Addon to Primary Domain Transfer

[virtvir5]

No ticket submitted on this as I'm not ready to act, but just looking for some input from fellow users who may have some similar experience. And "Gators" are welcome too, of course.

At present, I'm helping some small business friends, whose own web site management knowledge is virtually nil, by hosting and administering their low volume web site as an addon domain under my own Hostgator account . (My friends own and handle the actual roundstoneinn.com domain and its registration themselves.) At some point, they'll have to "bite the bullet" and get their own hosting account, but they want me to keep on managing it for them as long as I'm able. Basically, therefore, I'm looking for some advice on the best way to handle the transitional process. So here are a few of my questions:

1) Should they (can they) open a Hostgator account naming someone else (temporarily) as the administrator? In other words, billed to and ultimately controlled by them but administered by me, at least in the initial stages.

2) Is it possible to transfer an addon domain's contents directly to a new account on another server as is done with a primary cPanel domain? Or must I download and re-upload everything contained in the addon domain myself manually?

3) Can the addon domain's contents be left intact during the physical transfer process and then simply switch the domain's registered DNS entries when everything is ready under the new account?

4) Any other cautionary or advisory suggestions anyone may care to contribute?

[Jackk]

@1 - I personally would put the account in their name and then add your email to the account so you can open tickets. (This is possible in the new HostGator client panel.)

@2 - Again, I personally would ZIP the folder where the website for the add-on domain is located, open a SSH session on the server with the new account and download the file using wget - I would then unzip the folder so the files are restored again as they were on the previous server.

@3 - It would all depend on how the script works? I think you would need to edit the settings on the script's config file for the directory in which the website is installed in. What script/s are you using on this website?

Jack.

[virtvir5]

Originally Posted by Jackk

What script/s are you using on this website

It's all PHP pages with a bit of jQuery/jQuery Tools tossed in for a few display overlays and suchlike. However, almost nothing is dependant on absolute location links and only a very minor MySQL database set-up for customer comments. The navigation menuing is pure CSS and, at present, there is no content managment system as such.

In general, I've tried my best to keep everything on a minimalist "progressive enhancement" basis. You can see it for yourself, if interested, at http://roundstoneinn.com and/or http://tannersdining.ca

[striddy]

Originally Posted by virtvir5

2) Is it possible to transfer an addon domain's contents directly to a new account on another server as is done with a primary cPanel domain? Or must I download and re-upload everything contained in the addon domain myself manually?

Don't believe you can transfer a partial account. It's all or nothing. Once the new account is set up, you will need to FTP the files to it. HG may be able to assist in that, but best to ask sales.

Originally Posted by virtvir5

3) Can the addon domain's contents be left intact during the physical transfer process and then simply switch the domain's registered DNS entries when everything is ready under the new account?

Yes. Leave existing content on old account. Setup new account. Copy data to new account. Change nameservers. Test. Backup. Test. Delete content from old account. Done. Drink coffee + eat donut.

Originally Posted by virtvir5

4) Any other cautionary or advisory suggestions anyone may care to contribute?

Backup, backup, backup the data.

[virtvir5]

Thanks, David. That's more or less how I had it figured, but lazy bum that I am, thought someone with prior experience might know about some "labor saving" shortcuts.

[Pazeh]

I totally agree with David, but I'll change the work flow a bit

Yes. Leave existing content on old account. Setup new account. Copy data to new account. TEST*. Change nameservers. Test. Backup. Test. Check email on your server**. Delete content from old account. Done. Drink coffee + eat donut.

* Using the IP/~username. The amount of testing you can do at this stage differs from basic test that DBs are connecting to a full site test, depending on how the sites are coded. Ask your mates to do a test @ this stage too & if they are happy with it. Always be sure that ip/~username is in the url & you are not directed (because of the way the site is coded to the domain.com)

PS: From what I checked, you should be able to do a full test.

** During the time of DNS propagation, some email might still end in their current inbox (on your account). I would ask them to check their email using YourDomainName.com/webmail the last time (at max 3-4 days after the DNS change) , before deleting the content (domain) from your cpanel.


As for the files transfer you can do as Jack suggested, but if you are not comfortable with SSH.... you can transfer from one server to the other directly w/o downloading the files to your pc (tho that will be a good backup) using your FTP client (most will do that - IF yours doesn't, check for free/trial of a client that will do so)

[virtvir5]

Thanks Pazeh. Good advice about the email. Yes, the PHP pages coding should use the correct web root for the addon domain with IP/~username testing, although the main config.php file may need a few "tweaks" when transferred as a primary domain.

And thanks also for reminding me about direct server to server transfers. It has been so long that had completely forgotten about that FTP client capability, assuming both HG servers will cooperate.

[striddy]

Originally Posted by virtvir5

direct server to server transfers.

Here is a table showing some FXP capable software.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...otocol_support

However, I believe that HG only allows FXP on VPS and dedicated servers.

[virtvir5]

Damn. I was afraid of that. Oh well, I'll just have to accept the rate at which my fixed wireless connection can handle the re-upload. Fortunately, I do have a complete replica on my localhost development platform.

Thanks again.

[Jackk]

Originally Posted by virtvir5

Damn. I was afraid of that. Oh well, I'll just have to accept the rate at which my fixed wireless connection can handle the re-upload. Fortunately, I do have a complete replica on my localhost development platform.

Thanks again.

You could ZIP the files up and ask HostGator to move them over for you?

[Pazeh]

if HG's server do not support server2server ftp, there is a neat script that is called net2ftp, you can install that script one of the hosts (preferably the new) n the net2ftp them from a server to another.

if there are a lot of files, you might need to MOVE the files, instead of Copying. So if you hit the 30 sec php execution limit & you retry, other bunch of files will be moved.

if you have a lot of small files, it is a good practice to zip them first n then move them. this script will zip/unzip things for you too.

[Jackk]

Originally Posted by Pazeh

if HG's server do not support server2server ftp, there is a neat script that is called net2ftp, you can install that script one of the hosts (preferably the new) n the net2ftp them from a server to another.

if there are a lot of files, you might need to MOVE the files, instead of Copying. So if you hit the 30 sec php execution limit & you retry, other bunch of files will be moved.

if you have a lot of small files, it is a good practice to zip them first n then move them. this script will zip/unzip things for you too.

You could probably ask HG to raise the limits temporarily.

[virtvir5]

Thanks. I already have net2ftp installed under my own virtech.org primary domain, but I've never had much luck doing any major file ops with it due to the PHP limitations. In this case, I really want to copy (not move) the addon domain's contents so that the final changeover (DNS entries revision) can be accomplished with minimal interruption.

When the time comes, I'll ask HG if they'll kindly transfer the ZIP file for me. If not, I'll just have to overcome my personal tendency to laziness and re-upload and extract it myself under the new account. Not really a catastrophic blow of global proportions.

[virtvir5]

Well, we're all set. I now have their business credit card number and cvv. So I'll be opening a new Pro Dedicated Server account just as soon as I finish booking my Caribbean cruise.

[virtvir5]

DONE! Well, all except for the DNS changes. That was almost too easy.