Dumb question about moving board to new host

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Fermenter
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Dumb question about moving board to new host

Post by Fermenter »

I have found the instructions here on moving to a new host, but it looks a bit intimidating to my limited skillset and I have a (probably dumb) question.

Both the old host and the new host have Cpanel, with Installatron. I am running the latest version of phpBB. The domain name is staying the same, but the file paths within the hosted space will change.

Would it simplify the job at all to use Installatron to install a fresh instance of phpBB on the new host? Could I just 'restore' the old backups into the new host, then make a few corrections?

Or am I better off just following the instructions in the linked article word for word?
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david63
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Re: Dumb question about moving board to new host

Post by david63 »

Fermenter wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:21 pm Or am I better off just following the instructions in the linked article word for word?
Those instructions are tried and tested for several years so, personally, I would stick to them.
Fermenter wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 12:21 pm Would it simplify the job at all to use Installatron to install a fresh instance of phpBB on the new host? Could I just 'restore' the old backups into the new host, then make a few corrections?
The problem with going for that approach is that the files used by Installatron have been modified from the original phpBB files so we have no way of knowing what may have changed and if you hit any problems then it is unlikely that anyone here would be able to help.

Also if you did go down that route then you would still have to move the file, images and store folders from your old board to the new board.

Many hosts offer, sometimes free, a transfer service where they will move everything for you.
David
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Fermenter
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Re: Dumb question about moving board to new host

Post by Fermenter »

Thanks David, sounds like wise advice.

My new host does offer a free migration service, but only for a direct transfer of the whole hosted package. I'm taking the opportunity to restructure my primary and addon domains, and to shake off years of accumulated rubbish, so I'll need to make the move myself.

I'll spend some time with those instructions.

My first concern is that one of the first steps is to "Ensure Disable board is set to YES". This suggests that I have to disable the board while I deal with everything else. I was hoping to be able to leave the board functioning, make a 'copy' on the new host, then be able to test etc before disabling the old board and transferring the domain.

It's low traffic (but high importance), I could manually copy over any messages that appeared in the meantime.

Can I follow the rest of the instructions without disabling the board, or is that a required step?
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stevemaury
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Re: Dumb question about moving board to new host

Post by stevemaury »

But what will happen to the post made, PMs sent, etc., between the time you make the "copy" and take the old board offline?
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Fermenter
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Re: Dumb question about moving board to new host

Post by Fermenter »

stevemaury wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 1:54 am But what will happen to the post made, PMs sent, etc., between the time you make the "copy" and take the old board offline?
The membership is 24 members of a management committee, and most just read. The vast bulk of the board is archival. The discussions are important, but slow moving (3 or 4 posts a day) so I could manually recreate any posts that got added to the old instance. I doubt anyone is using PM.

My thinking is that it will take me some hours to move/test/troubleshoot everything, and then who knows how long the DNS will take to catch up. So I'd probably prefer to leave the board active, copy it to the new host, test it, and when all is good transfer the domain. All the time I'd keep an eye on the old instance and copy any new posts to the new one?
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david63
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Re: Dumb question about moving board to new host

Post by david63 »

Leaving a board active on one server and changing the DNS to another server is a bad idea. The DNS will not necessarily change everywhere at the same time so you would have no control as to where posts would go,

Just post a message on the board that the board will be unavailable for 24 hours and then lock it whilst you do the transfer
David
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Fermenter
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Re: Dumb question about moving board to new host

Post by Fermenter »

Yeah, you're probably right. I was hoping to avoid it but that would be simpler.
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