Windows Migration FAQ

Q: Why is HostMySite upgrading me?

A: HostMySite is upgrading the infrastructure for a lot of our customers to improve the customer experience and allow our classic customers to get the same benefits that all of our newer customers enjoy.  These include newer hardware with more RAM and CPU, as well as a newer and better functioning control panel that allows for significantly more customer control and will even support one-click installs for popular applications like WordPress and more.

Q: What are the benefits related to this upgrade?

A: In addition to the new hardware mentioned above, our upgraded servers utilize IIS 7 and offer support for ASP.NET 4.0 and PHP 5.6! This means that your hosting plan will now support most content management systems, like Wordpress. The control panel is also vastly improved, allowing for the ability to upload files directly through the control panel without using FTP, as well as installing applications in a single click.  You can also take snapshots of your website for backup purposes, access SmarterStats and much more.

Q: How will this upgrade work?

A: HostMySite will automatically convert your existing plan into an equivalent new plan type and migrate your website over our newest servers.  We will run a 2-level deep Quality Assurance test on your site to test it and ensure that it works as expected on the new servers.  We will attempt to fix any issues that we can, but if not, we will notify you of the additional assistance needed and provide some time to correct them before making your website live on the new servers.

Q: What about my Email or databases?  Are they being moved?

A: At this time, HostMySite is only upgrading the webservers for these accounts.  Email and database upgrades may happen at a later time. You can read about how to access them now further in the FAQ.

Q: Why will I be unable to access the Classic Control Panel during these upgrades?

A: Due to the way our upgrade process works, we are unable to allow access to both the Classic Control Panel and all the features of the new Control Panel in the same subscription.  If you have an alternate Classic subscription, you can access the Classic Control Panel that way.  

Q: How do I access my files on the new subcription to make changes to my website?

A: The simplest way is to access the files on your new account is from within the Control Panel under the File Manager.  This support article will show you how to access them:  File Manager

Q: What if I want to use an FTP program? How do I get the FTP information to access it?

A: FTP information is stored from within the Control Panel as well and the password is never visible.  You will need to set/reset the password to your primary user by using this support article: Set Your Windows FTP information

Q: What will happen to the additional FTP users I have created? Will they transfer over?

A: FTP users are unique to the server they were created on as, for Windows, they are stored on that server.  Additionally, the FTP system being used in the new system has changed.  Therefore, the additonal users will be lost and need to be recreated under the new account so they exist in the new FTP system by using this support article: Create Addtional Windows FTP Users

Q: What if I need to make changes that I can only do through the Classic Control Panel?

A: Most of the functionality of the Classic Control Panel can be accessed directly, without using the control panel, if necessary.  Steps for doing this are below:

Email:

Any email functionality that is in the control panel can also be done by logging into Smartermail using the root user or any other administrator you may have created.  You can log into Smartermail directly at http://mail.yourdomain.com  Most of the functionality in the control panel can be found under Settings -> Domain Settings -> Users.

MySQL databases:

Customers will still be able to log into PHPMyAdmin through this direct link: https://pma.safesecureweb.com

Customers who use a version of MySQL prior to version 4 will need to use this link instead: https://pma.safesecureweb.com/pma2

MSSQL Databases:

Customers who use MSSQL databases can still access them directly through SQL Server Management Studio.  Should you need a copy of SQL Server Management Studio, you can download a copy from Microsoft here.

Q: Are there any known issues related to the migration that I should be aware of?

A: Yes. There are several changes in our newer infrastructure that may require changes in customer code.  They are listed below for your review:

Email Forms:

Due to security reasons, any mail forms that do not authenticate with a mail server will cease to function on the new server. For example, ASP scripts can utilize CDOsys for SMTP authentication. A sample mail form can be found here.

Classic ASP

Classic ASP components, ASP 1.0 components, will not function on the new environment as they are not installed on an IIS 7 environment.  ASP 1.1 and higher will continue to function. You will want to convert your commands from their ASP version to the ASP.Net equivalent accordingly.  The Microsoft article here speaks in greater detail about converting ASP to ASP.Net: Converting ASP to ASP.NET

Microsoft FrontPage:

Microsoft, the manufacturer of that software, no longer supports MS FrontPage (FP) has not since 2006, nearly a decade ago.  As they no longer support this software and the operating systems that run on the new equipment will not be able to support it, we will no longer be supporting Microsoft FrontPage going forward.  Websites will remain functioning, but you will not be able to use FrontPage upload your site to our system nor will its extensions be available to run FrontPage specific aspects.  The alternate suggested solution will be to look into the successor of FrontPage, Microsoft Expressions, that Microsoft released to replace it.

IIS changes and Password Protection:

Unfortunately, this functionality will no longer be accessible for the live site until the migration is complete.  If you need to make any changes of this nature, please feel free to contact Support

Mime Types, default/error documents and other custom configurations:

Any custom configurations unique to your website like mime types and unique default or error document pages are not automatically transferred with this migration. These will need to be recreated in the new Control Panel .  Should you need assistance setting these up again, contact us directly.  We will show you how to add them through the Control Panel or attempt to implement them on the new system if need be.

Absolute Paths:

Any code that references the absolute physical path of files on the server will need to be updated to use new paths.  Relative paths are preferred, as they will function no matter what server or subscription your website is using.  The path will be: C:\CustomerData\webspaces\webspace_00XXXXXX\wwwroo where the "XXXXXX" is the Webspace number found under the Websites tab.

Scheduled tasks:

Any scheduled tasks will not be automatically migrated. Please contact Support if you have a scheduled task that would need to be reconfigured on the new server.

Domain Aliases/Forwarding:

Any domains that you had showing the same page as the migrated site will need to be set up once again, but done via the new Control Panel.  The new system requires data to be synced to the server in order to allow the domain to show content.  This support article will show you how to add those aliases or forwards: Adding a Website Alias

Individual FTP folder assignment

Security measures within our new environment no longer allow for an FTP user to be assigned and locked to specific FTP folders.  Any FTP user created will be assigned access to the main FTP folder allowing them the ability to manage any of the website files being used for the website.  If you were using the FTP portion for file storage and access, you will need to seek alternative methods like Dropbox, Google Drive or iCloud.

Q: My question is not answered here. What do I do?

Please feel free to contact our Technical Support team by phone, chat, or email for any other concerns.  Details for contacting Support are here.