ARCHIVED: Migrate your site from Webserve to Sitehost

• Overview
• Pre-migration checklist
• Create a new Sitehost account
• Move your site files to Sitehost
  • If you use the WCMS
  • If you manage your files directly
• Request the virtual host name
• Test your site on Sitehost
• Final steps
  • Default virtual host name only
  • Custom virtual host name

Overview

Following are general steps to migrate your site from Webserve to the Sitehost servers. This is not a comprehensive guide; your site may need additional work not covered here.

The Webserve group account owner will need to complete most of these steps. Site owners using the IU Web Framework will need to follow additional instructions in ARCHIVED: Migrate your IU Web Framework site to Sitehost or ARCHIVED: Migrate your customized IU Web Framework site to Sitehost.

For a list of Sitehost features and other changes from Webserve, see About Sitehost.

Pre-migration checklist

Before requesting a Sitehost account, verify that Duo is enabled for the group account that you will use on Sitehost. To enable Duo on a group account, see Use Two-Step Login (Duo) with a group account.

Before migrating your site, refamiliarize yourself with your site's code and check for the following:

• Does your Webserve site have any virtual hosts?
• Does your site have PHP code with compatibility issues with PHP 7.4?
• Does your site have scripts that will need to be updated?
• Do you have active cron jobs that will need to be recreated?
• Does your site use .htaccess files to control access?

For more, see About Sitehost.

Create a new Sitehost account

If you're the account owner, follow the steps below to create a new Sitehost account. This will create accounts on both the Sitehost production server and the test server, Sitehost-test.

1. Log into Enterprise Web Technical Services with your personal username and passphrase.
2. Select Manage your Sitehost account.
3. You will see a list of group accounts that you own. Select Account details for the group account for which you want to request Sitehost.
4. Select Request Sitehost account. Read the User Agreement, provide the information requested at the end, and then select Request.
5. The request will be sent to Web Services Support for approval. You will receive email confirmation that the account was created.

Move your site files to Sitehost

How you move your site files to Sitehost will depend on how you manage your site. UITS recommends that you set up your site first on the test server, sitehost-test.iu.edu. The following instructions assume you are moving your Webtest site to sitehost-test; the process is similar for moving your production site.

If you use the WCMS

1. Set up Transports for Sitehost:
   • A site manager should log into WCMS Manager Tools.
   • Expand the Transport setting for the site you wish to change.
   • Select the + (plus sign) to add a new Transport.
   • Add the following information for sitehost-test (replace username with the group account username):
     • Transport Name: A name for your Transport; for example, sitehost-test
     • Host Name: ssh.sitehost-test.iu.edu
     • Port: 22
     • ServerDirectory: /groups/username
     • Username: username
     • Password: Your group account password
     • Confirm Password: Your group account password
     • Use SFTP: Checked
     • Use PASV: Unchecked
   • Add the following information for sitehost production (replace username with the group account username):
     • Transport Name: A name for your Transport; for example, sitehost
     • Host Name: ssh.sitehost.iu.edu
     • Port: 22
     • ServerDirectory: /groups/username
     • Username: username
     • Password: Your group account password
     • Confirm Password: Your group account password
     • Use SFTP: Checked
     • Use PASV: Unchecked
2. Set up destinations for Sitehost:
   • In the WCMS, select Manage Site, then Destinations, then +Add, and then Destination.
   • Enter the following information for sitehost-test:
     • Name: A name for your destination, for example, sitehost-test
     • Directory: web, or a subdirectory of /groups/username/web
     • Transport: The sitehost-test Transport you created earlier
     • Applicable Groups: Select the groups that can publish your site
     • Web URL: username.sitehost-test.iu.edu
   • Enter the following information for sitehost production:
     • Name: A name for your destination, for example, sitehost
     • Directory: web, or a subdirectory of /groups/username/web
     • Transport: The sitehost Transport you created earlier
     • Applicable Groups: Select the groups that can publish your site
     • Web URL: username.sitehost.iu.edu
3. Update content types to allow publishing to the new destinations.
   Important:

   To view your site on <account>.sitehost-test.iu.edu, you will need to be on campus, or be using a VPN if off campus.

If you manage your files directly

1. With Webserve officially retired, the owner can receive a copy of their archived Webserve data by emailing sct2@iu.edu. You will need to see if your website files are in the www or wwws folders. Those are the files you will need to move to Sitehost.
2. Connect to the Sitehost server with an SFTP client (see SFTP clients recommended for use at IU).
3. Upload the contents of the web directory to sitehost-test or sitehost production, as well as any other files that your site needs. Your website files will need to go into the web directory on the Sitehost servers.
   Important:

   To view your site on <account>.sitehost-test.iu.edu, you will need to be on campus, or be using a VPN if off campus.

Request the virtual host name

1. Select Account details for the account that will be the document root for the virtual host.
2. Select View virtual hosts.
3. Any virtual hosts associated with this account will be listed. Select Request a new Virtual host.
4. Enter the following information (replace accountname with the name of the account):
   • Primary URL: The main host name that users will use to access your website
   • Alias(es): Any alternate host names associated with the website
   • Document root: The file location for your website; this must be /groups/accountname/web or a subdirectory
   • Contact Email: Usually the account owner, but can also be a technical contact
   • Technical Contact Email (Optional): An additional technical contact
   • Launch Date: Requests are normally fulfilled as soon as possible; if you need your site to go live on a specific date, enter it here.

Test your site on Sitehost

To test your site on the Sitehost production servers, do the following after you have published or uploaded your site to sitehost.iu.edu (this only works for virtual host names, not ~username URLs):

1. In a web browser, go to https://VirtualHostURL/sitehostmigrationtest. Replace VirtualHostURL with the URL of your site.

   If your site does not have a virtual host or custom URL, go to accoutname.sitehost.iu.edu. Replace accountname with your account name.

2. You will see an intermediate page that says you are about to view your site on the Sitehost production servers. Select the link to proceed.

   You will see your site as rendered by the Sitehost servers. If your page has a title, "Testing - " will be prepended to it.

   Note:

   If your site does not have a default page (for example, index.html, index.php, or home.html), you may see an error page. If this happens, add the specific page you wish to preview to the URL.

Final steps

When you have finished the above steps, proceed as follows:

Default virtual host name only

If you do not have a custom virtual host name and only need the default virtual host name (accountname.sitehost.iu.edu), email Tier 2 WSS, sending the account names you migrated.

• The email address used needs to be the email address of the account owner or someone with the proxy role for the account.
• In the "Subject" text box, enter Sitehost finalization request – accountname.
• In the "Message" text box, indicate that you are ready to complete the migration of the Sitehost account accountname, and that your account does not have a custom virtual host name, but only needs the default virtual host name.

Custom virtual host name

If you have a custom virtual host name:

1. Log into Enterprise Web Technical Services with your personal IU username and passphrase.
2. Select Account details: [accountname] for the account you want to migrate.
3. In the left margin, select Virtual Hosts.
4. Select view virtual host for the virtual host you are ready to migrate.
5. At the bottom, select Request DNS changes.

Site migrations with a custom virtual host name require a DNS change, which will take effect by 8am on the following business day after you receive confirmation of the request.

When the DNS changes take effect, Webserve administrators will lock your Webserve account. If you need your account unlocked, email Tier 2 WSS.