So, I tried to introduce cURL to HTTP2 - That required nghttp2 - which required a newer version of libxml & Python .... (the road continues)
The server is running Centos 6 and appears to have many "ancient" packages which begin to make me wonder about security. (That is another question!) The hosting company isn't going to do it -- anytime this year! I am a novice system admin, who's primary concern is developing websites.
I am afraid the "manual" updates will cause more harm than good.
Can this server be made to YUM install more recent versions of packages? If so, how?
Please ask for further info. I have been researching both the manual install and fix sides, for several days now.
Before upgrading, think about software versions you need in order to run your application.
You might break more than you think, if for example, you upgrade and suddenly you are running a new version of PHP or Python and whatever you have hosted doesn't work.
Before upgrading, instance a new VPS, update it and try transferfing your application.
If you have a backup with your provider, you can see if your new instance can simply be spun up from a backup, and you can run the upgrade there to test.
If not, you can try this locally.
But, don't try to see if you can upgrade the old VPS in production without knowing if things will break.