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USING THE CPANEL/WHM TRANSFER ACCOUNTS TOOL Print

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INTRODUCTION

This article walks you through using cPanel's built-in Account Transfer tool, so you can easily migrate your websites from one DV server to another.

You may also be able to use the Account Transfer tool to move sites from other hosting companies - if they use Control Panel software such as Plesk, cPanel, Ensim, or Hsphere.

The link below will take you to cPanel's documentation on copying multiple accounts from one server to another using the Account Transfer tool. 

  • WHM: Copy Multiple Accounts/Packages from Another Server

DV and VPS Hosting

  • APPLIES TO: DV, DV 4.0
    • Difficulty: Medium
    • Time Needed: 90+
    • Tools Required: SSH, root

NOTE:

Be sure to cancel your previous server after your sites are fully migrated to your new DV server. You can do this from the AccountCenter. See Close a service or account.

GETTING STARTED

There are a few things you will need before you can migrate to your new DV with cPanel.

  • A domain name or IP address that resolves to your old server.
  • The root password for your old server. If you are migrating from another (mt) Media Temple DV server, seeDV:Enable root access.
  • A single or shared IP (as opposed to exclusive IPs) available on your new server. If you are migrating from another (mt) Media Temple DV server with Plesk, see Plesk shared and exclusive IPs for details.

NOTE:

It is important to know that the cPanel Transfer tool does not transfer all of your high-level server settings. It merely moves over account data, which includes domains, and any mailboxes or databases that were created under those domains. Custom firewall rules, PHP settings, Apache settings, etc. will not be copied.

Additionally, contacts and spam filter settings for email users using the Horde Webmail client are not copied over.

  • You must have a new IP address on your new server. You cannot use the same IP(s) that you had previously.

INSTRUCTIONS

Order the server

Order your new DV server from the AccountCenter. See Managing/Ordering Servers for details.

  • The new server cannot have the same primary domain as your current DV server at the time it is ordered; this can be changed later if desired.
    • Don't use a subdomain of a domain that is currently on your old server. We suggest using a temporary primary domain, such as new-example.com.
  • Once your migration is complete and the old server closed, you can rename the new server to whatever you want. See this article for more information: Changing your primary domain.

Lower your TTL

Please lower your TTL so that your DNS change to the new server goes smoothly.

Set up the new server

Please follow the instructions in cPanel first-time setup to configure the basic settings for your new server. You don't need to create a Subscription or Customer on the new server.

Start New Migration

  1. Log into the WHM control panel as the root user.

  2. 2. From the home screen, click on Transfers. 
    whm_transfers_button 

  3. In this section you will want to choose Copy multiple Accounts/Packages From Another Server. 
    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_button 

  4. In the first section you will need to enter information about the server you are migrating from. This includes what type of control panel, the IP address, and the remote SSH port number. You also have a number of other different options to select. Use SSH and Use Incremental Backups speed-up is recommended and already selected by default. 
    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_accounts_1 

  5. In the next section, you will want to select Root and enter the password for your root user. 
    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_accounts_2 

    TIP:

    Use rsync transport: Select rsync - it's faster and requires less free space on your old server.

  6. Once you have entered all of the information for your old server, click on Fetch Account List. This will open a new window, query the old server and find any accounts available to transfer. 
    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_fetch 

  7. WHM will then fetch all of the accounts on the old server and return a list of all transferrable domains. At this point you be able to select the domain(s) that you wish to copy to the new server. Once you have selected the accounts that you want to migrate, click on Copy.

    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_select_accounts

  8. Once you click copy, your browser will warn you not to close this window or press the back button. The transfer requires that this window stay open. 
    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_browser_warn

  9. In a few minutes or a few hours, depending on how much data needs to be transferred, your migration will finish. While the transfer is running, you will be able to see the status of each package in the top left hand corner of your browser window. 
    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_fail

    If one of your accounts fails to transfer you may skip it to proceed with the other accounts. You may also abort the copy process if needed.

    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_skip 

    The overall progress of your migration will be displayed in a status bar below.whm_transfers_copy_multiple_progress

  10. When all of the available accounts have completed the transfer process, you will receive a browser notification. Click OK to continue. 
    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_complete_review

  11. At this point you may view your transfer log files and look for any errors that may have caused a domain to not fully transfer. It's normal for a migration to show errors. Usually, these errors reflect simple checks on lesser-used system services or resources that are issued out of an abundance of caution. However, we suggest double-checking such errors via the migration logs to ensure that they are benign. 
    whm_transfers_copy_multiple_logs 
     Click on the blue link to view the log related to each account transfer.

  12. Next, you will want to check WHM and cPanel to make sure that all of your clients, domains, email addresses, etc. moved over correctly. Here's a short list of what you should be looking for.

    accounts
    email user
    FTP domain user
    Reseller

    TIP:

    Use the Site Preview link shown next to your domain in the Control Panel to test your domains before switching DNS.

  13. Once you have verified the content has transferred, you may need to adjust some configurations on your new DV to make sure everything works as it should. If any errors came up during or after the transfer, you may need to do a bit of troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting

In general, if your migration fails for some reason, you will have to:

  1. Fix the problem.
  2. Abort the stalled transfer from your transfer list on the new server.
  3. Start over with a fresh transfer attempt.
Things to check when an issue arises.
  1. Error Messages.
    1. If you failed to enter the correct information about your old server before initiating your transfer, you may receive an error message. To resolve this, verify all information is correct and try restarting the transfer.
    2. Older versions of supported control panels may not be compatible with the Account Transfer tool. If you receive an error message like this, you will need to upgrade your control panel on your old server or manually migrate the content to your new DV.
  2. Check the transfer log files. If you are unsure as to why something went wrong in the transfer process, the best place to look for answers is in the transfer log files. Refer to step 13 above for information on viewing these logs.
  3. Verifying compatibility. While the account transfer tool can be very helpful with getting the content from one server to another, it is possible that you may run into issues regarding compatibility after the transfer. This could be related to a difference in server configuration between the old and new servers. Be sure to check if all of your web applications and plugins are compatible. Check to see if there are any updates for your plugins and/or web apps.

CHANGE DNS SETTINGS

Now, you can point your domains to your new server. If you host DNS with (mt) Media Temple, see (mt):Point to another server. If you host DNS elsewhere, update your DNS records to use your new IP address(es).

DOUBLE-CHECK MIGRATION ACCURACY, CANCEL OLD SERVICE

Once you have fully tested your new server, and have confirmed that your DNS changes have propagated, you can close your old DV server. See Close a service or account.

You now have the option to update the primary domain of your new server, if desired

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