📦 Server Migration Checklist

A structured checklist for safely migrating production workloads between servers.

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1️⃣ Pre‑Migration

• [ ] Full inventory of running services
• [ ] Updated backups (databases, volumes, configs)
• [ ] DNS records verified (A/AAAA, CNAME, MX)
• [ ] TTL lowered (recommended: 300 seconds)
• [ ] New server prepared (OS, SSH keys, firewall rules)
• [ ] System compatibility validated (versions, libraries)
• [ ] Security baseline applied (updates, fail2ban, ufw)
• [ ] Monitoring prepared (logs, metrics, alerts)

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2️⃣ Migration

• [ ] Transfer data and configuration
• [ ] Restore databases and volumes
• [ ] Start containers/services on the new server
• [ ] Validate Traefik routing and certificates
• [ ] Functional tests for each service
• [ ] DNS switch (A/AAAA records)
• [ ] Monitor traffic and logs after cutover

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3️⃣ Post‑Migration

• [ ] Performance optimization
• [ ] Log and alert verification
• [ ] Backup jobs updated
• [ ] Documentation updated
• [ ] Old server decommissioned safely
• [ ] Security audit (ports, services, users)

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🔧 Useful Commands

# Live monitoring after migration
docker compose logs -f
traefik healthcheck

# Check DNS propagation
dig +short example.com