| 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.
| Note:
An alternative to setting the script name alias is to export
the entire site and edit the resulting SGML
text file to replace all instances of your old script name
(and/or directory pathway) and replace with the new script
name or directory pathway. Then reimport the site. See the
directions below, in the Tru64 section,
for details. |
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:
-
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)
- 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.)
- 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.
-
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.
This
is how:
- On
the old server, go to the Control Panel
> Export > Export entire site
- Make
note of the file name that's created.
- Install
Web Crossing on the new server and move your export file to
the webx directory on the new server. It's a very large text
file.
- Also
move the following files and directories:
- HTML
- Enclosures
(attachments)
- images
(if you have custom images)
- template
files
- 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.)
- Log
on as sysop and delete the Guided Tour. This is important
so unique ID numbers can be preserved within your import file.
- Go
to Control Panel > Memory usage
and give Web Crossing at least as much memory as the old database was
using.
- Import
the file from step 1. This can take several minutes up to possibly
hours to process, depending on how big your database is.
- 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
- User
management
- Guest
users
- Registered
users
Web Crossing
FAQ
|
