Moving forum from one server to another - Which directories to move?

[Westingham]

I'm in the process of moving our forums from HostGator to DigitalOcean and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the scope of our disk usage. If I were to try and be picky about which folders I moved from one server to another, which folders would I have to pick? Data seems like a logical choice, as it contains attachments and avatars, but so does internal_data but it's not obvious what the information stored there is used for.

Also, and this may seem a bit wacky, would it be possible to move the SQL database from one server to another and let the forums run as they normally did but only move the attachments over a little at a time? Would this cause problems other than images not showing up?

Last but not least, is anybody familiar with a way of moving data from a shared Linux host like HostGator to a Linux VPS like DigitalOcean without having to transfer it to my home PC first?

 

[Paul B]

You will need to move all directories and files from the installation.

The /data directory contains the thumbnails, the /internal_data directory contains the full size attachments.

 

[Westingham]

Well sir, you just provided me with the answer I was afraid I'd receive. Thank you anyways!

 

[AndyB]

Ask at DigitalOcean if they can copy the forum folder over for you to their server.

 

[Westingham]

Ask at DigitalOcean if they can copy the forum folder over for you to their server.

Ah, now there's an idea!

You will need to move all directories and files from the installation.

The /data directory contains the thumbnails, the /internal_data directory contains the full size attachments.

Wait, would I need to copy folders like /library and and /js? Wouldn't I be able to use a fresh Xenforo install instead?

 

[Paul B]

You could upload the files from the .zip package but you would need to copy over the config.php and .htaccess if it has been modified, as well as any add-on specific files.

The install-lock.php file is also required but that is in the /internal_data directory.

 

[AndyB]

Wait, would I need to copy folders like /library and and /js? Wouldn't I be able to use a fresh Xenforo install instead?

You want to copy the entire forum folder structure to your new server.

 

[Mike Edge]

If both servers use cPanel, you can ask your new host to transfer your entire account.