Queries on upgrading from Shared to Linux VPS

[Roy123]

Hi, currently on shared hosting (Cpanel Advance) but will hit 100GB bandwidth limit soon.

Linux VPS Starter seems the best move to get 300GB but looking for advice on upgrading:

1. I've figured out I would need to add cPanel to the VPS (Linux novice, prefer the tools to stay the same) - is there anything else that Linux VPS does not have (by default) which shared hosting does?

2. My primary domain is a wordpress site with 2 subdomains (wordpress and static site) - will you copy all 3 of them to VPS for me i.e. is there anything I would have to do on the technical side to move them or would it all 'just work' after the move?

3. My domains are registered elsewhere so I point A & MX records across to WHUK IPs and would have to change them to the new VPS. Is it possible to leave the 3 sites running on old Shared IPs until I could check VPS is up and running ok? Just wondering how much downtime there would be due to DNS/IP changeover issues?

Thanks for your help

[Ben Stones]

Hello,

I'll answer your questions in order.

1. Regarding your question on what would not be included on VPS Hosting, one of which would be Softaculous and any SEO tools that may be included within the control panel of our shared and reseller web hosting packages. Softaculous is included in cPanel and allows you to install web applications with one click. Unfortunately, because Softaculous is commercial software we cannot include it on virtual private servers and so if you want this you'll need to buy this yourself. It's not expensive either - for virtual private servers it's $12 USD per year (which is approximately £7.66 per year - conversions may fluctuate, however). You can also purchase a VPS license for Softaculous for $1.50 USD per month (which is approximately £0.95 per month - conversions may fluctuate, however). Because VPS Hosting is essentially a separate server in a virtualised environment, as you have noted, you'll need to purchase a cPanel license which will cost £5 per month on top of the cost of the VPS itself.

Our VPS Hosting packages are fully managed, so you can contact our support department to install the security software you'll need on your server. Once you have ordered and your VPS is set up, please submit a ticket and request our senior technicians to install the server security software (firewall, etc.) and to configure your server with your domain name, and pass me the ticket#, and I'll personally get the ticket overseen to ensure your VPS is set up and ready for you to use since you have said you are a Linux novice. Once your VPS is set up and configured we can help you with the migration of your website(s) over to the VPS.

2. We will migrate your sites over to your VPS after the VPS has been set up and configured and confirmed to be working properly. Your VPS will be allocated two Dedicated IPs and your domain names will need to be, as a result, point to the new virtual private server. In order for your domain to resolve to the new server (i.e. point to the new server) it may take a few hours after your domain name has been set to point to the new server. If you keep your shared web hosting account online when the nameservers are set, there won't be any downtime for any of your visitors because your visitors will either be visiting the website hosted on the shared account or on your VPS, depending on how fast all of the DNS servers worldwide propagate the changes to your domain name to point to your new server. In general, domain propagation takes less than an hour for most people but may take up to 48 hours in some unusual cases.

3. You can keep your shared hosting account online while the migration takes place; and even when you change the records of your domain name so it points to your new server, no real downtime will occur because your visitors will either be visiting your blog pointing to our server where your shared hosting account is located or pointing to your new virtual private server where your blog is to be hosted. As soon as we are ready to migrate your site over and the relevant backups have already been made by us, I would recommend you disable comments on your WordPress blog, because for a small percentage of your visitors, the domain itself will still be pointing to the shared hosting account on our servers perhaps because their Internet Service Provider may cahce DNS records longer than other providers. However, please do bear in mind propagation is usually complete for most people within the hour.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask .

Best regards,
Ben Stones.

[Roy123]

Many thanks for your detailed answers Ben, hope you don't mind a couple more.

I don't think I'd need Softaculous as I only ever used it to set up wordpress

1. In current Cpanel I mostly use Files\Backups, Logs (webalizer/awstats) and phpmyadmin - I assume they're in VPS Cpanel too?

2. I use an FTP client to delete/backup files - if FTP is not on VPS can I use an SFTP client like Filezilla for file transfers?

3. When you say "keep your shared web hosting account online" do I have to order/pay for that separately or is it standard practice to keep it for a week or so until VPS is tested/live?

4. Currently I just do weekly Cpanel Backups (to PC) of full site, home dir and databases. The VPS advert spec mentions 'backup/restore utility' - is that something extra or R1soft?

5. Who is the best contact to progress/order an upgrade - sales, billing or support?

Thanks for your help, it's appreciated

[Ben Stones]

Hi,

Not a problem.

1. Webalizer, AwStats and phpMyAdmin come bundled with cPanel. No need to install these separately. As I said yesterday, Softaculous needs to be purchased and installed separately and we'd be happy to install it for you should you wish to purchase Softaculous. Having said that, there is a stripped-down free version of Softaculous that, as a result, doesn't come with the widest range of software as the commercial versions of Softaculous. So you can ask us to install the free version of Softaculous that currently comes with 59 scripts (compared to 269 scripts in the commercial version) if you'd like Softaculous on your server.

2. You can use FTP and SFTP via your favourite FTP client with your VPS - FileZilla, SmartFTP, WinSCP - whichever FTP client you happen to use.

3. Well, our shared web hosting packages are paid for on an annual basis; so as long as your next invoice isn't yet due, your shared hosting account can be kept as-is with your blog online until your VPS is set up and DNS propagation has taken place. After which, you can choose to cancel your shared web hosting if you wish, since you will no longer need it once your VPS is set up and website has been migrated.

4. You can schedule automatic backups within WHM if you have one of our backup plans (WHMCS is the control panel you use to manage your server which is included with cPanel). However, for simplicity, you can also simply backup your site as you do right now within cPanel using the Backup/Restore facility.

5. Our sales and support department are operational 24 hours a day so your order should be processed by our sales team within a few hours after you order. You can contact our sales team at any time for an update on your order if you wish. Our billing department is primarily for after-sales matters, such as regarding invoices or billing matters. You can also e-mail me for an update on your order or for anything else relating to your VPS on ben@webhosting.uk.com - I'd be happy to assist.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask .

Best regards,
Ben Stones.

[Roy123]

Thanks for all your help Ben, I'll get it ordered next week.

[Ben Stones]

Thanks for all your help Ben, I'll get it ordered next week.

No problem . Happy to assist.