The cPanel to Virtualmin migration is some what complex process when compared to usual cPanel to cPanel migration. Here, I’m going to provide the necessary steps for migration.
Backing up of data from cPanel:
Consider you have only the cPanel access for the account.
Login to cPanel>> Files >> Backups >> Download a Full website Backup
By default, the backup file will reside in /home directory of the account.
Move the backup file to document root of the account ie /home/<user>/public_html/ and change the permission of the file to 644. This will make the file publicly accessible for downloading. Though this a security concern, I am using it as it is more convenient and doesn’t require the root password for transferring the file.
Once the task is completed the file must be removed from the document root to ensure data security.
Migrating the account to Virtualmin:
The first step in any migration is moving the backup file from the source ( here cPanel) server to the destination server ( Virtualmin) server. Let us see how it can be done through command line
Step1: Login to the Virtualmin server using SSH.
Step2: Change the location of present working directory to /home.
Download the backup file to the server.
wget http://userdomain.com/backupfile.tar.gz
Make sure to replace the value userdomain.com with the source cPanel domain name and backupfile.tar.gz with the backup file generated and moved to the document root.
Note:
Once downloaded, login to the source server and remove the backup file back to the /home directory. We can use it in case of an incomplete transfer, without going for another backup generation step. Keeping the backup file in the user’s home directory too is an option, but it may create disk space issues for the user.
Account Restoration
Login to Virtualmin control panel interface as a root user.
Navigate to Add servers >> Migrate Virtual Servers
Then “Virtual Server Migrate Options screen” will appear. Then specify the backup source file through the tab, Source Backup file. In our case, the backup file is already moved to the server and is available in the Local directory itself.
Then select the Local files or directory radio button in the Source Backup file.
Provide the path where the backup file is present using folder selection box.
2. Ensure the “Backp file type” is selected as “cPanel backup“.
3. It is mandatory to provide the Password of the cPanel account that is to be migrated. So select the if possible radio button in the Password for administrator selection.
Note: If the password of the cPanel account is not provided it will threw error as “authentication failed”.
4. Then select “Migrate now” button to proceed with migration.
It imports all mailboxes, databases and webdata from a cPanel account. This can make the migration process much faster and easier then restoring the account manually.
Once migrated, perform the routine post migration checks and confirm that everything is working properly.
