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 a hosting account from one AdminBolt node to another under the same hub | Account migration between AdminBolt nodes | The hub panel, under Cluster | Fleet 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, you want Migrating to AdminBolt. The bolt-migrate tool moves a complete server: accounts, websites, databases, email, DNS, and SSL, with the file, database, and mailbox contents included. It runs outside the panel, 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.
Nothing on this path involves Hub Mode or nodes. Those are for servers that already run AdminBolt.
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 through the panel API and repoints the cluster DNS.
Its scope is narrower than migrating into AdminBolt. It moves the account configuration - domains, databases and users, mailboxes, DNS records, SSL, cron jobs, FTP accounts, and so on - but not the content behind it. Website files, database contents, and mailbox (maildir) contents are not transferred, and the source copy is kept. Move that data separately if you need it on the target node.
Side by side
| Migrating to AdminBolt | Between AdminBolt nodes | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | A cPanel or DirectAdmin server | An AdminBolt node managed by a hub |
| Destination | An AdminBolt server | Another AdminBolt node under the same hub |
| Driven by | bolt-migrate on the source server | The hub panel (Cluster → Fleet Accounts) |
| Requires Hub Mode | No | Yes |
| Account configuration | Moved | Moved |
| Website files, database contents, mailbox contents | Moved | Not moved |
| What happens to the source | Left intact (migrate) or replaced after you confirm (convert) | Kept, optionally suspended |
| Scope | The whole server, every account at once | One account at a time |
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.