How to Migrate a Site from Plesk to Plesk: Migrator Tool Guide

Migrating from an old Plesk server to a new KavesNET VDS? Plesk Migrator moves sites/mail/DB/DNS in one go — without manual rsync + dump-import grind. This guide walks through using Plesk Migrator, test runs, and cutover.

Prerequisites

• Old server: Plesk installed, sites running
• New server: fresh Plesk installed and licensed (see our Plesk install post)
• Migrator extension installed on the new server
• SSH access to old server (port 22)
• Access to your DNS panel

1. Install the Migrator extension

On the new server’s Plesk panel:

Tools & Settings → Extensions Catalog → search Plesk Migrator → Install.

In ~5 minutes, the “Server Migration” menu appears.

2. Start a new migration

Server Migration → Start a New Migration:

• Source platform: Plesk for Linux / Plesk for Windows
• Source server hostname or IP: old-server-ip
• SSH port: 22 (change if custom)
• Username: root
• Authentication: password or SSH key

Connect → all sites and mail accounts on the old server are listed.

3. Choose what to migrate

Pick from the list:

• All domains (default)
• Specific domains only
• Include mail? (usually yes)
• DNS zones
• Databases

Estimated size + time is shown in advance.

4. Test migration (recommended)

Before going to production:

Test Migration → the Migrator only takes a copy of files/DB without making it live.

The result report shows:

• What migrated successfully
• Warnings (PHP version mismatch, old mail format, etc.)
• Errors

Fix errors → re-test → once clean, run the real migration.

5. Real migration (cutover)

Start Migration → the Migrator:

1. Copies all files (rsync)
2. Dumps + imports databases
3. Moves mailboxes (IMAP sync)
4. Replicates DNS zones
5. Replicates Plesk config (vhost, users, perms)

Time: ~30-60 minutes for a 10 GB site (network-dependent).

6. Cutover (DNS change)

Right after migration, the old server is still live — the site still serves from the old IP. To point to the new server:

1. Test the site on the new server: add to your hosts file (new-vds-ip yoursite.com) → load in browser → does it work?
2. Lower TTL (24h before cutover): in your DNS panel, drop TTL to 60s
3. Change DNS A record to the new IP: propagates in 60s-5min
4. SSL certificate: enable Let’s Encrypt on the new server in Plesk (SSL post)
5. Keep old server up for 7 days: for visitors with cached DNS

Manual alternative (when Migrator fails)

Migrator fails in some cases. Manual route:

# Full Plesk backup on old server
plesk bin pleskbackup --domains-list domain1.com,domain2.com -v --output-file=/tmp/backup.tar

# scp to new
scp /tmp/backup.tar root@new-server:/tmp/

# Restore on new
plesk bin pleskrestore --restore /tmp/backup.tar -level domains

Details: our FileZilla VDS migration post helps for big files.

Common issues

• “PHP version mismatch”: old server PHP 7.4, new 8.2 → site may not work; install 7.4 on the new server first, then upgrade after migration
• Empty mailboxes: IMAP sync needs user passwords; the Migrator asks
• SSL lost: certificates must be reissued (Let’s Encrypt → after DNS propagates)
• MySQL strict mode: old DB import shows “data truncated” → temporarily set sql_mode='' on the new server
• Cron jobs missing: the Migrator can miss some script paths — verify manually (cron post)

Post-migration checklist

• Site loads? (after DNS propagates, beyond hosts test)
• Mail send/receive working? (test via mxtoolbox.com)
• SSL active? (browser green lock)
• All cron jobs running? (crontab -l)
• DB connections correct? (check PHP error log)
• Backups working? (Plesk Backup Manager test)
• DNS propagated? (dig +short yoursite.com from various regions)

Conclusion

Plesk Migrator does a full migration in 45-60 minutes — what would take 4-6 hours manually. After getting your new Plesk VDS at KavesNET, the first thing to set up is the Migrator.

For migration support, contact us — we can do it together.

Related: Plesk Linux Installation · FileZilla VDS File Migration