I’d like to update the MySQL on our web server from v4.1 to v5 so that my version of cpanel is easier to use.
There may be other benefits too I guess.
I have a 14 client’s sites hosted on the web server that use mysql databases.
8 of these are wordpress and joomla databases. The remainder are custom cms’s I presume.
1/ Do you think its a good idea for me to upgrade?
2/ And if so do you have any tips for how I best proceed with the upgrade?
Its a supported server to the server support team will perform the upgrade but of course I will be answerable to my clients if their websites stop working.
Yes, MySQL 4 has been slowly phasing out for the past few years. Wordpress stopped supporting it 3 years ago. Anything newer than joomla 1.5 doesn’t support it (and support for joomla 1.5 ended last year).
My biggest question is why you are running wordpress and joomla instances this old. They are wrought with unpatched security issues. While you probably won’t have an issue with upgrading the database, you probably will have problems when upgrading to the latest versions of joomla and wordpress–especially if the plugins and themes you are using aren’t supported any more. While I do highly recommend that you upgrade your CMSes, be prepared to put in some extra work.
2/ And if so do you have any tips for how I best proceed with the upgrade?
Backup all your databases before proceeding with the upgrade. Then, let the support team perform the upgrade.
^^ Backups are nice. Personally I prefer standing up a new database server and migrating, going backwards is loads easier and does not involve much downtime.