Manually Migrate Server Data to a Current VPS

For Virtual Server Cloud

In this article, you will find out what you should pay attention to when manually migrating your server data, your domains and your email inboxes and how you should proceed when manually migrating your server and your email inboxes as well as when migrating your domain.

To ensure that the complete transfer of your server data is successful, we recommend that you plan the server migration carefully and clarify important framework conditions in advance.

The recommended procedure is listed in brief below. The necessary steps are then explained.

• Prepare the migration.

• Create a new VPS.

• Optional: Create a local backup of the data to be migrated. You can use this to migrate your server data to your new VPS.

• Install the required applications on the new VPS and configure the required services, firewall settings, roles and rights in the operating system. If necessary, make any other individual settings that may be required. In addition, check the existing firewall policy in Cloud Panel and create additional firewall rules if necessary.

• Copy the data to be migrated to your new VPS. If you use Plesk, you can use the Plesk Migration & Transfer Manager to migrate your hosting data to your new VPS.

• In the new VPS, configure the applications that you have migrated. Make sure that the required SSL certificates are integrated. You may need to integrate them manually.

• Test all projects and services with a subdomain or another top-level domain whose country code is not used frequently (e.g. info).
  
  Also make sure that your applications and scripts are working correctly.

• Connect your domain, which is still in your VPS contract purchased before 2018, to the static IP address of your new VPS. To do this, you must configure the A record in the DNS settings of your domain. This is also necessary if your domain is in a different customer number, in a different contract or with a different provider.

• Domain transfer without email addresses: Move your domain(s) to your new VPS contract.
  
  Domain move with email addresses to another IONOS contract or to another customer number: Move the domain to the desired target contract and set up a target mailbox for each source mailbox. Then move the emails and folders of the email mailbox using IONOS Email migration powered by audriga.

• Check the DNS settings of your domain in your new VPS contract.

• Decommission the server you were previously using.

• Carry out extensive tests and check whether all domains and e-mail inboxes have been moved successfully.

• Terminate the contract for the previously used product that you no longer need.

To reduce the effort and minimize the resources required, we recommend that you clean up the server you are currently using in advance. To do this, remove superfluous or outdated pages, backups, email inboxes and files that you no longer need. Empty the log files if you no longer need the data they contain. You should also uninstall programs that you no longer need. this will reduce the amount of data that is transferred to the new server and may significantly reduce the effort and duration of the migration.

You can find more information here:

Sharing storage space on a Virtual Server Cloud (Linux)

Then create a list of the domains, websites, databases, applications, folders and files that need to be migrated. In addition, record all email inboxes that you want to move as part of the server migration.

Also determine which resources are required. This includes the number of CPUs and cores, the required RAM, the hard disk space and the number of IP addresses required. Also note any license fees that may be charged depending on the number of cores or CPUs used for your operating system or applications.

Check your individual configuration and make a note of all the settings that also need to be made on your new VPS. This applies, for example, to the firewall policies and rules you have created as well as reverse mappings you have made in IONOS or in your server's operating system.

Create a new VPS.

VPS Linux

https://www.ionos.de/server/vps

VPS Windows

https://www.ionos.de/server/windows-vps

Create a backup of the data to be migrated. You can use this to migrate your server data to your new VPS.

How to save website files and the exported MySQL database locally on your computer is explained in the following article:

Manually migrating websites from an IONOS Virtual Server Cloud to an IONOS VPS (Linux)

How to back up accounts and websites using Plesk is described in this article:

Backup and restore individual accounts and websites

Instructions on how to export your databases using Plesk can be found in the following article:

Exporting and importing database images

Install the required applications on the new VPS and configure the required services, firewall settings, roles and rights in the operating system. Make any additional settings that may be required. Also check the existing firewall policy at Cloud Panel and create additional firewall rules if necessary.

If you are using a Linux operating system, check all packages that you have installed. Then log in to the new VPS and use the package manager to search for the updated versions or equivalents of these packages.

