What should I plan before moving a dedicated-server workload to another datacentre?
A datacentre move may involve physical relocation, migration to another machine or both. Plan the application cutover separately from hardware transport and confirm destination network and capacity requirements in advance. DNS changes, external allowlists, certificates and data ownership can affect service even when the new server boots successfully.
Before you start
- A destination agreed with the provider and an application-specific cutover and recovery plan.
Instructions
1. Map dependencies and the destination
Identify applications, databases, scheduled jobs, storage and external integrations. Confirm hardware/architecture compatibility, support access, IP allocation and the destination’s security and availability arrangements.
2. Plan a consistent cutover
Define how data reaches the destination, when writes stop or transfer ownership, and how old jobs are prevented from running twice. Set a rollback decision point and avoid allowing both old and new instances to accept conflicting writes.
3. Verify from the client side
After the approved change, check the intended DNS record and application port from a relevant client network. Replace the example hostname with the migrated service.
Resolve-DnsName -Name app.example.com -Type A
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName app.example.com -Port 443These local Windows checks inspect an IPv4 DNS answer and TCP reachability. Also verify IPv6 records where used, TLS identity and actual application behaviour; a reachable port alone is insufficient.
Check the result
- The intended destination receives traffic, data and scheduled jobs have one correct owner, and application checks pass from relevant client networks before retiring the source.
Troubleshooting
- Some users still reach the old IP
- Check resolver caching, remaining DNS records and external proxy configuration.
- The application works locally but integrations fail
- Review destination allowlists, outbound connectivity and credentials bound to the old environment.
- A physical move is required
- Include controlled shutdown, transport and power-on verification in the downtime plan.
Official references
Use the documentation for your installed version when a flag, service name or platform feature differs.