[UPHPU] How to do...?

[Brandon Stout]

Victor Villa wrote:
> Justin,
> Before jumping to a new location, you need to examine EVERYTHING that is
> associated with the website.  What I'm trying to say here is that I don't
> want to encourage you to jump to newer, bigger and better without knowing
> everything in advanced.  The info I provided is all I have access to.  You
> need to look at the background and see how thing are connected to see how to
> move.  When I say things connected, I'm talking about computer systems and
> human workflows.  Who accesses what pages, and why.
>
> >From what it sounds like from my chair, you're looking at new server side
> code, in a new server side language, possible database conversion.  On top
> of this, you're looking at creating all the email accounts on a new server
> and if you get all the old email passwords you won't have to change anything
> on employee computers, but if you don't, you'll likely have to support that
> too.
>
> The good thing going for you is that when you change hosting, you will only
> have to change DNS and MX records, though you will have up to 48 hour full
> site outage for dns propagation.
>
> This is what I would do if I were you:
>
> 1.  Investigate EVERYTHING (a couple of days to a week of hard searching to
> see how everything gets affected by the transfer) weight costs of transfer
> 2.  Create mockup of new site internally.  Use the occasion to come up with
> new text for the site, new pathing, new SEO strategies
> 3.  Create database structure, and optimize if necessary.  Transfer data to
> your mockup and test the site.  (your real site is still online)
> 4.  do all alpha testing, have coworkers do beta testing - use selenium (we
> had good uphpu meet on selenium and I'm going to be using on my next
> upgrade)
> 5.  demo new site to supers, and obtain approvals to do the conversion
> 6.  create account at new web hosting.
> 7.  transfer new site to new web hosting
> 8.  create new email accounts with same passwords
> 9.  beta test EVERYTHING EVERYTHING EVERYTHING
> 10.  do 9 again
> 11.  update dns and mx records to new web hosting
> 12.  KEEP OTHER SITE ALIVE FOR 1 ~ 2 MONTHS even though it isn't doing
> anything. (this is your ace of spades - if your site crashes and burns and
> weeping, gnashing of teeth, etc, you can jump back in 48 hours)
> 13.  Write nice letter to former web master that his services are no longer
> needed and to go take a hike
>
> Just my .02 cents
>
> mj/v

Victor's $0.2 is worth much more - there's some good advice.  Simply 
put, if you do go onto another server, test the site first with a 
subdomain or another domain entirely until you have at least all the 
same features and probably more.  Then move.

Brandon Stout
http://mscis.org