Before starting a migration, make sure that the source server or servers are accessible over the network and install the Plesk Migrator component on the destination Plesk server.

Installing Plesk Migrator

To install Plesk Migrator using the Plesk interface

  1. Log in as administrator to Plesk on the destination server.
  2. Go to Tools & Settings > Updates & Upgrades > Add/Remove Components.
  3. Select Install next to the Plesk Migrator component.

To install Plesk Migrator using the command line

  1. Log in to the destination server via ssh as the root user (Linux) or via RDP as the administrator user (Windows).
  2. Run the Plesk Installer as follows:
    1. (Linux) Run the plesk installer command.
    2. (Windows) Open the command prompt and run the "%plesk_bin%\ai.exe" --console command.
  3. Proceed through the installation wizard following the on-screen instructions until you reach the component selection stage.
  4. Mark the “Plesk Migrator” component for installation and complete the procedure following the on-screen instructions.

Migration Prerequisites

To ensure that the migration is successful, a number of TCP and UDP ports need to be opened on the source and destination servers.

For Unix servers, open the following ports:

  • TCP port 22 for SSH connections on source servers.
  • TCP port 8443 for access to Plesk XML API on the target server and on the source servers, if migrating from Plesk.
  • TCP ports 110, 143 for POP3 and IMAP, on source and target servers. These are used for post-migration checks.

For Windows servers, open the following ports:

  • TCP ports 135, 139, 445 and UDP ports 137, 138. Be sure to open these ports on the source and on the target server.
  • TCP port 1433 for Microsoft SQL Server, if it is used as the default instance.
  • UDP port 1434 and all (or manually selected) TCP ports for Microsoft SQL Server, if it is used as a named instance.
  • TCP port 10155 for a custom Plesk Migrator service performing miscellaneous tasks.
  • TCP port 10156 for rsync server.
  • TCP port 8443 for access to Plesk XML API on the target server and on the source servers, if migrating from Plesk.
  • TCP ports 110, 143 for POP3 and IMAP, on source and target servers. These are used for post-migration checks.

Also, make sure that https://autoinstall.plesk.com is accessible from the destination server.

We recommend that you install and configure all the necessary services and settings on the destination server before performing the transfer. For example, if you plan on migrating MySQL databases, make sure that the MySQL server is installed and running on the destination server, and so forth.

Make sure that Plesk on the destination server has a separate license. Otherwise, you may experience problems with the license validation during migration. The possible ways of obtaining license are described in the Administrator Guide.