Moving your site to another server

A site runs on one Avaloi server. Sometimes Avaloi moves it to another one. This page says when that happens, what you see, and what keeps your site safe.

Why a site moves

• To balance the load. A server that gets too busy sends its largest sites to quieter servers in the same location.
• To empty a server. Before Avaloi removes a server, every site on it moves off.
• To another location. If you ask for your site to live in another location, Avaloi support moves it there. The new server must be in a location you agree to, because your data will be stored there.
• During support. Support can move a site while they fix a problem, but only with your approval for Restart services (see Support access).

Avaloi does not move a site to another location without a person choosing that location.

What happens

1. Avaloi stops the site, so nothing can change it while it is copied.
2. It copies the site to the new server. The copy includes your files, your database, your backups, your staging environments, and your certificates.
3. It starts the site on the new server and checks that your homepage loads.
4. It points your address at the new server.

Your site is offline during steps 1 to 4. For a small site that is a few minutes. A large site takes longer, in proportion to its size. Your visitors see an error page from the edge while the site is offline. Your staging environments move with the live site, because they work together.

If a check fails, Avaloi puts the site back on the old server and starts it again. The old copy is never deleted before the new one works. At no point do two copies of your site run at once.

What stays the same

• Your address and your custom domains. If your site has custom domains, it can only move to the server those domains enter through.
• Your backups and restore points.
• Your SFTP and SSH logins. The SSH port can change. The dashboard shows the new port.
• Your plan and price.

The old copy

The old copy stays stopped for 3 days after a successful move. After that Avaloi deletes it, with the old copies of your certificates and keys. This gives support a way back if something is wrong that a check did not catch.

Where to see a move

Open Activity for the site. You see an entry when the move starts ("Avaloi is moving this site to another server. It is offline for a few minutes.") and one when it ends. A move that Avaloi support started names the staff member and your approval. A move that Avaloi started to balance load or empty a server says so.

If something looks wrong

Contact support and say which site and when. Support can see the state of every move and each step.

Not yet

• You cannot start a move yourself. Avaloi support or the platform starts it.
• A move copies the whole site first, so the site is offline for as long as the copy takes. Avaloi does not pre-copy yet.
• Sites with a custom domain move only to the server that answers for custom domains.