Best way to transfer domain name from one Linode to another?

If you are moving everything, could you not swap IP addresses between Linodes with little work?

I've been planning on doing that.

I'm assuming that either you don't have any user-changeable content or that the databases etc on the two sites are already synchronised. If this is not the case, the whole thing gets a lot more complicated.

The key to avoiding downtime is to take account of DNS caching – people will continue to access the old address after you make your DNS changes, because the old address will be cached by their ISP.

If you can, reconfigure your old site to redirect to the new site. Then, make your DNS changes, wait a week for them to propagate and then shut down the old site.

Alternative method: * In the DNS Manager, set the TTL for your domain to something small (3600 seconds).

• Wait for the change to propagate (two days for users with sensible cache settings, a week to be safe).

• Make your DNS changes – they should propagate in an hour because your TTL is so low.

• Once the changes have propagated, set the TTL back to the default.

• Shut down the old site.

Setup a redirect on the old box (pointing to the new box) and then change the DNS.

If your user resolves/caches the old IP they'll get the redirect, if they resolve the new IP they get the new box.

Wait a few days for DNS to propagate, then remove the website from the old box.

Ta-da!

pclissold beat me to the post - how come this board's phpbb doesn't warn you when the thread you're commenting on has been changed like every other phpbb board I use?

@pclissold: Correct, all content is synchronised, nothing to worry about there.

About the redirect: What method/tutorial would you recommend, since the urls are not changing?

As for the

Alternative method:

> * In the DNS Manager, set the TTL for your domain to something small (3600 seconds).

I assume that I would do this today. TTL for all types of records (SOA, MX, A/AAAA) right?

* Wait for the change to propagate (two days for users with sensible cache settings, a week to be safe).

Basically wait until next Sunday.

* Make your DNS changes – they should propagate in an hour because your TTL is so low.

By this, you mean the A/AAAA records, correct? Same as before, except with the new linode ip?

__* Once the changes have propagated, set the TTL back to the default.

• Shut down the old site.__

My apologizes if my questions seems a bit dumb, this is my first time dealing with a transfer of this sort.

Thanks for the help!

Mathieu

@vonskippy:

pclissold beat me to the post - how come this board's phpbb doesn't warn you when the thread you're commenting on has been changed like every other phpbb board I use?
Probably because I believe that's a phpBB3 feature ("beaten-to-posting") and from the looks of things this is probably still a phpBB2 site.

(It's possible that even in phpBB2 if you preview your post, the topic review at the bottom will be kept up to date, I'm not sure. But you won't get an explicit warning if there have been new posts since you started composing yours.)

– David

@MathieuB:

About the redirect: What method/tutorial would you recommend, since the urls are not changing?
Use a 301 redirect.

> * In the DNS Manager, set the TTL for your domain to something small (3600 seconds).

I assume that I would do this today. TTL for all types of records (SOA, MX, A/AAAA) right?
Yes.

> * Wait for the change to propagate (two days for users with sensible cache settings, a week to be safe).

Basically wait until next Sunday.
Yes.

> * Make your DNS changes – they should propagate in an hour because your TTL is so low.

By this, you mean the A/AAAA records, correct? Same as before, except with the new linode ip?
Yes.

> MathieuB wrote:

About the redirect: What method/tutorial would you recommend, since the urls are not changing?

> Use a 301 redirect.

I use 301 redirects on a regular base, to redirect old urls to new urls, but how does it work for an old to new server, when the urls don't change? I mean, what am I supposed to put in there?

Thanks.

Edit: Nevermind, I realized that if I go with the alternative way that you've suggested, the redirect won't be necessary anyway.

I'd still do the redirect.

People (and/or their ISP's) do funny things when it comes to name resolution caching.

You can set the TTL to anything you want, it doesn't mean people follow it.

With the redirect, you're covered either way, so people don't get lost no matter how they're DNS is setup.

I usually setup a alias on the new server (like www2.mydomain.com) along with www.mydomain.com, then redirect to www2 for people that hit the old box.

Hello! I'm sorry I don't understand the solution. What I gathered is that all I need do is change the IP address in the A/AAAA Record on the old linode account and wait for propagation.

Please, I have the following questions:
So, to configure the DNS records of the domain do I have to go back to the old linode?
Also, how do I know if I am successful in the domain transfer before propagation is complete?
Thank you