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Moving webservers detail

As a record to the nobility and hard-workingness of the Transition Technologist team here is a glimpse into the detail of what we think happens as we move the website onto the new servers and set up:

  1. Test site in I put in place last night on updated platform, final tweaks (tonight)
  2. Make new platform based on fixed make file (tonight)
  3. Import site again, documenting steps needed now snags/problems with makefile are resolved (should be straight forward) (tonight)
  4. Get the site secured using Aegir's inbuilt SSL handing (tonight)
  5. Ensure the MySQL/502 Bad Gateway issue does not resurface [SHOW STOPPER] (tonight, ongoing)
  6. Replace old /sites/www.transitionnetwork.org/files references with new path -- might just be a search/replace on DB import file, or a couple of other approaches. (being tonight, test and implement tonight/tomorrow/weekend)
  7. Import my/Laura's PSE change into new repos. (ongoing)
  8. Test system, QA, check all ok, get 'sign off' [SHOW STOPPER] (Monday)

And then, assuming we get through that (and as promised), the outline process for the day of transfer to Puffin is:

  1. Put TN.org into read-only mode (need to add module) (5 mins)
  2. Add block to all pages explaining what's happening (5 mins)
  3. Take DB backup, import into finalised TN platform (30 mins)
  4. Transfer latest site files from Quince (15 mins)
  5. Do post-import tasks per 3, 5, 6 (above) are done, aborting if issues hit (probably 1 hour)
  6. Final test/QA per 8 (above) and go/no-go decision -- ED this needs you or someone else to do this ideally! (depends on who is available, but 1/2 hour probably)
  7. Chris change DNS (15 mins)
  8. We wait (1/2 to 4 hours)
  9. LIVE! (woo!)
  10. Fix any problems that occur (week afterwards)
  11. Finish PSE stuff (2 weeks afterwards)
  12. Migrate news.transitionnetwork.org (as above but much simpler and quicker hopefully)
  13. Celebrate!
About the author
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Ed is the Web Manager for Transition Network. This means that he works on all the web stuff from the day to day support, to tactical activities to strategic and special projects work for Transition Network about linking up all the Transition Initiative websites without them having to come to the main site all the time for updates and news.

He lives in Bristol, likes digging and climbing, growing vegetables and reading, bicycles and books, swimming, camping and generally being outdoors.

Published on January 24, 2013, by Ed Mitchell
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