Moving a CPanel domain with email to a self managed VPS and Gmail - Simon's Personal Development Blog

I have had www.fearby.com since 1999 on three CPanel hosts (superwerbhost in the US, Jumba in Australia, Uber in Australia (NetRegistry have acquired Uber and performance at the time of writing is terrible)). I was never informed by Uber of the sale but my admin portal was moved from one host to another and each time performance degraded. I tried to speed up WordPress by optimizing images, installing cache plugins but nothing worked, pages were loading in around 24 seconds on https://www.webpagetest.org.

I had issues with a CPanel domain on the hosts (Uber/Netregistry) as they were migrating domains and the NetRegstry chat rep said I needed to phone Uber for support. No thanks, I’m going self-managed and saving a dollar.

I decided to take ownership of my slow domain and setup my own VM and direct web traffic to it and redirect email to GMail (I have done this before). I have setup Digital Ocean VM’s (Ubuntu and Centos), Vultr VM’s and AWS VM’s.

I have also had enough of Resource Limit Reached messages with CPanel and I can’t wait to…

not have a slow WordPress.
setup my own server (not a slow hosts server).
spend $5 less (we currently pay $25 for a CPanel website with 20GB storage total)
get a faster website (sub 24 seconds load time).
larger email mailboxes (30GB each).
Generate my own “SSL Labs A+ rated” certificate for $10 a year instead of $150 a year for an “SSL Labs C rated” SSL certificate from my existing hosts.

Backup

I have about 10 email accounts on my CPanel domain (using 14GB) and 2x WordPress sites. I want to backup my emails with (Outlook Export and Thunderbird Profile backup) and backup my domain file(s) a few times before I do anything. Once DNS is set in motion no server waits.

The Plan

Once everything is backed up I intend to setup a $5 a month Vulr VM and redirect all mail to Google G Suite (I have redirected mail before).

I will setup a Vultr web server in Sydney (following my guide here), buy an SSL certificate from Namecheap and move my WordPress sites.

Rough Plan

Reduce email accounts from 10x to 3x
Backup emails (twice with ThunderBird and Outlook).
Setup A Ubuntu V on Vultr.
Signup for Google G Suite Trial.
Transfer my domain to Namecheap.
Link to domain DNS to Vultr
Link to domain MX records to Google Email.
Transfer website.
Setup emails on google.
Restore WordPress.
Go live.
Downgrade to personal G Suite before the trial expires
Close down the old server.

Signing up for Google G Suite

I visited https://gsuite.google.com/ and started creating an account.

Get 20% off your first year by signing up for Google G Suite using this link: https://goo.gl/6vpuMm

I created a link between G Suite and an existing GMail account.

Now I can create the admin account.

Tip: Don’t use any emails that are linked as secondary emails with any Google services (this won’t be allowed). It’s s a well-known issue that you cannot add users emails who are linked to Google services (even as backup emails for Gmail, detach the email before adding it). Read more here.

Final setup steps.

Now I can add email accounts to G Suite.

Adding email users to G Suite.

The next thing I had to do was upload a file to my domain to verify I own the domain (DNS verification is also an option).

I must say the setup and verify steps are quite easy to follow on G Suite.

Time to backup our existing CPanel site.

Backup Step 1 (hopefully I won’t need this)

I decided to grab a complete copy of my CPanel domain with domains, databases and email accounts. This took 24 hours.

Backup Step 2 (hopefully I won’t need this)

I download all mail via IMAP in Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird and export it (Outlook Export and Thunderbird Profile backup). Google have IMAP instructions here.

DNS Changes at Namecheap

I obtained my domain EPP code from my CPanel hosts and transferred the domain name to Namecheap.

Namecheap was even nice enough to set my DNS point to my existing domain so I did not have to rush a move before DNS propagation.

P.S The Namecheap Chat Staff and Namecheap Mobile App is awesome.

Having backed up everything I logged into Namecheap and set my DNS to “NameCheap BasicDNS” and then went “Advanced DNS” and set appropriate DNS records for my domain. This assumes you have setup a VM with IPV4 and IPV6 (follow my guide here).

A Record @ IPV4_OF_MY_VULTR_SERVER
A Record www IPV4_OF_MY_VULTR_SERVER
A Record ftp IPV4_OF_MY_VULTR_SERVER
AAAA Record @ IPV6_OF_MY_VULTR_SERVER
AAAA Record www IPV6_OF_MY_VULTR_SERVER
AAAA Record ftp IPV6_OF_MY_VULTR_SERVER
C Name www fearby.com

The Google G Suite also asked me to add these following MX records to the DNS records.

