Upgrading Plesk by Transfer

Upgrade by transfer is a process of switching to the latest Plesk version by moving all hosting data (service plans, accounts, subscriptions with content, and so on) from your current Plesk server (source) to a server with a later Plesk version (destination server). This upgrade method is appropriate, for example, if the latest Plesk version does not support in-place upgrade from your Plesk or does not support the operating system you use on the server. In addition, you can use this type of upgrade if you want not only to update your Plesk, but also to move it to a more powerful server or a new operating system. You can perform upgrade by transfer in the following ways: using the Plesk Migrator component or using the backup files.

Supported Upgrades

Important: If you upgrade from earlier Plesk versions (7.x, 8.x, or 9.x), you should perform additional Plesk configuration steps once the data transfer is finished. These steps are required for successful switching of all your Plesk objects to the new business model. Learn more in the chapter Completing Upgrade from Plesk 9 and Earlier Versions. 

Upgrade Using the Plesk Migrator Component (Recommended)

We recommend that you perform upgrade by transfer using the Plesk Migrator component. This component runs on a destination server and automatically copies hosting data from your source Plesk. Learn how to upgrade your Plesk using Plesk Migrator in the Migration Guide.

Upgrade Through Backup Files

If for some reason, Plesk Migrator cannot connect to the source server (for example, due to firewall restrictions), you can transfer data from the source to the destination server using backup files. To perform such an upgrade, you should back up the data on the source server, transfer the resulting archive file to the destination server manually, and restore the data on this server. You can back up and restore Plesk data either through the Plesk GUI, or by means of the command-line utilities pleskbackup and pleskrestore. Learn how to perform upgrade using backup files in the section Upgrading Through Backup Files.

What Is Transferred

After you perform an upgrade by transfer, the destination Plesk will contain service plans, add-ons, customer accounts, and subscriptions that existed on the source server before the upgrade. The majority of Plesk settings will be transferred as well. However, some objects and settings are not transferred to the destination Plesk, namely:

• Plesk settings from the list below:
  • The list of connected database servers and their settings (Tools & Settings > Database Servers)

    Important: If a database server connected to the source server is not connected to the destination server, all databases from this database server will be transferred to the destination server's default database server of the same type.

  • The settings of Apache modules (Tools & Settings > Apache Modules)
  • Backup settings (Tools & Settings > Backup Settings)
• Customers' backup files and FTP storage settings (Control Panel > Websites & Domains > Backup Manager > FTP Storage > Settings).
• Plesk extensions.
• Third-party software and services.

Administrators and customers should configure these settings and add missing objects manually.

Best Practices

You might find useful the following Plesk Knowledge Base articles:

• Plesk for Linux: Migration Best Practices and Use Cases.
• Plesk for Windows: Migration Best Practices and Use Cases.