moving servers

Need to Move Servers?

We have customers that need to move their server from one machine to another for various reasons. For example, they could be with another provider and want to host with us. Or they may be moving from a VPS with us to a dedicated server. Or they may need to move a VPS from one host server to another.

Moving a VPS from One Host Server To Another

To move a VPS from one host to another, just pop in a server move ticket and we will take care of it for you:

Server Move Ticket

Move Process: We can move your VPS to another host. Unless we have already offered a fee waiver, a $10 move fee will apply. As part of the move process your VPS will get a new IP address.

The move process goes something like this:

• We notify you of your new IP address.
• We pause your original VPS and copy its file system to a temporary file (downtime ~ 5 minutes).
• We resume your original VPS.
• We copy the temporary filesystem over to the new host server.
• We setup the new file system with a new IP address (the new server means we need to allocate a new IP).
• We start up the new VPS (to this point takes about an hour).
• You change your DNS, or if we control your DNS then you can instruct us to change it for you.
• We wait 24 hours, then shut down your 'old' VPS (up to this point both VPSs will be running in parallel).

Plan Changes: If you are changing plans as part of the move, please let us know the new plan code (e.g. MiroVPS2) so we can change your server resources and billing. If you do not specify otherwise we can normally keep your monthly fee as it is and adjust your VPS resources if necessary.

DNS: If you are running DNS on your VPS, then we recommend you use a 3rd party name server. That way DNS changes will only take minutes to kick in, not days (as changing name servers can do). Using our name servers and the DNS manager in our control panel is ideal. If you are running DNS on our name servers, you may wish to ask us to change the DNS settings for you.

Move Timing: We try to process moves as soon as we receive the request. If you have any special timing requirements, please note them in the form below. You can also co-ordinate the move timing via IM per the details on our contacts page.

Move Alternatives: Rather than putting in a server move ticket, you can always order a new VPS. We will do a clean install on it. You can migrate over whatever you need. And when you are done, cancel your original server.

Moving From a VPS to A Dedicated Server

Theoretically we could transfer an image of your VPS to a dedicated server. We have not done this before. It would require a bit of 'bootstrapping' magic at our end. And some fiddling with settings like /etc/fstab and network interfaces.

Typically what we prefer to do is do a clean server install on the dedicated machine. See below… If this option would take too much work, let us know and we can see about transferring the VPS image over.

Another option when moving from a VPS to a dedicated server is to move your VPS filesystem over to the dedicated server and continue to run the VPS as a VPS, but with the dedicated server the hardware would now be dedicated to you. Basically you'd take a small (2-3% performance hit). And in return you'd end up with a few advantages. e.g. we could do full file system image backups for you. You'd always have remote console access to the server (even if the VPS network was somehow de-configured). And you'd not have to do any migration work (other than to change your DNS IP address).

Moving From Another Hosting Provider To A RimuHosting Server

(Also applies when moving from a VPS to a Dedicated Server)

We do a clean install of a server for you, with a distro of your choosing.

Our VPS and dedicated server setups are very similar. So if you were going from a VPS to a dedicated then the two systems should share a very similar starting point.

We can do a setup of any applications you may need.

Tell us what files/directories you need copied over to the new server (and make sure we have access to the original system). Ditto databases. rsync, scp, and mysqldump are the key tools here.

You would also need to re-do any config file changes you made on the original server.

If you make notes of what changes you make to your server then this re-setup process is made easier.

After you are happy that everything is working (e.g. by testing on the new server IP) then you would switch over your DNS settings.

If your original server was a VPS with us, then when you are happy everything is working smoothly, just pop in a cancellation ticket for the vps and we will shut it down at the end of the month and not bill for it again at the start of the next month. Or you can keep your original VPS as a failover/standby/backup server.