New Server - Same Hostname and NS
I've looked at some similar threads, but they're old. I just want to make sure my plan works with current cPanel before I implement it.
Here's the situation. I may need to replace two servers, both running cPanel, due to displeasure with the hosting company's handling of a recent migration. I'm going to give them some time to redeem themselves, but I suspect their golden age has passed.
If I do replace the servers, here is my plan.
1. Buy new servers and assign them the same hostnames and NS names as the servers they're replacing. Access them by IP for the meantime.
2. Update Linux.
3. Install cPanel and buy licenses.
4. Migrate accounts using WHM transfer tool.
5. When all accounts are migrated, update nameserver IP addresses with registrar.
6. Let old servers run for a few days to push cached traffic.
7. Terminate old servers.
My questions:
1. Does the plan look okay?
2. Will cPanel (the software, not the company) give me any problems migrating to a new server that has the same hostname as the old one?
3. Will two servers having the same hostnames cause any licensing issues? (I think you license by IP, but I want to make sure.)
4. Once I migrate the accounts and change the nameserver IP addresses, should I change the old server's hostname to something like old.domain.com?
5. If I do change the old server's hostname, should I enter the old server's changed hostname in DNS on the new server? I personally don't think that's necessary, but I thought I'd ask
6. On both servers, their hostnames and NS names are on the same domain as one of the accounts on each of the servers. In other words:
hostname: server1.thedomain.com
NS1: ns1.thedomain.com
NS2: ns2.thedomain.com
One of the accounts: thedomain.com
When I migrate that account thedomain.com, will it carry forward the old DNS A entries related to the IP addresses for server1.thedomain.com, ns1.thedomain.com, and ns2.thedomain.com, or will the transfer tool change those?
7. Should thedomain.com be the first account migrated, the last, or doesn't it matter?
Thanks,
Richard
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Hi, 1. Does the plan look okay? -> Yes it is okay.. 2. Will cPanel (the software, not the company) give me any problems migrating to a new server that has the same hostname as the old one? -> That may not cause issue, but I will suggest you migrate the account first and then change the hostname.. To be on a safer side. 3. Will two servers having the same hostnames cause any licensing issues? (I think you license by IP, but I want to make sure.) -> The license is based on broadcast IP, so hostname may not be issue for it.. However, the issue you will face is of the SSL on hostname because you will be having hostname that is pointing to the old server IP.. 4. Once I migrate the accounts and change the nameserver IP addresses, should I change the old server's hostname to something like old.domain.com? -> If you change the DNS entry and the hostname points to new server IP, then there will be no need for you to change the old server hostname. 5. If I do change the old server's hostname, should I enter the old server's changed hostname in DNS on the new server? I personally don't think that's necessary, but I thought I'd ask -> This is your choice, if you want to use it, but yest if you change the old server name, then add a DNS record, so it will point properly for the momemnt it is online. 6. On both servers, their hostnames and NS names are on the same domain as one of the accounts on each of the servers. In other words: hostname: server1.thedomain.com NS1: ns1.thedomain.com NS2: ns2.thedomain.com One of the accounts: thedomain.com When I migrate that account thedomain.com, will it carry forward the old DNS A entries related to the IP addresses for server1.thedomain.com, ns1.thedomain.com, and ns2.thedomain.com, or will the transfer tool change those? -> It will take the IP that the new server has.. 7. Should thedomain.com be the first account migrated, the last, or doesn't it matter? -> Yes, migrate this account first and make it fully prepared for the change, so when you shift your nameserver IPs, it will be ready. 0 -
Hello, The previous posts should help. Let us know if you have any additional questions. Thanks! 0 -
Hello Richard, You can still utilize those instructions, and ignore the steps related to replacing the IP addresses. The second respond to the thread should also help. Thank you. 0 -
What I need to do is switch to a new provider based on a recent, horrid migration experience that has shaken my confidence in my long-time hosting company, on new, freshly-built servers.
