Moving Servers Without Down Time

[TonySoprano]

Hi,
At present I have a Reseller web hosting plan but now I want to upgrade it. upgrading means I want a new server or even a new host. One of the biggest problems with changing hosts or servers is the lag time in DNS propagation.

How can i fix it?

[getpfunky]

with a little planning, you can make the move with no downtime. The key is not canceling the account on the old server until you complete all of these steps.

Steps

1. Upload to the New Server
After downloading all of the site's files to your local computer, upload them to the new server. Make sure that you keep the directory structure intact. The site should now be up and loading properly from the new server. Since the DNS settings still point to the old server you should verify this by loading the site with the IP address (if you are on a shared host you will probably also need the name of your account. If you're not sure how to do this, ask your host).

2. Change the DNS Settings
Now that you are certain the site is set up properly on the new server, you can start sending traffic to it. You can do this by changing the DNS settings with the registrar of your domain name.

3. Wait
As we said in DNS Explained it can take up to 48 hours for the changes you've made to propagate. During this time some users will be directed to the old server and others to the new one, so it is crucial that both servers are loading the site properly.

4. Cancel the Old Account
After 48 hours every DNS server in the world should have the updated settings. It is now safe to shut down the old account.

Conclusion
As long as your site does not have dynamic content frequently entered by multiple users, the above steps are all you need to move servers with no down time. If however, you have a massage board or some such site you'll have to work some additional magic to make sure that during the propagation you don't have posts being added to two separate databases.