Best way to perform operating system upgrade in AWS

Jordi Piqueras

• May 15, 2026 12:44
• Edited

Hi.

I have a single Cpanel server running in AWS on Ubuntu 22.04, we use it to run our own Wordpress sites, a couple of them aren't critical but yet very important for the business.

I'd like to upgrade it to Ubuntu 24.04 in the most smooth possible way. While I'm aware of "Elevate" and I'd probably use it anyway, I wonder if I could have even less downtime if I:

1. Create an image of the server and use it to create a new EC2 instance.
2. Perform the upgrade in the new server.
3. Replace the old server transferring its IP address (Elastic IP) to the new server.

But I'm not sure if this could cause any issue with the CPanel license.

So, that would work or should I took a different approach, like using a completely new IP address and request moving the license to that address, or simply using Elevate in the existing server and cope with any small downtime I could have?

Any thought about this would be appreciated.

Cheers.

• 

  William Del Piero cPanel Staff

  • May 15, 2026 14:07

  Hi,

   

  The method you mentioned of provisioning a new server, then upgrading and migrating to it would work as long as the new server has a separate license while it's being upgraded and migrated to. Once the migration is complete, you could then transfer the IP  to the new server and shut off the old server. Since cPanel licenses are IP-based, transferring the IP would also transfer the cPanel license. If you need a temporary migration license for the new server, our Customer Service team can issue those.

   

  Using Elevate on the existing server is also an option, but I would only suggest doing this if you have snapshot backups available to restore from. This is because if Elevate fails it can cause service disruption or data loss. Having snapshot backups available to restore from can help to mitigate those downsides.

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