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I need to find an alternative to Linode due to payment issues (if you're interested mainly because Linode only accepts credit cards and I don't want to use them). However, my biggest issue with migration is actually moving all the services I have on my vserver. Assuming I get a new vserver somewhere with the same distro I have on Linode (Fedora 22), what's the safest way to perform the migration without having to setup everything again?

My initial thought was to somehow create a disk image of my Linode vserver and [somehow] deploy it on the new vserver. Anyone with experience doing this? What do you recommend?

Brian Showalter
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Paulo Matos
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  • Take this opportunity to deploy your server and applications(s) using a configuration management tool. It will be a fair amount of work the first time around, but after completion, you'll be able to repeatably deploy your infrastructure wherever you'd like in minutes. – EEAA Dec 08 '15 at 19:32
  • @EEAA any suggestions for a cmt then? – Paulo Matos Dec 08 '15 at 20:50
  • Ansible is my preference. Salt is worth looking at, though, as well. – EEAA Dec 08 '15 at 20:50

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disclaimer: I work for Linode

To migrate your stuff, there're a few ways you can do it. You can make an image of your entire disk (this is EVERYTHING, including data files, DB, OS, etc). One popular way to do this is to boot into Rescue Mode (Finnix) and dump your disk to an IMG file used DD. You can then download the image over SSH - Block-level Backup

You can also migrate everything at the file-level. This will allow you to pick and choose what you want to keep, as well as likely being a smaller 'backup' that you'll have to carry over to your new hosting provider. We have a guide on several tools to do this including Rsync, tar, etc - File-level Backup

Lastly, I don't know what your specific issue was but Linode also accepts debit cards. If a bank is your issue, you can use the PayPal Debit Mastercard or even Visa gift cards. Regardless, I hope you're able to accomplish what you need.

FelicianoTech
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  • thanks for the help. The problem is simple. In Germany there are no visa debit cards and credit cards are expensive as hell. The only solution given to me in a Linode ticket was to pay 6months by check which is a terrible solution since my bank charges my eyes and legs for a check in USD. – Paulo Matos Dec 10 '15 at 09:53
  • I will look into your suggestion of PayPal debit card. Sounds like a possibility if not too expensive. – Paulo Matos Dec 10 '15 at 09:56
  • I'm not sure if in Germany the rules are different but for me, the PayPal debit card is free. It uses your balance in your PayPal account. You'd likely need to pay the VAT fees but that's about it. – FelicianoTech Dec 11 '15 at 00:38