Domain transfer question

[Rebecca]

What is the best way to move to a new host? Transfer hosting account and domain at same time or do that one by one? Will that make any difference like in downtime or any other effect on our websites ?

Any suggestion will be appreciated.

[Amelia]

Generally, the best way of doing this is -

1. Migrating the data first to the new host.
2. Once you know all data has been migrated, change the DNS for the domain with the domain registrar.
3. Next, wait until the domain resolves to the new server.
4. Later, get the domain transferred to your new host/registrar.

Hope that helps and if you have any questions feel free to post

[carl owen]

Some of the website owners think that it is mandatory to transfer the domain name under the registry of the hosting provider in order to host the domains on the servers of the hosting provider, however, this is not correct.

You can simply update the nameservers of the domain name and host the domain on the servers of the hosting provider. The domains can be kept as it is or can be transferred later on

[Rebecca]

thank you for the detailed information. If I follow those steps will there be less downtime ?

[Amelia]

Some times a domain transfer takes longer than the usual time. While the domain is in transfer process, in this time you are unable to make any DNS changes on the domain name.

If the DNS changes are made before the transfer takes place, your website keeps resolving to either of the servers and that way there's less downtime.

[RichardM]

The "best" way is not the easiest way, and it takes several weeks to accomplish. But it will help your users and visitors to avoid problems due to DNS caching. There is no need whatsoever to move the domain registration, however.

In order to move a domain in a seamless manner that avoids virtually all downtime and lost mail, you need to have both servers up simultaneously for a few weeks. You also need access to the DNS entries in at least the old server.

The first thing to do, once you have decided that the domain will be moved, is to set all the TTLs in the DNS settings for the domain on the old server to something ridiculously low, like 360 (six minutes). This will cause the IP information in a visitor's cache to expire quickly, which will cause the visitor's computer to look up the domain's IP address on every visit (or multiple times during the same visit, if they stay around longer than the TTL). This increases the load on the old server, but it's only a temporary thing.

Next, you move the domain to the new server by whatever method makes most sense. If both servers are running cPanel, then usually cPanel's built-in transfer functionality is best because it migrates everything -- Web pages, databases, email and settings, etc. Otherwise, do all these things manually in whatever way you choose, based on your situation.

When you're done, make sure that the DNS entries on the new server do not include any bad "A" entries. This is especially true if you use cPanel's automated migration function, which will sometimes mess these up. This happens most commonly when you have a subdomain that points to an external server. When cPanel migrates the account, it will sometimes keep the correct "A" entry, but then add a second "A" entry that points back to the IP address of the server being retired. This second entry will have to be deleted. This is uncommon, by the way, but it does happen.

Or more simply stated, if the new DNS entries include any "A" entries that point to the IP address of the old server, then something is wrong. If you're not fairly expert with DNS, then stop here and get some advice from someone who is.

Assuming all is well with the DNS setting on the new server, go back to the old server and point all the entries in the domain's old DNS to the new server by replacing them with "A" entries pointing to the the server's IP address, except for entries that point to an external server (again, for example, for a subdomain that is hosted elsewhere). You can leave DNS settings pointing to external servers alone. All the rest should be pointed to the new server's IP address using "A" entries.

If you have additional accounts to migrate, do each in the same way. Try to make the settings changes in the old DNS as quickly as possible after the domains are moved, to minimize lost mail. You can also temporarily suspend the domain's mail on the old server during the move if you really don't want to lose a single piece of mail, but this is usually overkill.

If the domain you're moving is an eCommerce site, a busy blog, or any other sort of dynamic site that changes all the time, you may want to shut it down during the move. Most shopping carts, blogs, forums, etc. have a maintenance mode that can be activated that will effectively "turn the site off" and thus prevent changes during the move. As the actual move usually only takes a few minutes to accomplish, this is preferable to orders being placed on the old server, and then disappearing in the time between when the move is initiated and when the DNS changes are made.

Once the DNS settings in the old server are pointed to the new one, all calls to the domain based upon locally cached DNS settings will be "forwarded" to the new server. You can then change the nameservers on the old domain (with the domain registrar) to point to the nameservers for the new server. But calls that continue to be made to the old server while the change is propagating (and because of DNS caching) will be handed off to the new server, so nothing will be lost. And because you previously shortened all the TTLs on the old server, the DNS caching for repeat visitors and mail users should be very short-lived.

Now, if you're a host and all of your clients are using your own custom nameservers, this is where the method described above shines. You simply create custom nameservers on the new server using the same nameserver names (but don't register the change with your registrar just yet). This may require directly editing DNS because WHM may not allow you to create the nameservers on the new server as long as they are registered to the old IPs.

Now repeat the move process for all of your accounts, and once they're all on the new server and all the DNS settings on the old server point to the new server, only then do you log into your registrar and change the IPs for your nameservers to point to the new server's IP addresses. This prevents all of your clients from having to change the nameservers on their domains, which is good because typically half of them have no idea how to do it, have no idea who their registrars are, and/or have lost their passwords.

Then you leave both servers running for a week or two just to make sure that every computer in the world knows you've moved. During this period, the old server will not be serving any files or handling any mail. In fact, you can delete the accounts from the old server, if you like, as long as you keep the DNS zones. (This, of course, assumes you have that level of access on the old server, which you would if you're acting as a Web host.) The old server's sole function during this period will be to point calls to the new server while the change propagates and local caching expires. When the logs indicate that no one's hitting the old server any more, you can take it down.

I've managed quite a few migrations this way, and have done so with no downtime, lost mail, or other problems. It's a pain, but if you really want a seamless move, it's the way to go.

-Richard

[BodShane]

Hello Richard,

Thanks for sharing your expertise in Migrations!

Regards,

Shane

[Rocky]

Hi Richard,

This is indeed a wonderful piece of information ! Took me a while to go through it, but was worth. Thank you very much for your time in posting it here. It'd definitely help others seeking information on Domain transfers & Migrations ! Much appreciated

[RichardM]

Thanks, and you're welcome.

One thing I forgot to mention was that when moving domains this way, you need to disable mail on the old server as you migrate each account. In cPanel, just check the box that says the old server will NOT be acting as a mail server for the domains. This is in the "Edit DNS" dialogue. You can do this at the same time you point everything to the new server using "A" entries.

-Richard

[Rebecca]

Thank you very much for detailed info. but honestly this has scared me now.. this looks too much of work.. but I need to transfer the domain as well as I do not want to keep it with the current hosting company.

It will be a cpanel to cpanel transfer so I will get the data migrated after the new server is set up, just as suggested by amelia. I will also take care of the points you have mentioned richard, thank you for all those.

I am aware of the data migration part somewhat but what I was not sure was to initiate a transfer request first or do that later.

All questions are answered now. If I have further questions I will post Thanx

[carl owen]

Originally Posted by Rebecca

It will be a cpanel to cpanel transfer so I will get the data migrated after the new server is set up, just as suggested by amelia.

As you have cPanel control panel with the previous hosting plan/server, you can send the login details of your hosting plan/server our Technical support dept. so that the migration can be performed after your server is setup and the login details are sent to you

@Richard, Thank you for the useful post. It is indeed helpful

[Amelia]

@ Richard, Thank you for adding the very informative post. Much appreciated

@ Rebecca, with cpanel to cpanel it is going to be very seamless. Your host will generally help you with most of the parts. Just make sure to follow the correct method while doing so. It's a good idea to have a backup copy of your data on your local machine as well.

In case you need any help feel free to post