You can find instructions on how to import your website files and MySQL databases to the new server in the following article:

Migrating websites manually from a Virtual Server Cloud to a VPS (Linux)

You can migrate your server hosting data from a Virtual Server Cloud with Plesk to a VPS with Plesk using the Plesk Migration & Transfer Manager. To migrate this data, the same Plesk version must be installed on both servers.

The following data will not be migrated by Plesk Migration & Transfer Manager:

• The list of connected database servers and their settings
• Apache module settings
• Backup settings
• Settings for backup files and FTP storage
• Plesk extensions
• Third-party software and services, e.g. Google services

Administrators and customers should configure these settings manually and add missing elements.

Further information on migrating hosting data with Plesk can be found on the following pages:

Plesk Migration and Transfer Guide

Migrating via the Plesk Interface

After moving your domain and configuring the DNS settings, you can configure your applications. make sure that the required SSL certificates are integrated. You may need to integrate them manually.

Test all projects and services with a subdomain or another top-level domain whose country code is not frequently used (e.g. info). Also make sure that your applications and scripts work correctly.

Connect your domain, which is still in your current contract, to the static IP address of your new VPS. To do this, you must configure the A record in the DNS settings of your domain. This is also necessary if your domain is in a different customer number, in a different contract or with a different provider. If necessary, make further DNS settings.

Further information on configuring the DNS settings can be found here:

Connect domain with static IP address

Edit DNS settings

If your domain is in your current contract, you must transfer it to your new VPS contract.

Information on the requirements for a successful domain transfer can be found in the following article:

Requirements for a successful domain transfer

Transferring a domain (without email addresses)

If you only want to transfer your domain and do not need to transfer email addresses, you can find more information in the following articles:

Transferring a domain from an external provider to IONOS

Preparing a domain transfer with another provider

Transferring a domain to IONOS as a new customer

Transferring a domain to IONOS as an existing customer

Transferring a domain within IONOS

Transfer domain to another IONOS contract (same customer number)

Transfer domain to another IONOS contract (different customer number)

Transferring a domain with e-mail addresses to another IONOS contract or to a different customer number

If you move a domain, all email addresses that you have set up for this domain will be deleted. To prevent unintentional data loss, we recommend that you make a copy of your email inboxes and all emails available to you.

To move the emails and folders of an email inbox with IONOS Email migration powered by audriga, we recommend that you proceed as follows:

• Move the domain to the desired target contract.

• Set up a target mailbox for each source mailbox.

• Check how much storage space the source mailbox occupies. This must not exceed the size of the newly created target mailbox.

• Check how much storage space the source mailbox occupies. This must not exceed the size of the newly created target mailbox.

You can find more information about moving emails and folders in an email mailbox here:

Move emails and folders to another IONOS email mailbox using the IONOS email migration tool

If you move a domain from another provider to IONOS or move your domain to another IONOS contract or customer number, only the domain itself will be moved during the domain transfer. Linked e-mail inboxes will not be moved.

If you have set up Mail Basic, Mail Business or Microsoft Exchange mailboxes in your contract, you can use the IONOS email transfer powered by audriga to move the emails and folders in these mailboxes.

Depending on the respective product, you can migrate additional data such as contacts or calendar entries as part of the email migration.

Only data that is stored on the source provider's server is transferred as part of the migration. You can see this data in the webmailer, for example. We have no access to data that is stored exclusively in an e-mail program on your end device.

Check the DNS settings for your domain in your new VPS contract.

Before you decommission the server you were previously using, you should carry out extensive tests to ensure that the websites and applications function correctly on your new VPS and that all domains and email inboxes have been successfully migrated.

Test the websites you have migrated with different browsers. Also open the websites in question on different end devices to detect possible display problems.

Also check whether the DNS settings you have made have been adopted. Information on the duration of DNS settings for IONOS can be found in the following article:

Duration of DNS changes

In addition, make sure that the applications you have installed are correctly configured and working.

If the migration of your websites fails, check them and then repeat the migration of these files.

Further information on the new VPS can be found here:

VPS: First steps