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Migrating an installation on GNU/Linux#

In this article, we describe the general procedure for migrating an i-doit installation from one GNU/Linux system to another. The migration includes both the databases and the files and directories.

Preparations and Assumptions#

Both systems must use the same i-doit version!
On Red Hat based operating systems, argon2i may need to be installed additionally

A few things need to be considered to ensure a smooth migration:

  1. i-doit is installed on both servers in the same version.
  2. Both systems were created with the idoit-install script.
  3. Both systems use the same passwords for MariaDB; these can be changed afterwards. If not, also use the optionally steps.
  4. We do not modify the old system so that we can quickly return to the original state if needed.
  5. The commands shown are suitable for a current Debian GNU/Linux and should be adapted to the respective environment. Blindly executing commands should be avoided.

Prepare New System#

First, the new system should be prepared as much as possible:

  1. The system requirements match the version in use; see the compatibility matrix.
  2. Customized system settings have been configured.

Decommission Old System#

The old system should no longer be used productively during the migration:

  1. Clear the i-doit address (URL) in the i-doit Administration and set it again on the new system.
  2. Downtimes are annoying, especially unexpected ones. Users of i-doit should be informed in advance that the installation is being migrated and during which period it will be unavailable.
  3. Automated access from third-party systems should be deactivated.
  4. Cron jobs should also be deactivated. It is usually sufficient to comment out the command lines.

  5. After ensuring the above points, the Apache web server should be stopped:

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    sudo systemctl stop apache2

On the Old System#

  1. First, pack the i-doit folder into a file:

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    cd /var/www/html
zip -rq /tmp/i-doit-migration.zip .


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    cd /var/www/html
tar -czvf /tmp/i-doit-migration.tar.gz .

  2. Save the databases to a file ("dump") and compress with gz:

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    mysqldump -hlocalhost -uroot -p --all-databases | gzip -9 > /tmp/idoit-backup.sql.gz

  3. Then transfer the files and the database dump to the new host:

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    scp /tmp/i-doit-migration.zip user@newsystem:/tmp/
scp /tmp/idoit-backup.sql.gz user@newsystem:/tmp/


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    scp /tmp/i-doit-migration.tar.gz user@newsystem:/tmp/
scp /tmp/idoit-backup.sql.gz user@newsystem:/tmp/

Migration to New System#

  1. Extract files after switching to the html folder:

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    cd /var/www/html
unzip /tmp/i-doit-migration.zip


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    cd /var/www/html
tar -xzvf /tmp/i-doit-migration.tar.gz

  2. Import database:

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    gunzip < /tmp/idoit-backup.sql.gz | mysql -hlocalhost -uroot -p

  3. If file system permissions are no longer correct:

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    cd /var/www/html
sudo chown www-data:www-data -R .
sudo find . -type d -name \* -exec chmod 775 {} \;
sudo find . -type f -exec chmod 664 {} \;

  4. i-doit stores internal caches in the temp/ directory. The contents should be completely removed. The caches are automatically created on first use of i-doit:

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    sudo rm -r temp/*

  5. It should be checked whether the .htaccess file was copied:

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    ls -lha /var/www/html/.htaccess

OPTIONAL: Use Different Database Passwords#

If different passwords are used for the database, the following additional steps are necessary. In this example, we use the following credentials:

User Password
System DB User root
System DB Password root
i-doit DB User idoituser
i-doit DB Password idoitpass

  1. To establish access to the Admin Center, the config.inc.php must be modified:

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    nano /var/www/html/src/config.inc.php

  2. Adjust and save the values under $g_db_system for user and pass.

  3. Log in to the Admin Center via the URL http://idoiturl/admin, select the tenant in the Tenants tab, and click Edit.
  4. Enter the new Username and new Password as well as Retype password in the MySQL settings and save.
  5. Log out of the Admin Center and log in to i-doit.

Post-Processing#

  1. Log in to the Admin Center and check the Licensing and the Encryption method.
  2. DNS entries, IP addresses, hostnames, etc. should be adjusted afterwards so that i-doit is accessible as usual.
  3. Interfaces to third-party systems can now be reactivated. The functions should be tested.
  4. Cron jobs should be reactivated and tested.
  5. Backups should be set up and tested.
  6. If the WebGUI also responds as usual and all data in i-doit is apparently present, the migration was successful.
  7. Perform standard security measures.