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I've got a server that I host several websites on. That's basically what the server is for. I've recently acquired a new server and i'd like to move everything over. Since my old server and my new server are both running centOS, I was wondering if it was possible to literally just move the whole OS over without the hassle of selectively replicating user accounts on the new server and so on.

If thats not possible, is there a faster way to move everything over? Maybe a more automated way of doing a migration like so?

Maaz
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1 Answers1

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You can do this a few ways:

  1. Use a proper backup application that can do a full backup of your server and do a bare metal restore to dissimilar hardware. This will literally move everything.

  2. Move your data and config, i.e. /etc and /var but note that if you are using different versions of CentOS on each server, the syntax for config files may have changed based if the new server has newer applications. An example of this is Apache 2.2 vs. 2.4 - the configuration directives are very different between those two.

  3. Leverage an existing configuration management tool to deploy these to your new server and don't actually "migrate" anything. Applications like Puppet, Chef, Ansible, Salt, are the major players here. That said, it doesn't sound like you're currently using these or you probably wouldn't be asking this question.

Option 1 is the fastest. Option 3 is the most scalable and sets you up for the future as well.

MDMarra
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  • any recommended backup applications for someone that's not very experienced with using them? – Maaz Apr 26 '14 at 16:06