Key takeaways
- Keep the old server running until the new one is proven; the move never changes the original.
- Lower the DNS time to live a few days before you switch, so the change reaches everyone fast.
- The importer reports what converts, builds the account in a dry run and can roll everything back.
- The importer has run on archives we built, not on a customer backup, so move a small account first.
"Without downtime" is a promise about the order of steps, not about luck. If the old server keeps serving until the new one is proven, then visitors never see an outage. This post is the outline of that order. The full guide has every step, and the cPanel alternative page says how the two compare.
Start with a second server
Do not install RespireCloud on the cPanel server. The installer looks for another panel and for web, database, mail or DNS servers that someone set up by hand, and it stops when it finds them. A new server of a supported system costs a few days of rent, and it is what lets you test first while the old one carries on.
Lower the time to live ahead of time
The time to live (TTL) of a DNS record is how long other networks keep an answer. If it is a day, a change takes up to a day to reach everyone. A few days before the move, lower the TTL on the records you will change to a few minutes, then wait at least as long as the old value. On the day, the switch spreads in minutes, and a bad switch can be undone just as fast.
Back up one account and import it
Use cPanel's own backup script to create an archive of the smallest account you have. RespireCloud's importer reads it and does three things before changing anything. It checks the archive. It reports what converts and what does not. Then it builds the account in a dry run, so you see the plan.
Only when you say so does it commit. If something is wrong, the rollback removes everything the import created. Read more on the migrations feature page.
Test on the new server before DNS points at it
Check the site on the new server by editing your own hosts file, send a test mail, open the databases and look at the cron lines the report listed. Mailbox owners will need a new password. Add a backup target and restore one file from it before you rely on it.
Switch, then watch
Change the records. While the short TTL runs out, some visitors reach the old server and some the new one, so keep both online. Mail that lands on the old server in that window can be fetched from it afterwards. When traffic on the old server is gone, keep it a little longer, then retire it.
An honest note
RespireCloud is in early access. The importers for cPanel and Plesk have run end to end on archives we built to match each format, not on a customer's production backup. Treat the first move as a rehearsal: a small account, a copy, and the old server untouched.
Questions
Do I install RespireCloud on the cPanel server?
No. Use a second server. The installer checks for another panel and for hand managed web, database, mail or DNS servers and stops on them.
What does not come over?
The importer's report lists what it could not convert, for example Apache rules in a .htaccess file that have no nginx equivalent. Read it before you commit.