We recently purchase an ISP and its subs. It was running its own mail 
server and now I want to migrate the users to ours. We control the domain 
name and we run our own DNS. 

Migrating the users is not the issue. Mine is along the same lines as 
Bhavin. Right now the MX record points to the old server. What is the best 
way to do the swap and minimize problems. 


Bruce "Hoss" Collins





Len Conrad <LConrad@...>
07/26/03 08:39 AM
Please respond to isp-dns

 
        To:     isp-dns@isp-dns.com
        cc: 
        Subject:        [isp-dns] Re: Relocatiing servers with minimum downtime



>I have to relocate my mail servers from one network to another in the 
same
>city.

The easiest is to have somebody give you backup MX support where the 
backup  MX has a queue lifetime longer than the relocate time, say 1 day.

With the backup MX in place:

1. A day before the move, shorten the DNS MX hostame's A record to 1 hour, 

to minimize the effect of cached stale records.

2. On the day of the move, change you DNS MX hostname's IP from old to 
new, 
also with 1 hour TTL, essentially making the old machine off-line.  Mail 
goes to backup MX.

3. move the mailbox server, put it on-line at MX hostname new IP.

4. backup MX will unload stored mail on the old mailbox server at the new 
IP.

5. put your MX hostname's A record TTL back to 1 day.

Len


_____________________________________________________________________
http://MenAndMice.com/DNS-training: London; Chicago; San Jose; Wash DC
IMGate.MEIway.com: anti-spam gateway, effective on 1000's of sites, free


------------------------ANNOUNCEMENT---------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
           ISPCON FALL 2003 - Santa Clara Convention Center
     October 20-22 - The Definitive Event Wired and Wireless ISPs
                            www.ispcon.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------










------------------------ANNOUNCEMENT---------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
           ISPCON FALL 2003 - Santa Clara Convention Center
     October 20-22 - The Definitive Event Wired and Wireless ISPs
                            www.ispcon.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Replies

[isp-dns] Re: Relocatiing servers with minimum downtime, Dave @ The Hostworks