Moving VMmanager to a new server

Migrating VMmanager from the source server to the target server consists of the following steps:

Import VMmanager data. The import order depends on whether you need to migrate statistics data.
Import the domain name if it assigned to the source server.
Change the license token.

As the platform is in the process of transitioning to the PostgreSQL DBMS, different instances of VMmanager may use different DMBS.

The platform uses PostgreSQL in all new installations starting with version 2026.03.1. In all other cases, the platform uses MySQL. The DBMS is not changed when the platform is updated.

To determine the type of DBMS, run the following command on the platform server:

docker ps --filter name=pgsql

Example answer

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE         COMMAND                  CREATED      STATUS      PORTS      NAMES
3213c5dc94d0   postgres:12   "docker-entrypoint.s…"   5 days ago   Up 4 days   5432/tcp   pgsql

If the command output contains information about the container, the platform uses PostgreSQL; if the response is empty, it uses MySQL.

Step 1. Import VMmanager data

On the target server:
1. Install VMmanager. Read more in the article Installation.
2. Stop VMmanager and delete the containers:
```
vm down
```
3. Delete the data created by the installer:
  Before executing the command, make sure it is running on the target server.
```
rm -rf /opt/ispsystem/vm/mysql /opt/ispsystem/vm/clickhouse /opt/ispsystem/vm/config.json
```
4. Check that the nodes and virtual machines of the source server are accessible from the target server. Edit the firewall configuration if needed.
On the source server:
- If migrating statistics data is not required:
  1. Create a backup of the platform. Read more in the Creating platform backups.
  2. Stop VMmanager and delete its docker containers:
```
vm down
```
  3. Copy the backup file from /opt/ispsystem/vm/backup/ directory to the target server:
- If you need to migrate statistics data:
  1. Stop VMmanager and delete its docker containers:
```
vm down
```
  2. Copy files and directories to the target server:
    - /opt/ispsystem/vm/mysql/ — if the platform uses MySQL;
    - /opt/ispsystem/vm/pgsql/ — if the platform uses PostgreSQL;
    - /opt/ispsystem/vm/telegram-srv/ — if you use Telegram notification sending;
    - /opt/ispsystem/vm/clickhouse/ — statistics data;
    - /opt/ispsystem/vm/config.json — platform configuration file.
On the target server:
1. If you moved the /opt/ispsystem/vm/config.json file, specify the IP address or domain name of the target server in the DomainName parameter.
2. Start VMmanager:
```
vm start
```
3. If you migrated your data through a backup, restore the data using the instructions in the Creating platform backups article.
If the migration was successful, remove the platform from the source server:
1. Stop VMmanager service and disable it:
```
systemctl stop vm.service
```
```
systemctl disable vm.service
```
2. Delete the information about the platform operation:
  Before executing the command, make sure it is running on the source server.
```
rm /opt/ispsystem/vm -rf
```
3. Remove the installed docker images and containers:
```
docker system prune -a -f
```
4. Remove Docker software:
  AlmaLinux
```
yum remove docker-ce docker-ce-cli docker-ce-rootless-extras containerd.io
```
  Ubnutu
```
apt remove docker-ce docker-ce-cli docker-ce-rootless-extras containerd.io
```

Step 2. Move the domain name

Edit the A-record of your NS server: change the IP address of the source server into the IP of the target one.
If an SSL certificate is connected to the domain, follow the instructions in the article Connecting the SSL certificate.

Create a temporary subdomain while you are moving the domain. If your SSL certificate doesn't support Wildcard, receive a free Let's Encrypt certificate for the subdomain.

Step 3. Change the license token

When moving the platform to the new server, you need to recreate the license token. If you purchased a license from ISPsystem, change the Token value for your license in eu.ispsystem.com client area.

To update your license token information:

Connect to the platform server via SSH with superuser permission (the default user is root).
Delete all files from the /opt/ispsystem/license/ directory except machine_id:
```
find /opt/ispsystem/license/ -type f -not -name 'machine_id' -delete
```
Activate the license in one of two ways:
- via the platform interface:
  1. Click the Settings button in the pop-up message about the blocking or in the right menu click the icon → System overview in the right menu.
  2. In the License token field enter the value of the license token.
  3. Click the Activate button.
- via the terminal:
  1. Connect to the platform server via SSH with superuser permission (the default user is root).
  2. Run the command:
```
vm license update -t <license_token>
```