On The Move

Posted by Thomas J. Brown at 0903 hrs

It's time to switch to the new server. I've been putting this off for months because of the wedding, but now that it's over, I really need to get this done before I put it off again.

The update will happen in two parts. Part one entails moving to a new server. That means updating DNS entries and re-installing MovableType, which means downtime. It sucks, but the new server will be both less expensive and more accommodating, so it's definitely worth the trouble.

Part two involves updating the look of the site. While I don't actually have a template ready to go, I have a pretty good idea of how I want it to look. It won't be too terribly different, but it will have some fun changes that I've been wanting to add for quite some time. The plan is to launch the new look in January 2007.

As soon as I write this, I'm going to perform a backup of all of the files. As soon as that's done, I will sort through the files to determine what needs to make the move (there are probably a handful of obsolete files that I don't need cluttering up the new server). After I upload all of the new files, I will backup the blog database for the last time prior to the move.

After I backup the database, I'll upload a placeholder index file so that you know the site is down. Before the DNS propagates, permalinks will still work, but comments will not be saved. After the DNS propagates, permalinks will not work until I can get MovableType up and running and import the old database. Once everything is back up to speed, I'll replace the placeholder index file with the regular index file and everything will once again be back to normal.

In theory, you won't notice anything different except that the site will be down for a couple of days (assuming everything goes smoothly, it should only be a couple of days).

So when will this downtime begin? It could be in a few hours, it could be a few days. It all depends on how long it takes me to get ready to make the switch. I want to have all of the pieces in place before I take the site down so that it's down for the least amount of time possible (unfortunately, a lot of the downtime is out of my control. When I update the DNS numbers, I'll have to wait for them to propagate. The process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days and there's nothing I can do to speed it up). Ideally I'll have the site back up before Friday. If not, I'll post a special interim Friday Funday (that's how much I love you guys).

See you on the other server!