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Your LimeSurvey version:   Version 2.00+ Build 121209
Own server or LimeSurvey hosting:  own server
Survey theme/template:  not sure
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(Write here your question/remark)

I'm in the unenviable position of being asked to migrate an existing limesurvey installation from one server to another.  It looks like it is running one of the very first versions of the software.  There is no one here who is familiar with the original installation/configuration.  The database is on another server - appears to be mysql.

I wonder if it is even possible to use the latest version of limesurvey somehow or just copy over the existing contents of /var/www/html/limesurvey to the new server and hope for the best.  I have installed the latest httpd and php on the centos7 server - not sure what else is needed to run it.  Are there instructions somewhere on how to migrate from one server to another when the os version has no upgrade path?  Any ideas would be helpful.  Thank you.

Version 2.00+ Build 121209

To be honest, what you REALLY need to do is update your installation. This version is ancient and the very first release of this branch of Limesurvey. After that, there are usually bugs, etc discovered and fixed.

But not only that. Since then a number of new versions have come out, many of which are also already EOL.

Your version of Limesurvey was released on 19/12/2012, so your installation hasn't received bug fixes, security patches or updates since the end of 2012. It is April of 2023 now. So for over a decade, your installation hasn't received any updates, nothing. I think this is the new record.

Given that this might be used to collect health data you should really do an upgrade.

Now, to your issue: a direct update to the latest version might be worth a shot, but given that you are skipping at least 3-5 major releases of Limesurvey, there is of course no guarantee. But it is worth a shot.

If there aren't many active users and active surveys I would probably install a recent version (LS 3, 5 or 6, bur given that LS3 will be EOL soon I would rather think of LS5 or LS6) and install it from scatch, and then setup the users again and maybe copy the surveys via LSS (only survey structure) or LSA (also includes responses) over.


What would I try to do: I would create a copy of the current installation and setup a new database based on this (ideally on a test server, just to see what happens when you run the update). Then I would install LS5/6 using the credentials of the database copy and see what happens.

But please keep in mind, a lot has changed in LS (surprise surprise, it has been almost 11 years), and survey themes and workarounds used will most probably not work in the newer versions.

So first you need to get the detailed information about the database server, credentials, etc. to make at least security copies of the database.

Given that a change in the major version of Cent OS the version of PHP often changes as well might not allow to just copy the contents of the old folder to the new server.

This is also something you can try, but I fear if this works, your ancient LS 2.00 will be used another 1000 years or something...

I can't believe this. I feel like an archeologist.

Thank you. I had a feeling this was going to be a monumental task. Your suggestions are very helpful, I agree that updating makes the most sense.

I wonder why you migrate to CentOS7 which is EOL on 30th June 2024. CentOS has changed into a stream edition which is no longer as stable as CentOS 7 or below.
Look for Rocky oder AlmaLinux as distribution which are a 1:1 replacement for CentOS.
Take a look at Rocky or Alma 9.

CentOS 7 comes with PHP version 5.4 only, Bug fixes are backported so that security issues are fixed in 5.4.
You can install newer PHP versions on top, but why migrate to a nearly dead distribution. CentOS8 was ended and replaced by CentOS 8 stream.

To run LimeSurvey 6 you need newer PHP versions.
Install a LimeSurvey 5 and LimeSurvey 6 installation. LS3 will no longer run on PHP 8.

Yes, we are migrating to RH 9 but are only in the beginning stages. We have a few centos 6 servers we are trying to migrate to 7 because security fixes aren't available for 6 so this is just a stopgap for now.

I'm going to try your suggestion to install a recent version from scratch. Since we are running 2.0 now, I'll start with 3 first. I downloaded and unzipped version 3. To install it from scratch - is there an installation script from the command line? I see a create-database.php under the directory installer but nothing else that looks like an install script.

I asked our mysql db to create a copy of our existing database and she did create a new instance with a new user-database name. Would that be equivalent to using the backup entire database tool?

Thanks for your help, sorry to bother you again but I'm going into this blindly.

I am not awarre of an installation script from command line. But Limesurvey has a fairly quick and easy installation GUI, shouldn't take more than 5 Minutes to install a new instance of LS (if nothing goes wrong of course).

Just navigate with your browser to the folder where you are trying to install Limesurvey to and the process will start.

There are installation script,
But better since you have already a DB (and a config file) : you can use update script

Install : github.com/LimeSurvey/LimeSurvey/blob/ma...s/InstallCommand.php
Update : github.com/LimeSurvey/LimeSurvey/blob/ma.../UpdateDbCommand.php
 (php application/commands/console.php updatedb)

Thanks, everyone, for your help.