One of the hardest problems with upgrading the Amazon Lightsail Bitnami WordPress is upgrading PHP.
In this walkthrough, I’ve detailed the steps that I’ve taken to upgrade from an older Bitnami WP Lightsail to their latest image đ
Note the following:
– This post is a work in progress and I will provide additional details continuously.
– Also, you will need a “Unlimited Extension” purchased from the plugin vendor.
What We Need to Do
The steps we’ll be doing at a high level:
- Download the WP Plugin: All-in-One WP Migration plugin
- Install the new plugin.
- Create a backup with the new plugin.
- Export and download your new backup file.
- Deploy the latest AWS Lightsail for Bitnami WordPress
- Download the PEM file associated to the new server.
- Detach static IP from old server to new Bitnami WP server.
- Change All-in-One backup folder ownership temporarily to allow SFTP via SSH
- Use FTP software to SFTP to new server and upload the backup file to AIO backup folder.
- Change AIO backup folder ownership back to original folder ownership.
- In /wp-admin AIO backup, restore from backup file.
Download the WP Plugin
Install the AIO plugin from /wp-admin -> Plugins -> Add New
Search for “all in one WP migration” as shown below and click “Install Now” from ServMask:
Create a Backup with the New Plugin
From All-in-One WP Migration (/wp-admin menu), click Backups
Click “Create Backup” and you should see the progress:
When that is completed, click the green arrow on the right of the new backup to download it.
Deploy the latest Amazon Lightsail for Bitnami WordPress
The following steps will help us deploy the latest Bitnami WordPress in Amazon Lightsail:
- Log on to AWS and open up Amazon Lightsail.
- Under Instances, click “Create Instance”.
You’ll be presented with a selection of instances you can launch. You’ll see the latest supported WordPress version. As of this writing, it is version 5.8.3.
Scrolling down you’ll find more options. The most notable options you’ll want to pay attention to:
- Change SSH key pair
- Choosing an instance plan
- Identify your instance
Change SSH key pair
I left it at default but this will be used to SSH/SFTP into your machine. You’ll be able to download the default key later if you haven’t done so already. I’ll cover that more later.
Choosing an instance plan
Up to you, but if it’s for testing do the $3.5 đ I recommend the $5 if this is your main instance. You could scale up later on.
Identify your instance
Any name will work here.
Download the PEM file associated to the new server
In order to connect to your server through your SFTP application, you ‘ll need the username and the private key associated to your Lightsail server.
Get Username
Do the following to attain the username:
- Ensure you’re in the Amazon Lightsail section of AWS đ
- Under instances, click on the title of the instance you want to manage.
- Under connect, you’ll find your username. Most likely “bitnami” since you’re using a Bitnami image.
Get Private Key
From the Amazon Lightsail administrative screen:
- Under instances, view which region your server is located. It’s located as the last line in the gray card. If you’re from the USA, it could be either Oregon, Ohio, Virginia.
- From the top-right, click: Account
- From the drop down, click: Account
- Click “SSH Keys”
- Download the associated SSH key that works with your server. It’ll usually list out which key is associated to which region.
Detach static IP from old server to new Bitnami WP server
In Progress đ
