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alancc avatar Server

Easy way to update EC2 Instance

cn flag
alancc

I am launching an EC2 instance and it seems the most popular WordPress AMI in the marketplace is the one provided by Bitnami. However, there is a big issue with the software/system update.

I ask Bitnami and they said if I want to update LAMP on the server, then I need to launch another EC2 instance, then migrate the data from the current instance to the new one. That is really a headache. As I need to do all setups again in the new instance.

I notice that Bitnami AMI will update every day. Does that means I need to do the migration every day to make sure my system contains the up-to-date security updates?

In the past, I use a managed dedicated server on InMotion Hosting, CentOS 6.x + LAMP, and the LAMP will get updated automatically without having to migrate a new server every day.

Therefore, I just wonder for EC2 instance, is there a better way to update the software, including the OS, than doing migration every day?

Thanks

Update

Let me describe the detailed steps to migrate an EC2 instance:

  1. Launch a new EC2 instance.
  2. Perform all the setups done on the old instance, such as install the SSL certificate, set file/directory permissions, set cron jobs, etc.
  3. Copy all WordPress files from the old instance to the new instance.
  4. Export the database in the old instance, then import it to the new instance.

The migration of the WordPress can be found at https://wordpress.org/support/article/moving-wordpress/. The migration of other setups are application specific.

Update 2

This https://community.bitnami.com/t/is-the-wordpress-certified-by-bitnami-and-automattic-amazon-image-auto-updated/99631/2?u=ccw is the official support from bitnami and what they suggest is

WordPress can be updated using the admin dashboard, but for the infrastructure components, you will need to launch a new instance and migrate the data when needed

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Michael Hampton avatar
cz flag
Michael Hampton
What "migration" are you talking about?
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alancc avatar
cn flag
alancc
@MichaelHampton, Thank you for your comment. Please see my update on the "migration"
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Tim avatar
gp flag
Tim
Clearly something is not right with your proposed solution as it's not in any way practical, and it's a popular distribution. A quick Google suggests Bitnami is based on Ubuntu. Run 'apt update' then 'apt upgrade' then report back what you find. You might even find auto update is enabled, if not that's simple to do in Ubuntu.
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alancc avatar
cn flag
alancc
@Tim, Thank you very much. I will check what you mentioned.
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Tim avatar
gp flag
Tim
That post is terribly ambiguous and misleading, it's really poor. You just run Wordpress updates, OS updates, and keep backups using AWS EC2 snapshots. Easy
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alancc avatar
cn flag
alancc
@Tim, Thank you very much. Originally I have thought their image has enabled the auto-updated features already based on their description, so I ask the question on their forum.
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Michael Hampton avatar
cz flag
Michael Hampton
That is truly bizarre on Bitnami's part. I am vaguely curious why they do that. But there were so many other oddball things over the years that I just don't recommend Bitnami to anyone for any reason.
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alancc avatar
cn flag
alancc
@MichaelHampton, Thank you for your comment. Can you recommend one that is good? It is really hard to find one from 5000+ AMIs and there is no sort by rating feature.
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Michael Hampton avatar
cz flag
Michael Hampton
I don't recommend any of them. As an IT professional you should be learning how to set up a web server and WordPress yourself. Neither are particularly difficult and there are plenty of guides on the Internet for every stage of the process.
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