Migration: which one do you need? ​
Several different operations in AdminBolt are called "migration". They start from different places, end in different places, and move different things. Pick the row that matches what you are trying to do.
| You want to | This is called | You drive it from | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move a whole cPanel or DirectAdmin server into AdminBolt | Migrating to AdminBolt | bolt-migrate, a tool you run on the source server | Migrating to AdminBolt |
| Move selected accounts from a cPanel or DirectAdmin server into one AdminBolt server | External migration | The admin panel, under Migration (Migrate from cPanel or DirectAdmin) | External Migrations |
| Bring one account in from its cPanel backup file, without access to the old server | Backup file import | The admin panel (Migration > Import a backup file), the reseller panel (Hosting Management > Import a backup), or the client panel (Files > Import a backup) | Import a backup file |
| Move a hosting account from one AdminBolt node to another under the same hub | Account migration between AdminBolt nodes | The hub panel, under Cluster → Cluster Accounts | Cluster Accounts |
| Serve DNS zones that stay owned by an external cPanel, DirectAdmin, or Plesk server | External DNS source, a read-only mirror | The hub panel, under Cluster → DNS Cluster | DNS Cluster |
Coming from another control panel ​
If you are leaving cPanel or DirectAdmin, two features bring the accounts across, and both move configuration and content: files, databases, and mailboxes.
Migrating to AdminBolt is the bolt-migrate tool. It moves a complete server in one pass, it runs on the server you are migrating away from, and it has two paths: migrate to a new server, or convert the current server in place. Choose it for a whole-server move, and for an in-place conversion, which is the only way to keep the source server's own identity.
External migrations is driven from the admin panel of the AdminBolt server that receives the accounts. You connect the source, review what it reports, and select which accounts to bring over. Choose it when you want a subset of the accounts, when you want the panel to hold the state so a closed browser cannot disturb the run, or when you are consolidating several source servers onto one AdminBolt server over time. It never converts the source, which keeps running until you repoint DNS.
Nothing on either path involves Hub Mode or nodes. Those are for servers that already run AdminBolt.
From a backup file, without the old server ​
Backup file import, since panel 1.9.3, is for the case where you have a backup file of a cPanel account but no access to the server it came from, for example when a customer brings the backup from a previous host. It reads one account from one file, shows a preview, and restores it into a new or an existing account on this server. It never contacts the old server, so it is not an external migration. Administrators turn it on and run it from Migration > Import a backup file, resellers from Import a backup, and clients from Files > Import a backup when their plan includes it.
Already running AdminBolt ​
If both the source and the destination are AdminBolt servers, you want account migration between AdminBolt nodes. It is a Hub Mode feature: the hub moves an account from one of its servers to another and switches the cluster DNS to the target.
It always moves the account configuration: domains, databases and users, mailboxes, DNS records, SSL, cron jobs, FTP accounts, and so on. Since panel 1.9.1 it also copies the content behind it by default: website files, email, and database contents, each of which you can untick when you start the migration. The hub compares the source and the target before it switches DNS, and the source copy is kept. The account owner can refuse the data copy, and then only the configuration can move.
Side by side ​
| Migrating to AdminBolt | External migration | Between AdminBolt nodes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source | A cPanel or DirectAdmin server | A cPanel or DirectAdmin server | An AdminBolt node managed by a hub |
| Destination | An AdminBolt server | The AdminBolt server you drive it from | Another AdminBolt node under the same hub |
| Driven by | bolt-migrate on the source server | The admin panel (Migration) | The hub panel (Cluster → Cluster Accounts) |
| Requires Hub Mode | No | No | Yes |
| Account configuration | Moved | Moved | Moved |
| Website files, database contents, mailbox contents | Moved | Moved | Moved by default; each can be left out |
| What happens to the source | Left intact (migrate) or replaced after you confirm (convert) | Left intact and serving until you repoint DNS | Kept, optionally suspended |
| Scope | The whole server, every account at once | The accounts you select | The accounts you select, one migration per account |
Named "migration", but nothing moves ​
Two features carry the word without moving any hosting:
- LiteSpeed PHP migration re-assigns domains between REMI PHP and LSPHP on a single server. It changes which PHP engine runs your sites, nothing else.
- DNS Cluster → External Sources, the third row above, only mirrors zones. The external panel stays authoritative, and the accounts, sites, mail, and databases stay on it.