Achievement Get: Upgrade Server - A writeup of my experiences
The upgrade is complete! I've managed to move practically everything over to the new server, apart from a few automated cleanup tasks here and there. There are still a few issues floating around, but they shouldn't affect this website, and I should have them cleared up soon. Although the migration went smoother than I expected, I did encounter some issues and learnt a few things that I thought I'd share here.
The first thing I found was that starting a todo list isn't a rather good idea. It sounds simple, but it's actually really useful. I found that I had a lot of small tasks I needed to complete, and I kept thinking of more things that needed doing at regular intervals. If I didn't write them down I'd never get anything done because I'd never be able to remember what needed doing first!
It also helps to do your research before you move. Make sure that you're properly reaquainted with all the software running on the system that you're going to migrate from, and that you're familiar with all the ins and outs of your particular situation. If you aren't, then you risk stumbling across some rather nasty, complicated, and time consuming problems mid-migration.
It also helps to do as much of the migration as possible without taking the old system offline. Install the software, Move the configuration files. Set up the firewall. Set up your new monitoring tools. This allows you to minimise the downtime that you have to subject your users to, which is always a good thing.
Lastly, testing is incredibly important. test everything. Make sure that every little feature after you migrate. You'd be surprised at how many issues can crop up after migration.