What’s the best way to move Virtualmin to a new VPS?

General Discussion
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Hello

I am planning to move my Virtualmin setup from one VPS provider to another. :upside_down_face: I have a few websites, emails & databases running and I want to make sure everything moves over smoothly without much downtime. :upside_down_face:

I have seen the backup and restore option in Virtualmin but I am not sure if that’s all I need to do.

Do I need to copy any extra files, like settings or SSL certificates? Also; how should I handle the DNS part to make sure visitors don’t see errors while the move happens? :thinking: Checked How to Backup and Restore Virtual Servers | Virtualmin — Open Source Web Hosting Control Panel for reference . I am also learning about automation tools like Microsoft Power Automate, and wondering if there is any way to use it in server management / migrations like this. :thinking:

I would really appreciate if someone could share the steps they followed / anything I should watch out for. :slightly_smiling_face:

Thanks in advance for any help!

Thank you !! :slightly_smiling_face:

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Virtualmin backup on the old server and restore to the new server will give you a start, however you may have installed other software on the old server which may not be present on the new one, so look at your install notes (assuming you made them) and just install whatever after installing virtualmin but before restoring your domains. If you have not documented any extra programs you have installed you may have a period of looking at failures and installing whatever is needed

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I’ve gone through this kind of migration a couple of times, moving Virtualmin setups between VPS providers. Overall, it’s not as scary as it might seem at first — just takes a bit of careful planning.

Here’s what I’ve learned the hard way:

  1. DNS is the trickiest part when you’re not using your own nameservers.
    If your domain’s DNS is managed elsewhere (like your domain registrar or Cloudflare, etc.), make sure to update the A/AAAA records to point to the new server’s IP after you’ve restored everything and confirmed it works.
    Also, don’t forget to check the MX and SPF records if you’re running mail on the same box.

  2. Check the new VPS IP against blacklists before switching mail.
    This is really important if you plan to run email on the new server. Use a blacklist checker (like mxtoolbox) to make sure the IP hasn’t been used for spam before. I once made the mistake of skipping this — fixing email deliverability after the fact is a pain.

  3. If you have custom setups (like multiple PHP versions or unusual mail settings), keep a list.
    Virtualmin backups do a good job of preserving virtual server data, but they won’t always carry over things like:

Custom firewall rules

Additional users outside Virtualmin

Manually installed PHP versions or tweaks in php.ini So it’s a good idea to jot these down before you move, especially if they were done a while back and you’ve forgotten.

  1. Always keep at least one full backup aside — and test before switching DNS.
    I usually keep a full backup on local storage and another on remote, just to be safe.
    And before changing any DNS records, I always check that everything is restored properly and running as expected on the new server.

In the end, it’s really not a bad process once you do it once or twice. You’ll get better control over your setup and maybe even optimize things along the way.

Hope that helps, and good luck with the migration!

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I removed the spammy looking link in your post. Microsoft Power Automate is off-topic here, and certainly not useful for this purpose. You’d just be making a lot more work for yourself trying to munge it into a Virtualmin deployment or migration.

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