Migrating Linux Servers

This entry is a continuation of a series. Part one: Switching Hosting Companies and part two: Selecting a New Hosting Company.

In addition to being the name of a hosting company, a Linode is a Linux Node – a server instance that you specify and control for your own purposes. Each Linode that you create is associated with a plan that fits your memory, storage and bandwidth requirements. You also have the choice of the data center in which your Linode resides.

Please note that Linode is designed for developers who want to control all aspects of their servers. If you are looking for simple hosting services,
is not for you if you are looking for a simplistic hosting company. It’s offers are oriented around developers who want to control all aspects of their server(s)

Once a Linode is created, there are different ways to prepare your Linode for use. The quickest way to get started is to use the Deploy a Linux Distribution option, which allows you to select your favorite distribution, allocate hard drive space, and set the root password.

Alternatively, you can create your own custom profile, which provides you with the ability to further customize the specifics of your installation. And when Linode’s customizations are still insufficient for your needs, you can walk through a distribution install (text or X-Window based) remotely!

After creating my Linode, I was able to access the server via SSH, install the necessary software and configured it for my use. Once configured, I copied the data from my existing server, using rsync.

Once I stopped experimenting with various methods of creating a Linode and settled on a method that worked for me, it took a little over 2 hours from creating of the new Linode to complete the process. Most of that time was waiting for the files to copy to the new server.

I am extremely impressed with the capabilities, features, performance and customer support from Linode. I submitted a couple of tickets and I received responses back within minutes with answers that were relevant and helpful.

If you are looking for a quality, feature rich, developer class hosting company for hosting your own Linux servers, I strongly recommend Linode.com.

In the interest of full disclosure I was not compensated or asked to write this review.

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