Easier server migrations

Been using DirectAdmin for years now, and always used the process described here to migrate users to newer servers as older servers got retired. I don't like endlessly upgrading DirectAdmin servers through new Debian releases, CustomBuilds etc - I prefer migrating them empty when EOL to a newer server.

But that article, from 2008, describes a cumbersome process which could easily be automated. Since server migrations always have a DirectAdmin server at both ends, it would be easy to have a separate server transfer screen at admin/reseller level (or included in existing backup/transfer screens) automatically performing:

• Backup at first location
• FTP transfer to second location
• Restore at second location
• Cleanup of backup files

This seems to me like an easy win - most of the functionality is already there and functional, you're just encapsulating it in an easy wrapper by assuming both ends are DirectAdmin servers supporting remote automation to perform these tasks together.

I currently have a Debian 6 DirectAdmin server with PHP 5.3 entering end of life, and I'd estimate the described feature would save me over 80% in workload on the final migrations.

As a bonus feature, I would LOVE (caps and bold intended) to be able to automate this automation via the remote API, so our internal systems, integrated with our own DNS system (we don't use DirectAdmin's DNS facilities as we require more redundancy) can automatically:

1. Download list of domains from user on server A
2. Verify we have control over all of them, and determine longest TTL
3. Set all TTLs to lowest value, and sleep until longest TTL has expired
4. Transfer account from A to B
5. Set all external DNS records to new IP and raise TTL
6. Delete original user a week later unless intervened

If I were able to automate this completely in this way my migration times would cut down like 95%. And I could expand this code to do test migrations to verify that source and target locations render the same site to eliminate compatibility issues.

This is an excellent feature request.

I've done it a few times with a few accounts and it is quite a chore. Mostly because I don't know what I'm doing and have to do all kinds of research before flipping the dns switch. An integrated solution for account transfers to other DA servers would make a sweet feature for people like me. I'm surprised it doesn't already exist.

r3chn3r said:

I'm surprised it doesn't already exist.

Click to expand...

I had the same actually. It's a rather cumbersome process with having to transfer backups, manage passwords, clean up files etc., especially as I usually do a test migration first to check compatibility on the sites, and then a second migration when verified so all databases remain up to date.

Having to do it twice for huge accounts (we have customers with 10+GB of data and 120+ domains in a single user account) makes it truly something I'd want to script away.

I agree with this.

Most of the time i'm not looking forward to do a migration because all of the hassle. But I do it anyway because I want to keep everything secure and up-to-date.
It could be much easier...