Server Transfer

[Miff]

Im tranferring a domain name I own onto a new server which is currently running a customers Zen cart store. I have found the guide to doing this on the Zen cart website and it all seems very straight forward. My only question is about the fresh install on the new server.
It says to install the same version on zen cart as your old store but how does this work with an upgraded store? I origionaly installed version 1.3.9g and then upgraded to version h so my database patch level will still be at g.
I have clearly seen the note directing people away from doing an attempted upgrade during transfer but I was wondering if installing h would be fine. Usualy i would never even consider it, however I found version g to be quite buggy.
Since my old site had already been upgraded to h and the fact that both g and h are not really propper upgrades, just patches of the same 1.3.9 zen cart I was thinking that this would not cause any problems. The only thing that was preventing me from just trying it was because the only place I thought i may have issues was with the database. I am unsure of where, if anywhere I would encounter any issues. Any support would be appreciated. Thank you.

[frank18]

The database is the same for 1.3.9a to 1.3.9h - only the file system had some changes between versions. So, theoretically you could install 1.3.9h on the new server.

I would still follow the instructions and install 1.3.9g then upgrade to 1.3.9h (only minor bug fixes etc.)

[Miff]

Thank you. I did not think there would be a problem. If i install g first then i will obviously not need to upgrade to h as this will be automatically done anyway when I later upload and overwrite the fresh installation with my old store file structure which was already upgraded. I do not suppose that it makes much difference which version I install really since the only new files kept are the configure.php files. I only asked this question just in case the transfer did specifically need me to install one or the other. I did not want any major issues. Since I now know that I do not specifically need to install h then I may as just install g to keep the transfer as un-noticeable as possible to the files. If anyone knows any different let me know. Thank you for your help.

[frank18]

Absolutely correct. Whichever way you choose to go (g or h), you still need to upload your own (already updated h files) to the server. Just read the changelog for g to h upgrades as there is one g file deleted (obsolete) in h

[Miff]

One more thing I would like to ask is what advise anyone could give me on the best way to transfer my domain with minor issues. I currently have it on a hosted plan and do have full operation over editing the nameservers and dns records. I'm also transferring to a dedicated server so obviously I have full control over this to. I simply did not want completely close down my site by changing my domains settings until as late as possible.

[frank18]

My guess is that there will be a short downtime as it takes a little while until the change has propagated through the system - someone who is a bit more savvy may be able to give you a definitive answer

[Vger]

There would normally be between 24 and 48 hrs downtime whilst the various ISPs update their dns caches (after you change dns addresses). You can mitigate this:

1. Set all email addresses on the old hosting to forward to another email address not based on your hosting - so if any email goes to the old site you'll still get it.

2. If the "hosting" control panel you have on your old hosting allows you to specify the name servers being used for the site then you can change these to the new name servers, so that anyone coming to your old hosting will get passed on to the new. You'd do this after, or about the same time as, changing the dns addresses.

3. I'd recommend you put your old site "Down For Maintenance" but not the new site. So if you and your customers see your site up and running then you know they're on the new site and not the old.

Vger

[Miff]

I successfully completed the transfer including email addresses with only one slight issue which I am trying to resolve now. If I try to edit one of my already inserted listings I completely lose all of the text from the product title, description and model boxes. This also happens if I click back instead of insert whilst on the new product confirmation page. Very annoying but apart from that it was successful. Thank you

[Vger]

Was your old server running PHP 4 and your new server running PHP 5.2+ - and are there add-ons which are only compatible with PHP 4 in your Zen Cart (such as add-ons written for 1.3.8 and not updated for 1.3.9)?

Vger