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/dovecot_maintenance --background` in 0.687 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:10 +0000] Processing: Checking MySQL Version
[2019-03-29 02:27:10 +0000] MySQL or MariaDB version “5.7” is greater than or equal to the recommended minimum version, “5.7”.
[2019-03-29 02:27:10 +0000] - Finished in 0.001 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:10 +0000] - Finished in 0.000 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:10 +0000] - Finished in 0.000 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:10 +0000] - Finished in 0.000 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:11 +0000] - Finished in 0.989 seconds
[2019-03-29 02:27:11 +0000] Processing: Cleaning Signature Timestamp Cache
=> Log closed Fri Mar 29 02:27:11 2019
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=> Log opened from cPanel Update (upcp) - Slave (27371) at Fri Mar 29 02:27:11 2019