MX Record @ ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM. 1
MX Record @ ASPMX1.L.GOOGLE.COM. 5
MX Record @ ASPMX2.L.GOOGLE.COM. 5
MX Record @ ASPMX3.L.GOOGLE.COM. 10
MX Record @ ASPMX4.L.GOOGLE.COM. 10

Then it was a matter of telling Google DNS changes were made (once DNS has replicated across the US).

My advice is to set DNS changes before bed as it can take 12 hours.

Sites like https://www.whatsmydns.net/ are great for keeping track of DNS replication.

Transferring WordPress

I logged into the CPanel and exported my WordPress Database (34MB SQL file).

I had to make the following PHP.ini changes to allow the larger file size restore uploads with the Adminer utility (default is 2mb). I could not get the server side adminer.sls.gz option to restore the database?

post_max_size = 50M
upload_max_filesize = 50M

# do change back to 2MB after you restore the files to prevent DOS attacks.

post_max_size = 50M

upload_max_filesize = 50M

# do change back to 2MB after you restore the files to prevent DOS attacks.

I had to make the following changes to nginx.conf (to prevent 404 errors on the database upload)

client_max_body_size 50M;
# client_max_body_size 2M; Reset when done

1 2	client_max_body_size 50M; # client_max_body_size 2M; Reset when done

I also had to make these changes to NGINX (sites-available/default) to allow WordPress to work

# Add index.php to the list if you are using PHP
	index index.php index.html index.htm;

location / {
        # try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?q=$uri&$args;
        index index.php index.html index.htm;
        proxy
}

# Add index.php to the list if you are using PHP

index index.php index.html index.htm;

location / {

# try_files $uri $uri/ =404;

try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?q=$uri&$args;

index index.php index.html index.htm;

proxy

}

I had a working MySQL (I followed my guide here).

Adminer is the best PHP MySQL management utility (beats PhpMyAdmin hands down).

Restart NGINX and PHP

nginx -t
nginx -s reload
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx restart
sudo service php7.0-fpm restart

nginx -t

nginx -s reload

sudo /etc/init.d/nginx restart

sudo service php7.0-fpm restart

I had an error on database import, a non-descript error in script line 1 (error hint here).

A simple search and replace in the SQL fixed it.

Once I had increased PHP uploads to 50M and Nginx I was able to upload my database backup with Adminer (just remember to import to the created database that matches. the wp-config.php. Also, ensure your WordPress content is in place too.

The only other problem I had was WordPress gave an “Error 500” so moved few plugins an all was good.

Importing Old Email

I was able to use the Google G Suite tools to import my old Mail (CPanel IMAP to Google IMAP).

I love root access on my own server now, goodbye CPanel “Usage Limit Exceeded” errors (I only had light traffic on my site).

My self-hosted WordPress is a lot snappier now, my server has plenty of space (and only costs $0.007c and hour for 1x CPU, 1GB ram, 25GB SSD storage and 1000GB data transfer quota). I use the htop command to view system processor and disk space usage.

I can now have more space for content and not be restricted by tight hosts disk quotas or slow shared servers. I use the pydf command to view dis space.

pydf
Filesystem Size  Used <strong>Avail</strong> Use%                                                    Mounted on
/dev/vda1   25G 3289M   <strong>20G</strong> 13.1 [######..........................................] /
/www/wp-content#

pydf

Filesystem Size Used <strong>Avail</strong> Use% Mounted on

/dev/vda1 25G 3289M <strong>20G</strong> 13.1 [######..........................................] /

/www/wp-content#

I use ncdu to view folder usage.

Installing ncdu

sudo apt-get install ncdu
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
ncdu is already the newest version (1.11-1build1).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 58 not upgraded.

sudo apt-get install ncdu

Reading package lists... Done

Building dependency tree

Reading state information... Done

ncdu is already the newest version (1.11-1build1).

0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 58 not upgraded.

Type ncdu in the folder you want to browse under.

ncdu

ncdu

You can arrow up and down folder structures and view folder/file usage.

SSL Certificate

I am setting up a new multi year SS cert now, I will update this guide later. I had to read my SSL guide with Digital Ocean here.

