Windows to Linux Server Transition

[Rokatesh]

I need help for the best path to follow during a transition from Windows server to Linux server.

We're shifting the customer from an ecommerce website (using PayPal) on a windows server to a ecommerce website (using ZenCart) on a linux server.

The customer could have no down time; so - we setup a website on a linux server with an alternate domain name to be able to populate the website.

Right now the customer has one main site: www.thecountryneedle.com with many domain aliases pointing to that site. This site also has several email accounts associated with it.

The new site is: www.countryneedle.net. Once it is going - all the aliases will point to the new site.

So... my questions:
1. Is there a way to shift the new site to the main domain (www.thecountryneedle.com) without any downtime?
2. If there isn't, then what could I do to have anyone going to the old domain be automatically forwarded to the new domain - WHILE still maintaining the old email addresses?
3. In the future, what could I have done to make this transition easier?

Thanks,
Shannon

 

[timruns]

i don't think the news is super good for you...

If jodo gives you the same name servers (ns3 & ns4.whatever...), then you will have downtime. Hsphere won't let you have two sites with the same domain name active at the same time.
I had a client down from several hours to 1/2 day as the dns record re-propagated... Mail was down for about an hour or two everywhere I tested.

Possible solutions:
1. Beg jodo to give you a new nameserver (ns1/ns2 perhaps?). As far as I know, they cannot do this, or won't do this (it could be quite complex, so you might offer to pay for the special service since it is critical for your client.
2. multistep:
a1.) Get a 3rd party hosting company
a2.) forward win acct email to different domain (gmail, whatever).
a3.) forward 3rd part host email to different domain (gmail, whatever)
b.) Build a redirect on 3rd party to go to a stopgap site on your linux account (yourclient.defaultname.com).
c.) switch dns from you win account (ns3.jodo...) to your 3rd party host. As DNS propagates, people will start going to the 3rd party host, and then redirected to the stopgap site on linux acct (which will be your clients live data, just slightly wrong URL).
d.) once dns propagates everywhere (12+ hours), then kill the domain on win acct, and create the domain on linux acct.
e.) immediately switch DNS back to ns3/4.jodo...
f.) after 24hrs, kill the 3rd party host
g.) if it all works well, have a beer.
h.) if it doesn't work well, drink something much stronger...

I have never tried the above solution, the last client I had to move accts with was OK having a scheduled down time for 1/2 day... It seems like it should work however...