Planning migration and server change - which comes first?

[Feanor]

I'm currently using vB and looking to both migrate it to XF and move the forum to a completely different host/server.

Any suggestions on the order this should be done in or does it not matter? I was thinking of moving the vB forum and then changing it to XF after it's on the new host. Also, disk space could be an issue because the SQL database is kind of large. Do I need room for two times the database size to account for the migration, or does migrating to XF only need one active database up and running at once?

Thanks.

 

[Paul B]

It doesn't really matter but I would likely migrate to the new server, confirm everything is working, then upgrade to XF.

The server will need enough capacity for the VB database, files, and attachments and the XF database, files, and attachments.

 

[Paul B]

Oh, one thing which may be an issue is we are recommending PHP 7.2 for XF2, 5.6 at the minimum.

If VB doesn't support that then you would need to do the import on the current server, then move the XF install to the new server.

 

[Feanor]

Got it. I'll look into that. Thanks.

 

[Slavik]

I suggest the server swap first, setup correctly with multiple php options means you can do the import with a little downtime as possible as you get the flex the muscles of your shiny new server.

 

[Feanor]

For those who have migrated to XF in the past, I'm curious, have you kept your vB database on the server or delete it after a while?

 

[Paul B]

You can delete it if you have no further need of it.

I think most people probably zip/tar it and archive it on the server and/or computer.

 

[M@rc]

For those who have migrated to XF in the past, I'm curious, have you kept your vB database on the server or delete it after a while?

It doesn't serve any purpose if you migrated away to XF so there is really no need to keep it. As Brogan said, I just make it a ZIP and keep it backed up locally. If I ever need to restore it, I could just re-upload everything again.

 

[LandyVlad]

I'd recommend migrating the existing forum to your new server, make sure everything is working as expected (give it a few weeks if you can to see if any problems crop up) and once you are sure everything is in order THEN you can convert to the XenForo platform.

Just my $0.02 less tax.