Hello. I'm looking to move my sites web hosting. What is the fastest and easiest way to move the site. The site uses ecommerce software (actinic) which automatically uploads files through ftp. I would suspect I would need to update the nameservers to the new host, then wait til it has resolved, then upload as normal through ftp? Or can I put the site files up on the new host (there are around 2000 html files, 100's of images and other files, too) - so that while the nameserver is updating itself, customers will either see the site on either the old or the new server? Thanks for your help.
It can be done with almost no impact at all, but you need to get it right. Here's what I'd recommend to do: - Download your entire file structure from the old host and upload it to the new. - Export your databases and import them on the new host. - Set up your new host to accept connections from "www.yourdomain.com" if it's a virtual / shared host. - Change your hosts file to point "www.yourdomain.com" to the IP address of your new host / virtual host. - Test your website in the browser (it will be using the new host) - If there are issues with the new host, resolve them. - When the issues are resolved, change the name servers to your new host. (or CNames or whatever)
Thanks alot for the help. Is it possible to upload the files to the new host via FTP before actually moving where "www.domain.com" points to? Doing each file manually would take months!
You can easily upload all files to new host by acessing it via ip and then change the nameservers.No downtime at all.However, it is not recommended for sites which are constantly updating as for example if you move forums and then change dns later some posts on old forums will not appear on your new host. Thanks, Zain
Exactly what I was thinking was possible. How do I find the IP address of the new server then? Hmm. Damn weekends...tech support are never open
Just ping nameserver of your new host it will give you the ip Click on Start> Run> Ping nsx.nameserver.com you will get the ip Kindest Regards, Zain
Hm, I've nearly got it now, but not quite! I've found the IP address, and I can view our new site at http://83.170.69.51/~ouraccountusername Code (markup): So that's safe to assume the IP address is 83.170.69.51 - unfortunately when I attempt to ftp.83.170.69.51 - enter the ftp username/password info into SmartFTP software - it says this: Resolving host name "ftp.83.170.69.51" Unable to resolve host name. Cannot login waiting to retry... Ahhh! Any ideas? Maybe I've got the syntax wrong for ftp'ing an IP address? Thanks
correct, your FTP address would be just the server IP. You should be able to login locally and begin uploading your files, you could also set the TTL (time to live) on your domain name to 300sec before making the change to hasten the process.
Still can't seem to login though, which is strange. I've tried two FTP clients. Disabled Windows firewall, too. Smart FTP gives this error: [17:35:24] A socket operation was attempted to an unreachable host. Core FTP (recommended by my server company) gives this: Can't establish connection Any idea what's wrong with this damn thing? Cheers
I'm not getting your point....? Tech support told me the server ip is 83.170.69.70, the nameserver is 83.170.69.51 and the cpanel file manager is 83.170.69.77 All these numbers, I gotta save the streets of NYC too, y'know Confused!
I asked with that IP, because you mentioned you can access http://83.170.69.51/~yourusername. However, I think they have multiple IP addresses on that server. The ping and telnet commands are just for checking if your internet connection can reach to server. You can replace IP in commands by exactly your site IP btw, it seems I could not connect to your ftp server either, using any of above IP. Check with your vendor what's happening with FTP service on their server
If you can log into Cpanel, Cpanel will tell you the site IP. I also recommend setting TTL down to 300 seconds so the cut over takes only a few minutes to propogate.
Thank you! dpQuint just gained +rep! Under 'Advanced Tools - Networking Tools', I could lookup a domain, I looked the domain up - and it gave me the server IP - and now I'm connected through FTP. Thanks alot!