How to transfer accounts linked to a mail node (mail profile) server

Introduction

Linking two cPanel servers is production-ready and no longer experimental since cPanel version 94. This feature lets you offload mail functionality from your primary cPanel & WHM server to a separate server that only serves mail. This article provides details about how to transfer accounts linked to mail node (mail profile) servers.

Procedure

The process of transferring accounts linked to a mail node requires you to de-distribute the account, perform the transfer, and then re-distribute the account to the mail node. The following steps will walk you through the process. In this process, you are moving accounts from a Source server to a Destination server, with a Mail Node server where the account has been distributed:

1. Access the Source server via WHM as the root user. 
2. For the accounts you wish to move, you will need to undo the distribution:
   Undoing an account’s distribution
   Please note: This will require your Source server to have the disk space available to receive the account's mail content. Take this into consideration, especially if moving more than one account.
3. Access the Mail Node server via WHM as the root user.
4. Remove the account that has been de-distributed.
   The system does not automatically remove the account from the child node. Instead, the child node’s cPanel account remains in place so that service proxying and mail routing can prevent service interruptions. You should leave the child node’s account in place long enough for cached DNS lookups to expire. We recommend one week. Afterward, you can delete the account on the child node.
5. Access the Destination server via WHM as the root user.
6. Using the Transfer Tool, migrate the account from the Source server to the Destination server:
   How to transfer accounts and configurations between cPanel servers
7. On the Destination server, if necessary, ensure that it has been linked to the desired Mail Node:
   WHM Server Configuration - Linked Server nodes
8. With the contents copied to the new server, you can redistribute the account to the Mail Node server:
   Make an existing account a distributed account