Transferring to a new host

16 posts by 3 authors in: Forums > CMS Builder
Last Post: July 5, 2013   (RSS)

My client has a site that I'm working on, which is hosted by GoDaddy: http://kathiejordandesign.com.previewdns.com/. I've been having issues with the server either being down or loading so slowly that the browser times out. Obviously, this is causing me problems during development.

I've backed up CMSB, but does this only backup the content data, or the CMSB settings as well (tables, fields, etc)? I'd like to suggest a more reliable host to my client - I have one in mind - but I'd like to know how much hassle I;d be setting myself up for. If it's just the content that gets backed up, does that mean I have to set up CMSB from scratch after I've installed it on the new host's server?

Thanks.

Well, that looks incredibly easy! Thanks for the link and advice.

By Codee - April 15, 2013

Curious...is the GoDaddy hosting account on a legacy server, or is it on their newer grid (cloud type hosting)?  Recently one of my client's sites started dragging horendously. We did all the normal checks, contacted ISP, uploaded clean CMSB, etc. Since it ran fast for 3 years we suspected a slowdown somewhere on the Internet pipeline. Checked back a couple days later and still dogged slow.  Ran a series of speed processing tests (several sites online to check a variety of the hosting company's systems) and sure enough, there were long, LONG timeouts. We contacted GoDaddy and the front 2 lines of customer service tried to negate what we knew was the problem, so I just said "please put me through to your advanced technical and hosting support now, please because the problem is on your end and fixing it is beyond your level there". They did. 2 min later the GoDaddy adv. person said "Yep. Server's hammered. That's unfortunate because it's a legacy server and the company will not put any resources towards fixing it or swapping parts, etc.  Can your client just transfer to our grid hosting and that will take care of all the issues." I asked "since we have 3rd party CMS running on the system, will we need to go in and change all the location references in our files or will your team take care of that?"  "We'll take care of it all. It's what we do. When we're done, it will just simply work and work FAST."  My response was "Are you SURE, and PROMISE that will occur? I just need to know in advance to schedule time for modifications. My client can't have it swapped and the site break, or stay broken for very long for a correction."  "It will not be an issue, sir. I promise. We'll take care of all the referencing anywhere inside the hosted site. It will simply work when we're done." "Well, okay then...go for it."   Sure enough - IT BROKE. Simple fix, just took a little time. The grid hosting really is much faster and handles a lot more processes at the same time.

This is a brand new account that was set up by my client. The service has been mediocre from the time I started working on it, to the point where I would stop development for a couple of days at a time because it was a pointless exercise. GoDaddy have tweeted that they've had problems with some servers on several occasions over the past few months, so this is something that is affecting a lot of customers. My perception is that they're in a rush for people to sign up with them because they're cheap, but the service itself turns out to be unacceptably poor. It's not my decision on whether or not we should continue using them, but I would never recommend their services to my clients, based on my personal experience.

By Codee - April 15, 2013

Wow! That's horrible. I've had mixed results with them as far as followup customer service.

By CommonSenseDesign - April 23, 2013 - edited: April 23, 2013

Hi, Dave.

I uploaded all the files from the previous server, then ran the /cmsAdmin/admin.php file. I added the product ID number, and the database details were already there when I viewed that page, selected "Restore from Backup" and the relevant file, but when I clicked the "Restore" button, I got an error message at the top of the page (see attached).

Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to create a new database on the new server?

Cheers,

Nigel Gordijk

Attachments:

kjd-cms.jpg 174K

By Dave - April 23, 2013

Hi Nigel,

It means the MySQL hostname isn't valid.  Try this one: localhost

or contact your host to confirm what the MySQL hostname should be.

Also, update your itools forum username here so it's not the same as your email: http://www.interactivetools.com/add-ons/profile.php

Let me know if localhost works for you or what happens.  Thanks!

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

By CommonSenseDesign - April 23, 2013 - edited: April 23, 2013

Thanks - all working now!

By CommonSenseDesign - July 2, 2013 - edited: July 4, 2013

Hi, Dave.

I have a different client who is also transferring to a new host. I've installed CMSB on the new server and run the admin program successfully, but when I try to restore the most recent backup, only the User Accounts gets updated. None of the other sections appear in the left-hand nav nor the Section Editors. Any idea why, please?