We are replacing our older hosting servers with a latest-generation platform that performs better. Moving your hosting to a new server is free and happens in one of two ways: either we schedule it and notify you by email, or you request it from your Apanel console. This article explains what changes, and what you may have to do on your side.
In short: the migration is free: we schedule it and notify you by email, or you request it from Hosting management by answering Yes in the Request for server change window. If your DNS is managed elsewhere, update its A and AAAA records.
Prerequisites
- A hosting account on one of our older servers. On a latest-generation server the question does not arise: the features described below are already available.
- For an on-demand migration: access to your Apanel console. If your hosting is on a dedicated server, the console tells you that the migration is not possible and invites you to contact your reseller.
What you need to know before you start
- All your data is transferred automatically: websites, databases, FTP accounts, scheduled tasks and settings. You do not need to move anything yourself.
- Your mailboxes are not affected: email runs on servers separate from your web hosting.
- The Apanel console stays the same. After the migration, it also offers the features reserved for the new platform, for example Applications (Node.js, Python, Ruby depending on your plan), Anti-Malware Service and Site maintenance.
- If your domains use our DNS servers, we point them to the new server automatically: you have nothing to do.
- If a domain uses DNS servers outside SwissCenter (at another provider, or through Cloudflare), you must update its records yourself after the migration. The rest of this article covers that case.
- The server name changes: your FTP, SSH and SFTP connections must use the new server name, and external MySQL access must use its new host.
What does the scheduled migration email contain?
When we decommission an older server, we migrate the hosting accounts it carries ourselves. You have nothing to request: you receive an email titled "Your hosting account account is moving to a new server". It gives:
- the Current server and the New server, with their IPv4 and IPv6 addresses;
- the Migration window: "from date" or "within the next N days";
- then, depending on your hosting, one or more of the sections in the table below.
If the email starts with "One quick step on your side", at least one section asks you to act.
| Section of the email |
What you need to do |
| DNS updated automatically |
Nothing. These names use our nameservers: we point them to the new server. |
| Your action is required |
After the migration, update the listed records yourself with your DNS provider (columns DNS entry, Type and New value), or ask your provider to do it. See "Update DNS managed elsewhere" below. |
| Cloudflare note |
Update the origin IP address (A record, and AAAA if you use IPv6) in your Cloudflare dashboard with the new address given in the email. |
| FTP and SSH/SFTP connections |
After the migration, use the new server name for your FTP, SSH and SFTP connections. |
| External MySQL access |
After the migration, the MySQL host changes from the old server to the new one (port 3306). If you connect to MySQL from outside our hosting, update your connection settings: the old server stops accepting external MySQL connections after the migration. |
| Dedicated IP being retired |
Your names point at a dedicated IP address that we are retiring. Your site keeps working throughout the transition, but update these records to point at the new address given, at your convenience. |
Once the migration is done, a second email, "Your hosting account account has been moved", confirms it with the date (Migrated on). If DNS records still need updating on your side, it lists them again and states until which date the old server's IP addresses are kept: after that date those addresses are released, and the names that have not been updated no longer resolve.
During preparation, we shorten the cache duration (TTL) of the A and AAAA records of your domains managed by SwissCenter to 2 minutes, so that the address change spreads quickly. The DNS change history of your domain shows these operations with the Server migration context.
How do I request the migration from the Apanel console?
On an older server, the features of the new platform open a window that offers you the migration:
-
Log in to your Apanel console, then open your domain to reach the Hosting management.
-
Click one of these buttons:
- Applications, in the Web technologies card;
- Anti-Malware Service, in the Website card;
- or, in PHP configuration, choose a PHP version that is not available on your server.
-
The Request for server change window opens: "The selected technology is not available on the current server. Do you want to change your server?"
-
Click Yes. The message "Your request for change has been received, we will process it as soon as possible." confirms the request.
What you need to know about an on-demand migration:
- This is a manual operation on our side, it can take 24 to 48 hours.
- As soon as you send the request, the cache duration (TTL) of the A and AAAA records of your domains managed by SwissCenter drops to 2 minutes.
- The window warns that MySQL 8 is installed on the new server, and that some older sites may no longer be compatible. If your site is old or has not been updated for a long time, check with its publisher or your webmaster that it works with MySQL 8.
- If your domains use DNS servers outside SwissCenter, lower the cache duration (TTL) of their A and AAAA records yourself at your provider, a few hours before sending the request.
Update DNS managed elsewhere
If a domain uses nameservers outside SwissCenter, the provider that runs those servers must publish the new address:
- Log in to your DNS provider's interface (or to your Cloudflare dashboard).
- For each name listed in the email, replace the content of the A record (and AAAA if there is one) with the New value given.
- Save. The old address may remain visible elsewhere until its cache duration runs out.
In the meantime, your sites keep working: requests reaching the old server are transparently redirected to the new one. But the old server's IP addresses are kept only temporarily: make the update without waiting for the date given in the email.
For an on-demand migration you do not receive this list: if you do not know the new address, open a request with support.
You can also have SwissCenter manage your DNS: future migrations will then need no action from you (see Point your domain to SwissCenter (name servers)).
What should I do after the migration?
- FTP, SSH and SFTP: use the FTP server name shown in the Misc informations box of the Hosting management. After a scheduled migration, your domain name works too.
- Databases: during a scheduled migration, your existing databases are recreated on a MySQL server compatible with the one on your old server. The databases you create afterwards use the SQL engines of the new platform.
- PHP version: check the PHP version of your sites in PHP configuration, and take the opportunity to move to a recent version if your site allows it.
Troubleshooting
| Situation |
What to do |
| A site no longer responds after the date given in the email |
Its domain uses DNS servers outside SwissCenter and still points to the old address: update the A (and AAAA) record at your DNS provider with the new value from the email. |
| Your FTP or SSH software no longer connects |
Replace the old server name with the FTP server name from the Misc informations box. |
| An external application no longer connects to MySQL |
Replace the old MySQL host with the new one (port 3306), given in the email. |
| A site displays badly or returns an error after the migration |
Open a request stating the site name: our technicians help you find the cause. |
| The message "Unfortunately, we cannot migrate you as you are currently on a dedicated server." |
Your hosting is on a dedicated server: contact your reseller for this request. |
Going further