i-doit server migration: Step by step

Prerequisite

The new server must have the identical i-doit version installed. Both systems must meet the same system requirements (PHP, MariaDB, Apache).

Step 1: Prepare old server

Deactivate cronjobs
Deactivate third-party integrations
Stop Apache: sudo systemctl stop apache2

Step 2: Export data

Option A: Tenant export via Console (recommended)

The system:tenant-export command exports the tenant database including uploaded files as a ZIP:

sudo -u www-data php console.php system:tenant-export \
    --user admin --password admin --tenant 1

Transfer the generated ZIP to the new server.

Option B: Manual export (complete)

cd /var/www/html && tar -czvf /tmp/i-doit-migration.tar.gz .
mysqldump -hlocalhost -uroot -p --all-databases | gzip -9 > /tmp/idoit-backup.sql.gz
scp /tmp/i-doit-migration.tar.gz user@newserver:/tmp/
scp /tmp/idoit-backup.sql.gz user@newserver:/tmp/

Step 3: Import on new server

Option A (Tenant export)

sudo -u www-data php console.php system:tenant-import \
    --file=/tmp/export.zip \
    --tenant-database-name=idoit_data \
    --tenant-title="Tenant" \
    --db-root-user=root --db-root-pass=secret

Optionally add --with-system-settings and --with-tenant-settings to transfer settings.

Option B (Manual)

cd /var/www/html && tar -xzvf /tmp/i-doit-migration.tar.gz
gunzip < /tmp/idoit-backup.sql.gz | mysql -hlocalhost -uroot -p
sudo chown www-data:www-data -R .
sudo find . -type d -exec chmod 775 {} \;
sudo find . -type f -exec chmod 664 {} \;
sudo rm -rf temp/*

Step 4: Adjust configuration

If database credentials differ on the new server:

Edit /var/www/html/src/config.inc.php ($g_db_system user/password)
Update tenant DB credentials in the Admin Center under Config

Step 5: Verification

Check licensing and encryption method in Admin Center
Update DNS/IP/hostname references
Reactivate and test integrations (LDAP, JDisc, monitoring)
Set up cronjobs on the new server
Configure backup strategy
Test web interface and data integrity

Keep the old server as a fallback until the migration is fully verified.

Detailed documentation: Moving an installation in the Knowledge Base