Ubuntu 20.04 EOL: what ispmanager users should do

The EOL of Ubuntu 20.04 will come in April 2025. We will continue to release updates and provide technical support for ispmanager on Ubuntu 20.04 up to and including September 2025.

We recommend changing your OS to ensure server security; after the EOL, the vendor will stop releasing updates and providing technical support.

Two ways to migrate from Ubuntu 20.04:

Migrate to a new server with a supported OS.
Change the OS on your production server.

Let's dive into each method.

Which is better, migrating to a new server or changing the OS on your production one?

Let's look at the pros and cons of each method.

Migrating to another server:

Pros	Cons
Security — data migration is controlled, with no risk of corruption. No technical knowledge is required — you just follow the instructions on migration.	You need a second server for the duration of the migration. Your sites may be temporarily unavailable — there may be downtime during the migration due to DNS record or IP address changes.

Changing the OS on your production server:

Pros	Cons
No need for a second server. No downtime during DNS record migration if the update was done correctly.	Unpredictable — your server and sites may go down indefinitely. Not for beginners — requires supervision by a technical expert.

Warning. Changing the OS on a production server can lead to unpredictable consequences and the long-term unavailability of your resources. If you urgently need to perform this kind of OS change, we recommend you contact some specialists, like the ispmanager admins →

We recommend migrating to a new server — this provides stable server operation, unlike changing the OS on your production one.

How to migrate to another server using ispmanager

Before migrating, we recommend making a backup to avoid losing data. How to create a backup in ispmanager →

Order a trial license of ispmanager at ispmanager.com. We need the license during the "move" so we don't have to buy a new one. When ordering, provide the IP address of the new server.

Try ispmanager for free

2. Install ispmanager on a clean server with an up-to-date OS.

Ispmanager supports the following OSes:

AlmaLinux 8, 9;
Debian 11; 12;
Ubuntu 22.04;
Rocky Linux 8.

To learn how to install the panel, see the ispmanager documentation →

For how to install ispmanager, here’s a detailed guide and solutions to common problems →

3. Importing data from ispmanager:

Go to “Users” → “Import”.

Select the source type: from the control panel in ispmanager 5, or via rsync for ispmanager 6.

For how to import users, see the ispmanager documentation →

4. Change the DNS records of the sites to point to the new server if there is no way to move the IP address to the latter.

If you move to another server without transferring the IP address, the new server will have a different IP address and your sites will not open. Simply change the DNS records in your domain registrar.

5. Delete your trial license. Go to my.ispmanager.com billing → select "ispmanager Licenses" → "Delete".

6. Bind a valid ispmanager license to the new server.

Here are two ways to bind your license to the new server:

Activate the license with a key. To find out how, see the ispmanager blog →
Change the IP address of the license. Go to my.ispmanager.ru → "Licenses" → select a valid license → "Change" → change the IP address.

If anything doesn’t work or you have any more questions

Our administrators are ready to take over your migration in full or perform other customizations — we can install ispmanager on your server and migrate data from other OSes. These services come at a fee.

More on the conditions and prices of our admin services