Upgrade and Downgrade

Before You Upgrade

Always back up your configuration before upgrading.

Back Up Configuration

# Create a timestamped backup
tar czf /root/ols-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /usr/local/lsws/conf/

This preserves httpd_config.conf, all virtual host configs, SSL settings, and module configurations.

Check Current Version

/usr/local/lsws/bin/lshttpd -v

Upgrade via Repository

AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux 9

dnf update openlitespeed
systemctl restart lsws

Ubuntu / Debian

apt update
apt upgrade openlitespeed
systemctl restart lsws

The package manager preserves your existing configuration files. If a config file has been modified locally, you may be prompted to keep your version or install the package maintainer’s version. Keep your version unless you know the new default is required.

Upgrade via Source

If you built from source:

cd openlitespeed
git pull
bash build.sh
cd dist
bash install.sh
/usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl restart

The install script detects an existing installation and preserves configuration files.

Downgrade

Repository Downgrade

On RPM-based systems, use dnf downgrade:

# List available versions
dnf --showduplicates list openlitespeed

# Downgrade to a specific version
dnf downgrade openlitespeed-1.7.19
systemctl restart lsws

On Debian-based systems:

# List available versions
apt-cache showpkg openlitespeed

# Install a specific version
apt install openlitespeed=1.7.19-1
systemctl restart lsws

Source Downgrade

Check out the desired tag and rebuild:

cd openlitespeed
git checkout v1.7.19
bash build.sh
cd dist
bash install.sh
/usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl restart

Restore from Backup

If an upgrade causes problems, restore your configuration backup:

# Stop the server
systemctl stop lsws

# Restore config
tar xzf /root/ols-backup-YYYYMMDD.tar.gz -C /

# Restart
systemctl start lsws

Verify After Upgrade

# Check version
/usr/local/lsws/bin/lshttpd -v

# Check server status
/usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl status

# Review error log for startup issues
tail -50 /usr/local/lsws/logs/error.log

Next Steps

• Basic Configuration — review configuration after upgrading.
• Logs — check logs for any post-upgrade issues.