Migrate from Plesk 8.6 Red Hat 3 to Plesk 9.5 Red Hat 5

[robharris]

Plesk 8.6 is currently installed on a Red Hat 3 server (with a purchased unlimited domain key) and there are 88 domains hosted on this server. I would like to update Plesk to version 9.x, but it will not run on Red Hat 3. Also, Red Hat 3 will not be supported after October 2010. I was advised by RackSpace that Red Hat 3 cannot be updated to Red Hat 5 and Red Hat 5 must be installed fresh so I plan to set up a new server and install Plesk with a temporary license key, migrate the domains to the new server and then replace the temporary key with the permanent key. This will take place in August or September 2010.

It seems like the only way to migrate the domains without disrupting service is to set up the new server under a different host name, which will then require every domain to change DNS after the files are migrated. Is there a better way to move the domains to the new server?

 

[IgorG]

What about backup/restore procedure?

 

[robharris]

Backup 8.6 and Restore to 9.5 Instead of Migration

Can all objects (domains, databases, email) backed up from Plesk 8.6 be restored to Plesk 9.5?

Can the backup from 8.6 running on RH-3 be restored to the new server running Plesk 9.5 running on RH-5.

Should the new server have the same host DNS?

Can the new server have new host DNS?

 

[IgorG]

Please read carefully Plesk Migration Guide first - http://download1.parallels.com/Plesk/PPP9/Doc/en-US/plesk-9.5-migration-guide/63282.htm
I hope it will help you and will give answers to your questions.

 

[PopaRob]

Migrate Red Hat 3 Server to Red Hat 5 Server and Upgrade Plesk 8.6 to 9.5

Here is the procedure that I will use to migrate to a new server and upgrade Plesk.

1. The new server will be configured by Rackspace with new primary IPs and the same host name. The remainder of the IPs that are currently configured on the old server will be configured on the server, but not routed to the new server until after the migration is completed.

2. During the setup, access to the new server will be done through the new primary IP address (The host DNS will still be pointing to the old server primary IP).

3. Rackspace will install Plesk 9.5 on the new server with a 15 day trial key, which supports only one domain.

4. Set the TTLs on all domains to 300 a few days before the migration to minimize downtime during the DNS propagation.

5. Use the Plesk backup/convert/restore utilities instead of the migration manager. (recommended by Plesk support)

During off-peak hours:
a. Deactivate clients and domains on the old server and create a Plesk dump.
b. Switch the DNS for the host (through the registrar) to the new primary IP.
c. Notify Rackspace to route the remainder of the IPs from the old server to the new server.
d. Wait for the DNS change to propagate.
e. Upgrade the Plesk key from 8.6 to 9.5 (must be done by Plesk and once done 8.6 will not work with the key).
f. Deactivate the permanent Plesk key on the old server and activate the permanent Plesk key on the new server.
g. Convert the Plesk dump from 8.6 to 9.5, restore the 9.5 dump to the new server.

Two steps where delays are likely to occur: Host DNS/IP propagation and Plesk key conversion. The Plesk key upgrade depends on response from Parallels key upgrade and potential communication difficulties (since they won't respond to simple questions without receiving money for support.:-(

I hope that this information and procedure helps others.

 

[PopaRob]

Database User Privileges Lost After Migration

the pleskexport, pre9_export_converter, and gui migration manager appeared to work fine. Then I discovered that all of the databases are inaccessible to the users that were previously assigned to them. The databases are listed in Plesk, but Webadmin for each client opens a window with "No databases" in the left panel and the database users don't have privileges from scripts anymore. I got some assistance and found that each database user can be manually granted permissions through command line to fix the databases, but there are 145 databases; way too many to update passwords and grant privileges manually.

Is there a fix for this from Parallels Plesk?

How much will it cost for a Plesk technician to fix the migration so that everything works?

PopaRobH

 

[PopaRob]

BTW, The new server is running CentOS 5. Here is another Plesk forum thread that seems to address the same trouble, but doesn't appear to be resolved in the forum posts.
http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=97875&highlight=migration+databases

The last post from Plesk admin seemed to say change to a different OS to fix the trouble. Is the Plesk migration manager supposed to work with CentOS?

 

[PopaRob]

The story continues... I wasn't finding joy with the migration from 8.6 to 9.5. The tech says that the trouble is caused by compatability issues between different versions of mySQL. He also also recommends installing Plesk 8.6 on the new server for the migration and then upgrade Plesk afterwards. more later...

 

[atomicturtle]

The mysql grant tables do change considerably between mysql 3 and 5/5.1. You might just need to run:

mysql_upgrade -u admin -p

 

[mwakeham]

Did anyone get to the bottom of this? I'm getting the same errors.

 

[mwakeham]

Did anyone get to the bottom of this. I'm also having the same issues migrating from 8.6 to 9.5

 

[PopaRob]

Migrate to 8.6 and Then Upgrade To 9.5

I finally gave up migrating from 8.6 to 9.5. There was too much trouble with compatability and dependency issues. The solution was to first install 8.6 on the new server, migrate from 8.6 on the old server to 8.6 on the new server, and then upgrade the new server from 8.6 to 9.5. After the upgrade to 9.5 Horde and Qmail had to be upgraded and there was database owner and privilege issues with a few email accounts and databases, which were resolved by deleting the email boxes and databases and recreating them.

The Plesk key upgrade from 8.6 to 9.5 is one way and can't be reversed so I rented a 100 domain Plesk key for a month while migrating and working out all of the bugs. Then, upgraded my purchased key and swapped out the rented key for the purchased key. Otherwise there would have been too much down time during the migration and debugging.

Rob Harris
http://ashopwebhosting.com