I generated some certificate on my server

cd ~/
kdir sslcsrmaster4096
cd sslcsrmaster4096/
openssl req -new -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout domain.key -out domain.csr

cd ~/

kdir sslcsrmaster4096

cd sslcsrmaster4096/

openssl req -new -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout domain.key -out domain.csr

Sample output for a new certificate

openssl req -new -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout dummy.key -out dummy.csr
Generating a 4096 bit RSA private key
.................................................................................................++
......++
writing new private key to 'dummy.key'
-----
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]: AU
State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]: NSW
Locality Name (eg, city) []:Tamworth
Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]: Dummy Org
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []: Dummy Org Dept
Common Name (e.g. server FQDN or YOUR name) []: DummyOrg
Email Address []: me@dummy.org

Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
to be sent with your certificate request
A challenge password []: password
An optional company name []: DummyCO
root@servernamehere:~/sslcsrmaster4096# cat dummy.csr
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
MIIFAjCCAuoCAQAwgYsxCzAJBgNVBAYTAkFVMQwwCgYDVQQIDANOU1cxETAPBgNV
BAcMCFRhbXdvcnRoMRIwEAYDVQQKDAlEdW1teSBPcmcxFzAVBgNVBAsMDkR1bW15
IE9yZyBEZXB0MREwDwYDVQQDDAhEdW1teU9yZzEbMBkGCSqGSIb3DQEJARYMbWVA
ZHVtbXkub3JnMIICIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAg8AMIICCgKCAgEA6PUtWkRl
+gL0Hx354YuJ5Sul2Xh+ljILSlFoHAxktKlE+OJDJAtUtVQpo3/F2rGTJWmmtef+
shortenedoutput
swrUzpBv8hjGziPoVdd8qdAA2Gh/Y5LsehQgyXV1zGgjsi2GN4A=
-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

openssl req -new -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -keyout dummy.key -out dummy.csr

Generating a 4096 bit RSA private key

.................................................................................................++

......++

writing new private key to 'dummy.key'

-----

You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated

into your certificate request.

What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.

There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank

For some fields there will be a default value,

If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.

-----

Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]: AU

State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]: NSW

Locality Name (eg, city) []:Tamworth

Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]: Dummy Org

Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []: Dummy Org Dept

Common Name (e.g. server FQDN or YOUR name) []: DummyOrg

Email Address []: me@dummy.org

Please enter the following 'extra' attributes

to be sent with your certificate request

A challenge password []: password

An optional company name []: DummyCO

root@servernamehere:~/sslcsrmaster4096# cat dummy.csr

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

MIIFAjCCAuoCAQAwgYsxCzAJBgNVBAYTAkFVMQwwCgYDVQQIDANOU1cxETAPBgNV

BAcMCFRhbXdvcnRoMRIwEAYDVQQKDAlEdW1teSBPcmcxFzAVBgNVBAsMDkR1bW15

IE9yZyBEZXB0MREwDwYDVQQDDAhEdW1teU9yZzEbMBkGCSqGSIb3DQEJARYMbWVA

ZHVtbXkub3JnMIICIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAg8AMIICCgKCAgEA6PUtWkRl

+gL0Hx354YuJ5Sul2Xh+ljILSlFoHAxktKlE+OJDJAtUtVQpo3/F2rGTJWmmtef+

shortenedoutput

swrUzpBv8hjGziPoVdd8qdAA2Gh/Y5LsehQgyXV1zGgjsi2GN4A=

-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

I then uploaded the certificate to Namecheap for an SSL cert registration.

I selected DNS C Name record as a way to verify I own my domain.

I am now waiting for Namecheap to verify my domain

End of the Google G Suite Business Trial

Before the end of the 14-day trial, you will need to add billing details to keep the email working.

At this stage, you can downgrade from a $10/m business account per user to a $5/m per user account if you wish. The only loss would be storage and google app access.

Get 20% off your first year by signing up for Google G Suite using this link: https://goo.gl/6vpuMm

Before your trial ends, add your payment details and downgrade from $10/user a month business prices to $5/iser a month individual if needed.

G Suite Troubleshooting

I was able to access new G Suite email account via gmail.com but not via Outlook 2015? I reset the password, followed the google troubleshooting guide and used the official incoming and outgoing settings but nothing worked.

Google phone support suggested I enable less secure connection settings as Google firewall may be blocking Outlook. I know the IMAP RFC is many years old but I doubt Microsoft are talking to G Suite in a lazy manner.

Now I can view my messages and I can see one email that said I was blocked by the firewall. Google phone support and faqs don’t say why Outlook 2015 SSL based IMAP was blocked?

Conclusion

Thanks to my wife who put up with my continual updates over the entire domain move. Voicing the progress helped me a lot.

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