How To Perform A Server Migration

Server Migration

Server Migration

As your company continues to work to make your IT systems more efficient and productive, you will face a wide range of questions when it comes to migrating data to a more robust server, specialized server, virtualization and cloud hosting. Server migrations have become a critical aspect of today’s IT world, given everyone expects rapid deployments and minimum downtime.

How quickly and efficiently you can perform a server migration will be critical in realizing the growth opportunity for your operation in the future. If you are looking to understand what a server migration is and what elements are included in the process this article will walk you through step-by-step.

What is Server Migration?

Server migration is the technique of transferring data from one server to another. Server migrations can occur for a variety of reasons including security concerns, equipment failures, outdated servers, and other factors.

Server migrations are performed by technical experts with the necessary expertise on server support and data migration. The process may seem like a simple click of a few buttons, but it requires a deeper understanding of how to move data to a new server without causing unplanned downtime.

During the server migration, it is important to note that some data may be temporarily unavailable, so it is crucial to map out the server migration before you begin to prevent unplanned data loss. It is also important to note what data may need to be reformatted to match the new system.

After the data has been properly mapped and the server migration has been executed, your technical team will need to authenticate that all data is accessible and intact, and that no data was corrupted during the migration.

How to Migrate a Server to a New Server?

The difficult part about server migrations is that they all are unique and come with their own specifications that must be handled appropriately. The best place to start when starting a new migration is identify your number one goal that you are intending to achieve.

Most businesses seek to upgrade their server for improved performance, better control, virtualization, increased web traffic and increased customized capabilities. While most seek an upgrade, others do look to change to less expensive servers as a means to reduce costs.

Taking all of these into consideration we built a list of server migration steps to provide more context.

Set Migration Goal

Discover the main goal of your migration and determine whether you are looking to downgrade to cut costs or upgrade to improve performance and growth initiatives.

Find the Server That Meets Your Needs

With upgrading in mind, work with technology experts to confirm the server meets your long-term goals. The most expensive server is not necessarily the right option for your goals. Find the right hosting plan for you, look at virtualization, and leasing options in the cloud.

Build Your Migration Plan

Your IT team should meet to draft all the defined steps that will occur during the migration. It is important to identify all data that will need to be migrated, if any needs to be reformatted and whether some information can not be transferred at all. Always have a backup of the originating server.

After identifying this information, it is also important to note your data and applications may be unavailable during the migration. Downtime can result in lost business which can be critical to your business’ success. To help weather this storm, perform the migration during the time there is the least amount of traffic on your servers.

Test Your Server Migration Plan

Expect to test your server migration after the project is complete. Certain data will be critical to the success of your workflow, while other files will not impact your server’s performance. Understanding the roadblocks before the live migration will help you make the appropriate changes to be most successful.

Map Domain to the New IP

Once you have identified your server migration plan and worked out the kinks, you can begin to map your processes to the new IP address.

Migrating Hosts

Migrating hosts refers to the process of moving data from one host server to another host server. When you move to a new server, you will inevitably be doing so with a new host. It is also possible to have more than one host involved in the process.

If you are migrating to a new server but using the same host, you will not have to worry about migrating hosts. However, if you are moving files to a new server with a new host you will need to plan to migrate hosts.

Different Types of Server Migrations

Server Migration Types

  • Mail Server Migration

    Mail Server Migration is the process in which all emails, appointments, contacts, and other tasks from one email host are extracted and migrated to a new email host.

  • Virtual Server Migration

    A Virtual Server Migration occurs when you migrate physical server’s resources, such as its operating system, files, data, and applications, to a new virtual machine that is hosted on a virtualized platform.

  • Azure Cloud Migration

Microsoft Azure is an Infrastructure-As-A-Service platform that provides the benefits of a public cloud to large and small businesses. Migrating to the public cloud can help increase productivity and decrease costs.

  • Cloud Server Migration

This is the process of moving all data, applications, business systems and data from an organization’s on-premises computer to a cloud environment.

Ensuring all data is properly migrated is the number one priority during server migrations. If you have any questions or concerns about starting a server migration project, please do not hesitate to ask! Our team of technology experts are happy to provide expertise and insight to get you where you want to go.


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