Overview
Prepare your site for the Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS (aka Resolute) upgrade by reviewing what to expect, checking your server's software versions, and troubleshooting common post-upgrade issues.
What should I expect?
DreamHost will contact you via email in advance of the upgrade.
The timing ensures that several highly trained engineers are on hand if any major issues arise.
The upgrade itself should take no longer than an hour to complete.
Services that rely on your MySQL server (such as WordPress or other database-driven websites) will not be reachable until the upgrade is complete.
This will NOT affect cloud or email services.
Dedicated Server customizations
Any custom changes to the server made by the admin user will be overwritten after an OS upgrade.
Since the Dedicated Server is managed by DreamHost, this can also happen when adding hosting to a domain or adding an SSL certificate because a server config is run when these types of services are added.
Make sure to document any custom changes so you can quickly restore anything that was overwritten.
How do I check software versions on my server?
See the following articles for instructions on how to check the versions of installed software on your server:
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon) Release Notes — Ubuntu webpage
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS summary for LTS users — Ubuntu webpage
Troubleshooting
The following provides further information on how to troubleshoot a few known issues.
Core utilities (ls, cp, date, and similar commands)
Ubuntu Resolute replaces the GNU core utilities with a Rust-based implementation (uutils). Everyday use is unchanged, but scripts that depend on GNU-specific options or on the exact wording of a command's output may behave differently. If a shell script, cron job, or build step fails after the upgrade with an unexpected option or parsing error, the GNU version of each utility is still installed under a gnu prefix.
[server]$ gnuls --version
[server]$ gnudate --version
Node.js/PM2
Ubuntu Resolute ships Node.js 22, upgraded from Node.js 18 in Ubuntu Noble. If your Node.js project uses the PM2 process manager, or any package with compiled (native) modules, it is recommended that you recompile after the OS upgrade to prevent dependency errors. This ensures everything is linked properly and is compatible with the new libraries on the server.
To recompile, it's recommended to reinstall Node.js, npm, and PM2. See the following articles for steps on reinstalling:
Python virtualenv
Ubuntu Resolute ships Python 3.14, upgraded from Python 3.12 in Ubuntu Noble. A Python virtual environment is tied to the Python version it was created with, so any virtual environment created before the upgrade must be recreated. Reinstall your virtual environment and all modules to ensure everything is compatible with the new libraries on the server.
See the following articles for steps on reinstalling your virtual environment:
Some modules that were deprecated in earlier versions of Python have been removed in Python 3.14. If a module that used to be part of the standard library can no longer be imported, check the What's New In Python 3.14 page for the recommended replacement.
ssh-rsa and ssh-dss
Ubuntu Resolute ships OpenSSH 10, upgraded from OpenSSH 9.6 in Ubuntu Noble.
The ssh-rsa key cipher is no longer allowed.
Support for the ssh-dss (DSA) key type has been removed entirely.
You will need to regenerate your ssh key if you are using either of these key types. Please see the following guides for instructions on how to create new key pairs:
sqlite
Ubuntu Resolute does not provide support for SQLite version 2. You will need to update any references from SQLite version 2 to SQLite version 3.
MySQL 8.4
Ubuntu Resolute ships MySQL 8.4, upgraded from MySQL 8.0 in Ubuntu Jammy and Noble. This applies if your databases are hosted on the server being upgraded, a Dedicated Server running its own MySQL, or a MySQL VPS.
MySQL 8.4 reserves four keywords that were not reserved in 8.0: MANUAL, PARALLEL, QUALIFY, and TABLESAMPLE. If a table or column in your database uses one of these names, queries that refer to it by name need to be updated. Most sites are not affected, WordPress, Drupal, and most plugins escape identifiers automatically.
See Using reserved words in MySQL 8 for the symptoms and the fix.
How do I contact support?
If you have any questions or concerns, please Contact Support.
