Upgrading Through Backup Files

In addition to using Plesk Migrator, you can back up data on a source server, transfer the resulting archive file to the destination server, and restore the data there. Backing up and restoring can be performed through the Plesk user interface or by means of command-line utilities pleskbackup and pleskrestore. The utilities are located in the /usr/local/psa/bin/ directory on Linux systems, and %plesk_cli% on Windows systems.

Important: The backup and restore utilities and the corresponding functions in Plesk are available only if you install the optional Plesk components that are not included in typical installations. You can install these components by using the web-based installation and update wizard: in Server Administration Panel, go to Tools & Settings > Updates and Upgrades > Add Components, and select Plesk Backup Manager in the Server backup solutions group.

The backup format changes from version to version, so it may be impossible to restore data from a backup through command line due to compatibility problems. Therefore, if you want to transfer data from earlier Plesk versions, do it through the Plesk user interface: In this case, the destination Plesk will automatically convert the backup file to the appropriate format.

To back up data on the source server using Plesk user interface:

Follow the instructions in the Administrator's Guide for your Plesk version:

• Plesk 12.5: http://docs.plesk.com/en-US/12.5/administrator-guide/59256.htm.
• Plesk 12.0: http://docs.plesk.com/en-US/12.0/plesk-administrator-guide/59256.htm.
• Plesk 11.5: http://docs.plesk.com/en-US/11.5/plesk-administrator-guide/59256.htm.

If you have a Plesk version earlier than 8.6, use the Help link in the navigation pane to access the Administrator's Guide.

To back up all data on the source server using command-line utilities:

• On a Linux-based server - /usr/local/psa/bin/pleskbackup server <backup_file_name>.
• On a Windows-based server running Plesk 9 and later - "%plesk_cli%\pleskbackup.exe" --server.
• On a Windows-based server running Plesk 8.6 and earlier - "%plesk_cli%\pleskbackup.exe" --all <backup_file_name>.

If you want to save backup files to an FTP server, specify a URL like ftp://[<login>[:<password>]@]<server>/<file_path> instead of <backup_file_name>.

If you want to improve backup security, encrypt the backup by adding the -backup-password <your_password> option. Learn more about password-protected backups in the Administrator's Guide, section Backup and Restoration.

If you want to perform a selective backup by means of command-line tools, follow the instructions for your Plesk version:

• Plesk 10 and later: http://docs.plesk.com/en-US/12.5/advanced-administration-guide-linux/68837.htm (for Linux) and http://docs.plesk.com/en-US/12.5/advanced-administration-guide-win/68481.htm (for Windows).

After the data you want to transfer are backed up, upload the backup file to the server and restore the data it contains.

To upload backup file to the destination server and restore data by means of the GUI:

1. Log in to Server Administration Panel on the destination server.
2. Go to Tools & Settings > Backup Manager (in the Tools & Resources group).
3. Click Upload.
4. Click Browse and select the backup file you want to upload.
5. If the backup was encrypted, specify the password that you used for encryption.
6. Click OK. The file is uploaded to the server storage.
7. On the Server Storage tab, click the link corresponding to the backup file you have just uploaded.
8. Select the types of data you want to restore and specify restoring options.
9. Click Restore and follow the on-screen instructions to complete restoring.

To restore all data on the destination server by means of the pleskrestore command-line utility:

1. Upload a backup file to the server.
2. Prepare a mapping file, so that you could specify which IP addresses should be used on the server:
   1. To create a mapping file, issue the following command.
   • On a Linux-based server - /usr/local/psa/bin/pleskrestore --create-map <path to backup file> -map <path to mapping file>
   • On a Windows-based server - "%plesk_cli%\pleskrestore.exe" --create-map <path to backup file> -map <path to mapping file>
   1. Open the created mapping file with a text editor.
   2. Locate the section starting with [ip-map]. It should contain entries like in the following example:

      [ip-map]

      # Unchanged IP addresses:

      # Please review default IP addresses mapping below:

      10.52.30.170 shared -> 10.52.30.170 shared # ip address does not exist 10.52.30.170

      10.52.120.243 exclusive -> 10.52.120.243 exclusive # ip address does not exist 10.52.120.243

   3. In the right part of each line after the -> characters, replace the present IP addresses with those that should be used on the destination server, and make sure that the allocation scheme for the new addresses is correctly indicated by the words shared and exclusive. Shared indicates a shared IP address, and exclusive, a dedicated IP address.
   4. Save the file.
3. Restore the data from backup by issuing the following command:
   • On a Linux-based server - /usr/local/psa/bin/pleskrestore --restore <path_to_backup_file> -level server -map <path to mapping file>
   • On a Windows-based server - "%plesk_cli%\pleskrestore.exe" <path_to_backup_file> -level server -map <path to mapping file>

   If the backup was protected by password, use the -backup-password option to specify the password that you used for encryption.

   If the restoration fails with the error message Unable to resolve all conflicts, refer to the section Troubleshooting Migration & Transfer Issues.

Note: If you want to perform a selective restoration by means of command-line tools, follow the instructions in the Advanced Administration Guide for Linux and for Windows.

After data are restored, each migrated website is associated with a separate hosting service subscription not linked to any particular hosting plan. To simplify further maintenance, you can now review properties of all new subscriptions and associate them with hosting plans.

Important: If you upgrade from Plesk 9 or earlier, you should complete the transfer according to instructions provided in Completing Upgrade from Plesk 9 and Earlier Versions.