You have my heartfelt sympathies. I remember when our multi-national data centre decided to dump us at the 11th hour as they decided they were not going to host any dedicated boxs any longer, and we could only stay with them if we moved onto the cloud. Well move we did - to another data centre who did supply dedicated boxs and who have been supporting us superbly ever since. There was another huge upside to the move which was additionally complicated by having to change control panels as well - we changed to use cPanel, and I have been enjoying the software, and especially this community, ever since. If you need help, get cPanel support involved, anything it costs you will be well worth it.0 -
Sorry for the delay. I've been a bit busy, as you might imagine. Also, I haven't been getting notices of replies. I need to check that out... maybe one of my bazillion spam filters is blocking them. Thanks for the advice and sympathy. I have the replacement server configured now, and will be migrating the accounts over the weekend. I ran the transfer tool and it successfully connected and found the accounts, so all seems to be well for moving day. Thanks again, Richard 0 -
I found the reply notices, by the way. The problem was on my end. Richard 0 -
As a final update, the old hosting company went into major meltdown mode before I got to transfer the accounts, so things didn't go quite as I'd hoped. I don't know if it was deliberate, or if it was due to incompetence and the bizarre migration methods used by the losing company, but between the time I tested the setup and when I actually had the migration of the first machine scheduled, cPanel on the old machines started refusing the transfer requests from cPanel on the new machines. The old machines also refused to accept incoming SSH and SCP connections from the new machines (but would accept them from any of my own computers), despite having valid keys and proper allow entries in the firewall. I would love to be able to prove that the old company was intentionally trying to prevent customers from jumping ship during a migration that, as of yesterday, still had at least some of their remaining customers down, according to other boards I frequent. But alas, the migration was characterized by such manifest incompetence that I can't prove malice. The migration started on December 22, 2017, and things are still not in order for at least some of their remaining customers; so the multiple mistakes they've made could explain the connection refusals. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I followed my instincts and jumped ship when I did. Because the old machines were refusing the incoming connections, but I was able to SSH from the old servers to the new ones, I created backups on the old machines from the shell and pushed them over to the new machines using SCP. I had to create some of the backups multiple times because the old server was corrupting the archives, and I had to restore one very large one from a backup on Amazon S3 after multiple failed attempts to create a good current backup (and eventually, the disappearance of the account); but eventually everyone all got moved with no or minimal loss of mail. Ultimately, I moved the accounts on two servers at the old company to three at the new company. One is a VPS dedicated to one large client. The other two new servers split my clients' accounts from my own, personally-owned sites. The clients' accounts went on one, and my own sites on the other. That was primarily for resource allocation reasons. Two of my own sites get a lot of traffic and consume a lot of transfer, so it made sense to split them off; and while I was splitting, I decided to move the rest of my personally-owned accounts to that machine, too. The total cost for the three new servers is less than I was paying for the two servers at the old company, so I saved a few dollars, as well. The machine where clients' accounts went also preserved the same nameserver names as on the old server, thus sparing them from having to re-point their domains. That would have been... let's just say "challenging" for some of them. The machine where my own accounts went is on an entirely different domain (a "spare" one I had laying around), but I was able to mass-update the nameservers for those domains in NameSilo. I learned two lessons from this whole fiasco. The first was just a reminder of something I already knew, namely, that when good hosting companies go bad, they do so with gusto. The decline can be immediate and shocking. They can go from top-notch to bottom-of-the-barrel in a blink of the eye. The second lesson was that all that money I've paid Amazon S3 for backup space over the years was worth it. The one account that I had to move from S3 was worth > USD $30,000.00 for me. Without the S3 backup, I would have been up the creek and almost certainly would have lost that account. So whether you use Amazon or Some Other Provider, make sure to have backups stashed someplace else other than on the hosting company's farm. The day may come when you need them. Richard 0
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