Switch Servers
Amrayu78
Taken from Points/Coins canny example.
For example, renting a server is cheaper than Bluehost. This already compensates for the costs incurred due to direct links.
or (for example, €59/month).
October 13, 2025 is when the one year agreement ends.
Max Romanchenko
I just want to say that I am working on setting up a new server.
It is showing good performance. Among the server's features, both 512 GB disks are combined into a RAID 1 array. RAID 1 mirrors data across two 512 GB drives. If one fails, the other keeps everything safe. You get 512 GB of usable space with full redundancy. This protects against hardware failure. If the disk fails, you need to send a request and Hetzner will install a new disk free of charge.
So yeah, usable space is 500GB, not 1TB. At first I thought that’s too little since Bluehost uses around 300-400GB. But I checked - it’s enough. No point paying extra now. The site itself is ~30GB, backups + system + panel take ~200GB, so there’s still 250-300GB free, which is fine.
Site data transfer took about 2-3 hours on average. During that time, the site will need to be switched to maintenance mode and won't be accessible.
We'll also need to update Cloudflare settings, luckily, those should apply pretty quickly. I've got access, so no issues there.
We'll need to coordinate the migration date closer to the actual move, of course.
Amrayu78
Max Romanchenko Thanks for your update! Good to hear that things are moving smoothly.
Whenever you're ready let's switch soon. What about emails from the server and such?
So there's some pending things:
- Emails sent from the server (system emails)
- Cloudflare
- Domain (on Bluehost right now)
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78 Thanks! Yes, email server from the server still needs to be set up on the new host, I'll handle that.
As for Cloudflare, nothing needs to change yet. Closer to the migration date, I'll point the domain to the new server IP. Cloudflare usually applies DNS changes pretty quickly.
The domain itself stays on Bluehost for now - just the domain, no hosting attached.
What I have already done:
- Apache
- PHP 8.3.25 + FPM
- OPCache
- Redis
- MySQL 8
- Free admin panel Webmin
- FTP server
- Daily backups - DB + Files (5-day retention)
It’s the same setup we had on Bluehost for optimal performance - just without paid WHM + cPanel. Everything runs smoothly with a free panel and the same core stack.
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78
I have set up backups on the server, but I think this needs to be improved. For reliability, file and database backups should be stored somewhere else (in case something happens to the server). I had an idea to store them in a private "backups" folder in Gofile or PixelDrain using API or Rclone. I just wanted to ask your permission - what do you think about this? Do you approve, and which service would you prefer? The planned total backup size is about 62 GB.
Amrayu78
Max Romanchenko Gofile is fine.
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78 Thank you, I got it. I will set up automatic backup uploads to Gofile. I will let you know once it's done.
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78
Daily Backup Sync to Gofile Configured!
I've set up Rclone to daily sync the server's backup folder to your Gofile.
https://rclone.org/gofile/
A backup folder was created in your Gofile root. It will sync with the server once a day, so we'll have copies in both places.
Backup rotation is configured to cap the size:
- filesystem: 3 days
- database: 6 days
- system: 6 days
This should keep the total size around 60-65 GB.
Here's the folder structure on Gofile:
Gofile account (root)
└── backup/
├── filesystem/
├── mysql/
└── system/
Amrayu78
Max Romanchenko Thank you! 🙏 Are we ready to migrate yet or do you have an ETA of when you want to migrate?
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78
I'm almost ready, but I need a bit more time for final testing and system configuration. I estimate I'll be ready to migrate in about one week. I'll keep you updated on my progress.
By the way, I've checked and the current paid SSL certificate for drama-otaku.com is expiring soon. After the migration is complete, I'll set up a new, free SSL certificate automatically through the server's control panel. There's no need to transfer the old paid certificate. The only thing we'll need to do is point the domain to the new server first, and then the new SSL will be generated. Therefore, auto-renewal of this service (Single Domain SSL DRAMA-OTAKU.COM One Year Term) on Bluehost can be disabled.
I'll let you know as soon as everything is ready for the final step!
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78 To prepare the new server for migration, I need to configure it to send essential system emails (like notifications and alerts).
The reasons for email blocking in the first month are listed here:
https://docs.hetzner.com/robot/dedicated-server/faq/faq/#why-can-i-not-send-any-mails-from-my-server
Hetzner requires the server owner to request the unblocking of port 25. Could you please submit a support ticket to them using the following reason?
Reason for unblock request:
"To unblock port 25 for our mail service to send essential system and transactional email notifications. This will not be used for mass mailing."
This is a necessary step before I can finalize the server setup.
Thank you!
Amrayu78
Max Romanchenko I've sent in the request.
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78 Thank you! Let's wait for their decision.
Amrayu78
Max Romanchenko it’s unblocked now. Please check
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78 Thank you, I can confirm that.
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78
Sorry, it's still not working properly. Please write to Hetzner again, here's the ticket:
___
Subject: Port 25 Still Blocked?
Message:
Hello,
You previously confirmed that outgoing port 25 was unblocked on my server (95.217.72.189). However, all connection attempts to external SMTP servers (e.g. smtp.google.com) still time out - both over IPv4 and IPv6.
Firewall is inactive, iptables shows no restrictions, and DNS resolution works correctly.
Could you please confirm:
• Is port 25 fully open for all outbound traffic (IPv4 and IPv6)?
Thank you in advance.
Here is the log:
$ telnet smtp.google.com smtp
Trying 2a00:1450:4010:c07::1a...
Connection failed: Connection timed out
Trying 2a00:1450:4010:c07::1b...
Connection failed: Connection timed out
Trying 2a00:1450:4010:c08::1b...
Connection failed: Connection timed out
Trying 2a00:1450:4010:c1e::1b...
Connection failed: Connection timed out
Trying 142.250.150.26...
Connection failed: Connection timed out
Trying 142.250.150.27...
Connection failed: Connection timed out
Trying 64.233.163.27...
Connection failed: Connection timed out
Trying 173.194.221.27...
Connection failed: Connection timed out
Trying 64.233.162.26...
telnet: Unable to connect to remote host: Connection timed out
Amrayu78
Max Romanchenko I've sent your message to them earlier.
Max Romanchenko
Amrayu78
Thank you! Port 25 has now been fully unblocked.
Would it be possible to grant me temporary access to the Hetzner panel while I'm configuring the server and handling the migration?
Once everything is complete, you can change the password and revoke my access.
This would be helpful in case of any emergency situations during setup.