Moving a Database to Another Server

Moving Considerations
DNS Considerations
To or From Tru64
Resources

Moving Considerations

It's actually pretty easy to move a Web Crossing database from one server machine to another - even from platform to platform. But there are some basic considerations to keep in mind:

• If possible, set up your directory structure on the new server to match that on the old server so any hard-coded links will still work.
• Install a free version of Web Crossing on the receiving end and then shut down the Web Crossing application.
• Do a backup with repack on the sending end to minimize database size, and then shut down Web Crossing.
• Move your images directory, if you have custom images; your Enclosures (attachments) directory; your HTML directory; and your template files.
• Restart Web Crossing on the receiving end and check to be sure everything still works. Shut it down again.
• FTP the database using binary mode and replace the default database created when you first started up the free version.
• Start up the Web Crossing application on the receiving end and log in as sysop.
• If your Web Crossing script has a different name, or if you're on a different OS, you will probably need to put your old script name into the Control Panel > General Settings > Script Name Alias blank. This allows Web Crossing to update internal self-referential URLs so your internal bookmarks still work.
  • For example, if your old database was on an NT server, your script name may have been webx.dll. If your new server is Unix, your new script name may be webx.cgi. So you would put "/webx.dll?" into the script name alias blank.
  • You can also add or remove a cgi-bin directory from the pathway in this way. If your old server was running in CGI mode and the new one is in DWS mode, you can put "/cgi-bin/webx?" into the script name alias blank.
  • To be safe, include both the leading slash and the trailing question mark.
• Also change the IP address in the Host Name aliases setting just above.

DNS Considerations

If you're moving your site from one IP address to another, or from one web hosting company to another, you'll need to be prepared for the lag time while your domain name change makes its way through Internic and the changes propagate across the Domain Name Server (DNS) network. It can take up to several days for the change to show up everywhere.

There are several ways to approach this, but this is probably the simplest way:

1. Once you send the DNS change form through, make your entire old site read-only. You can change the access rights to read-only for all users by using the top-level Access List or changing the privileges for users in the control panel. (Control Panel > User management > Registered users and Guest users)
2. Shut down Web Crossing temporarily to make a copy your database, and then restart it. (Or shut it down while you FTP, and restart when you've moved it.)
3. Move it to the new site using binary mode, replacing the webx.db file created by default when Web Crossing starts up. Restart Web Crossing and open for business. (If you copied the database after you made the site read-only, remember to change the settings again on the new site.) Rebuild your search index, too. It's not a bad idea to do an initial backup also, so you have some backup files.
4. You can leave the old site up and running so people can read your content, but you don't want anybody adding new material after you copy the database. You might put a note on the front page about what's happening so your users aren't surprised. That way, when individual users' DNS servers make the change, your folks will arrive at your new site and be able to post right away.

To or From Tru64

If you're moving to or from a server machine using Tru64, you'll need to Export the entire old site, move it to the new site, and then Import it in the new location rather than simply moving the database directly. (Web Crossing no longer supports Tru64, so you will probably be moving from that platform if this applies to you.)

This is how:

1. On the old server, go to the Control Panel > Export > Export entire site
2. Make note of the file name that's created.
3. Install Web Crossing on the new server and move your export file to the webx system directory on the new server. It's a very large text file.
4. Also move the following files and directories:
   • HTML
   • Enclosures (attachments)
   • images (if you have custom images)
   • template files
5. Start Web Crossing, access it, and answer the initial setup questions. It's important to install a certificate at this point if your free server is a Bronze, or you won't be able to import your whole database if you're running something other than a free version. (Bronze servers had limitations on database objects.)
6. Log on as sysop and delete the Guided Tour. This is important so unique ID numbers can be preserved within your import file.
7. Go to Control Panel > Memory usage and give Web Crossing at least as much memory as the old database was using.
8. Import the file from step 1. This can take several minutes up to possibly hours to process, depending on how big your database is.
9. When the import is completed, set the server name alias, if necessary, as described above. Also change the IP address in the Host Name aliases setting just above.

Resources

Sysop Control Panel

• Site management
  • Memory Usage

• Backup
  • Backup with Repack

• Export
  • Export Entire Site

• User management
  • Guest users
  • Registered users

Web Crossing FAQ

• How do I move a Database from Standard to Multi?
• How do I move Web Crossing to a different server?