Add a server diagnosis on tools / upgrade

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

This is following up on a couple of recent discussions in trac, and one on the phone with hakre. Basically, we should add some kind of diagnosis tool towards the top of Tools / Upgrade.

Specifically, we should highlight the latest know version of Apache/PHP/MySQL at release time vs the ones on the server, and prompt users to bug their host to upgrade when they're not up to date.

We should additionally highlight a few things that slow down and/or are know to occasionally cause problems with WP or plugins, such as:

• safe_mode on (deprecated in PHP6)
• magic quotes on (deprecated in PHP6)
• no mod_rewrite (unless it's IIS, obviously)
• no mod_deflate (see #10365)
• whatever else we think is an annoyance

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

register globals certainly qualifies as well.

the key is to get users to nag hosts all over the place into upgrading their servers.

[westi]

These sound like excellent ideas for a WordPress health check.

I am in the process of creating a plugin to do just this sort of thing and I think this would be better served by a canonical/recommended plugin which can have a faster cycle and push out more checks.

I take it you would both be interested in being involved in this plugins development?

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

hakre's idea was to put this in a plugin as well, but my objection was that this would only be useful if it's distributed in core directly.

my rational is, whoever bothers to look for such a plugin is savvy enough to worry about it in the first place. fact is, the odds are he's merely looking for confirmation that he configured his server properly.

if the plugin is included in core, of course, it's another story and definitely count me in. we merely need an extra hook...

[caesarsgrunt]

+1 for in the core, for the reasons Denis mentioned.

[TobiasBg]

Maybe something to get ideas from:
​http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-system-health/

[hakre]

Cross-Referenced: #5235

[dd32]

Just throwing my thoughts out on this.

I'd like this to be worked into a Welcome screen.

What i'm imagining is: A Thickbox style popup window, the size of the screen (minus 5%) with "Welcome To WordPress" on it, A writeup welcoming the user, and a few tabs along the top: Welcome | WordPress Privacy Policy | Server Health.. All the things that the user might want to look at once in a blue moon.. or when they install.. or upgrade..

[hakre]

Replying to dd32:

Just throwing my thoughts out on this.

I'd like this to be worked into a Welcome screen.

What i'm imagining is: A Thickbox style popup window, the size of the screen (minus 5%) with "Welcome To WordPress" on it, A writeup welcoming the user, and a few tabs along the top: Welcome | WordPress Privacy Policy | Server Health.. All the things that the user might want to look at once in a blue moon.. or when they install.. or upgrade..

I think this is going over the boundary of this ticket. The idea is not bad I suggest you open a new feature request for it. Functions created here can be incorporated into that dashboard-overlay later on (that dashboard could be triggered from every page of the admin maybe, kind of "sysinfo" yay!)

[dd32]

I think this is going over the boundary of this ticket.

You're probably right, See #11651 for an updated proposal

[nacin]

I'm kicking this over to the WordPress.org milestone to remove it from {32}. As this will become a core plugin, I'm not sure how to handle the ticket that started it.

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

closing as fixed, since the health check plugin deals with this.