Migrating servers on same host

[skb]

I have booked a multi site hosting plan with the same host (bigrock.in) and need to move my forum to a new server sometime before end of Feb. I suppose that this would still be relevant;

http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Hosting_-_How_do_I_move_my_SMF_forum_to_a_different_host

Is there anything else that I should be concerned about ? Thanks in advance. 

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

That should cover it pretty much, some mods might need further work, and some server configs might be more difficult than others to work with, but basically should be a fairly easy and straight forward operation.

Just make thorough backups of everything before you start, let your users know in advance, and be prepared that it might take some time if everything doesn't go exactly as planned.

[SpacePhoenix]

Do you have access to the new server yet? if you do it might be worth doing a test install on the new server to see what doesn't work properly and what is broke, so that you can have everything fixed ready for the actual move. Are you changing versions of SMF and/or either PHP and/or MySQL when you move servers?

[drewactual]

stupid question, but is the domain registered with this host or a domain reseller or top level registrar such as register dot com, ect.. ?

I made a move this summer past... and forgot to go to the place i registered the domain and provide and then flip the switch to the new DNS.... I started encountering black outs that couldn't be explained, until- DUH- went to the top level registrar, pointed it toward the new DNS server, and a short while later no more outages........ which brings up the next point:

IF you have to change DNS's at the top level registrar, alter the Time to Live to something like 5 minutes a week or so prior... in this case the Domain Name Servers will come back and check you at that interval- and allows for a rapid swap when the one server goes dark and the other lights up. 

if this is being managed for you, this can be disregarded.  if it's not? i sure wish someone would have reminded me of this little tidbit...

[skb]

Do you have access to the new server yet?
Are you changing versions of SMF and/or either PHP and/or MySQL when you move servers?

Yes, I have already moved another site to the new server, but that is a simple static site without a forum.
Software versions will remain the same.
I will give your suggestion a try.

[skb]

stupid question, but is the domain registered with this host or a domain reseller or top level registrar such as register dot com, ect.. ?

Yes, registered with this host. Like I said above, I have moved one site already and managed to change the Name Server settings without a hitch.

[skb]

Just make thorough backups of everything before you start, let your users know in advance, and be prepared that it might take some time if everything doesn't go exactly as planned.

That I will surely do. Thanks for all the inputs.

[skb]

One more related question please.

Right now my forum is at

www.diabetic.pub/forum

If I do away with the folder & move the forum to

www.diabetic.pub

Will changing the links in Repair Settings be enough or I will have to manually modify every link.

[Aleksi "Lex" Kilpinen]

Repair_settings will be enough for the forum itself, but of course every posted link will still point to the old location and you probably want to do something about that too. Perhaps add a redirect to the server, from the old location to the new location.

[skb]

Right now my forum is at
www.diabetic.pub/forum

If I do away with the folder & move the forum to
www.diabetic.pub

I think I should first accomplish this at the current server, and then shift to the new server. That would mean tackling one issue at a time and the migration would become easier. Right ?

Is there a write-up or a step-by-step guide for this ?

[skb]

I was able to move the forum to the root directory without a hitch. Also placed redirects so no user has trouble finding us. Thanks for all the inputs.

[skb]

I did a trial run as suggested and was able to move servers without much trouble.
I copied the forum files and database to the new server, and was able to connect without too many problems. The new server setup is a multi-site hosting plan. The primary domain is different from the forum domain.
Therefore the URLs are shown as www.primarydomain.org/diabetic.pub/index.php
To remove the primary domain from the URLs I added the following code to the .htaccess of the primary domain (public_html) but still the primary domain shows up.
Any help will be appreciated.

Code Select Expand

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?diabetic\.pub$
RewriteRule ^.*$ '-' [R=301,L]

[arakan]

IF you have to change DNS's at the top level registrar, alter the Time to Live to something like 5 minutes a week or so prior... in this case the Domain Name Servers will come back and check you at that interval- and allows for a rapid swap when the one server goes dark and the other lights up. 

[vbgamer45]

IF you have to change DNS's at the top level registrar, alter the Time to Live to something like 5 minutes a week or so prior... in this case the Domain Name Servers will come back and check you at that interval- and allows for a rapid swap when the one server goes dark and the other lights up. 

Great tip most people forget that.