Knowledgebase: ColdFusion

Coldfusion Migration FAQ

Posted by Quinton Moore on June 30 2015 02:50 PM

Frequently Asked Questions regarding HostMySite's ColdFusion Migration

Q: Why am I being moved to ColdFusion 10?

A: ColdFusion 10 offers greatly improved security and better performance over its predecessors. To give a more clear picture of how outdated the older versions are: Adobe core support officially ended for ColdFusion 9 in 2014, ColdFusion 8 in 2012, and ColdFusion 7 in 2010. For more information on the Adobe Support Lifecycle for ColdFusion, go here: https://www.adobe.com/support/products/enterprise/eol/eol_matrix.html#63

Q: What are the benefits related to this upgrade?

A: In addition to the new hardware mentioned above, our upgraded servers utilize Coldfusion 10 as well as 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: We will provide you with a promo code to get a ProFusion plan for 3 months at no charge. It will then be your responsibility to order your new plan and copy the website files from the old server to your new server. This includes any databases or custom website configurations (for example, datasources).

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

A: At this time, HostMySite is only upgrading the web servers 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 subscription 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. If your site currently uses ColdFusion 8 or 9, version 10 is mostly backwards-compatible; however some minor coding updates may be necessary. If your site uses an earlier version, like 5 or 7, some major coding updates may likely be required as CF 10 is not backwards-compatible prior to 8. It is your responsibility to address any issues related to ColdFusion coding; Support will not make any updates to your website code. Specific points to consider are listed below for your review:

ColdFusion Error Handling:

The new ColdFusion servers no longer display error messages on the site upon occurrence.  Instead, an application.cfc file must be created with CF coding to have the errors output for troubleshooting.  You can find how to configure an application.cfc here.

ColdFusion DSNs:

ColdFusion DSNs will need to be recreated in the new Control Panel.  Additionally, on the new system, DSNs use a new format for their names. All new DSN Names will be prefaced with the subscription id plus an underscore(_) followed by their unique name (ie. "dsnname" for subscription 111 will now be "111_dsnname") and should be updated in the website code accordingly.  You can view, manage or create new ones in the new Control Panel under More Services > ColdFusion.  This KB article will show you how to create DSNs: Create DSNs

Scheduled tasks:

Existing scheduled tasks cannot be migrated as approval of the task by our Server Admins is now necessary before it is added. Please contact Support if you have a scheduled task that would need to be configured on the new server.

Custom ColdFusion Tags:

Custom Tags will no longer be available due to security settings within the new environment.  A Windows Cloud server will be necessary to implement this which can read about more here.

Verity Collection, Stored Procedures and other custom configurations:

Any custom configurations unique to your website like verity collection or stored procedures may require access you do not have. In these cases, contact Support to review them and attempt to implement them on the new system.

Email Forms:

Due to security reasons, any mail form that does not use SMTP authentication with a mail server will cease to function on the new server.  Forms will need to be updated to use SMTP authentication to restore functionality.  A sample mail form can be found here for CFMail.

Absolute Paths:

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

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

IIS changes, Password Protection:

If you need to make any changes of this nature, please feel free to contact Support

 

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

You can find a ColdFusion best practices support article for our system here and additional information related to general Windows issues are available here. Please feel free to contact our Technical Support team by phone, chat, or email for any other concerns.  Details for contacting Support are here.

 


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