Migrate to a fresh install

Hello everyone,

I have a bit of a complicated situation, so please bear with me.

We have a former SugarCRM / SuiteCRM instance which was first installed in 2009, as a VM, in Hyper-V, with Windows Server 2008 RS, SQL Server 2005 and IIS 7.5. After many battles, upgrades, tweaks and updates it became clear that this server needs to be replaced. Something broke and SuiteCRM upgrades are not working as they should.

The logical solution would be to migrate to a modern Microsoft Server, but after years of using SuiteCRM I am certain that the integration is not perfect. As we already have a Univention Server running Nextcloud (as a VMware machine on a Qnap NAS) I’ve also added SuiteCRM to the UCS Server. I now have a secondary fresh install of SuiteCRM, running in a completely different environment. Needless to say, my Linux knowledge (UCS is based on Debian) is zero.

Our functional SuiteCRM instance was only used for Accounts, Contacts, Notes and Campaigns. There are also a few custom fields and around 5-6 users.

Finally, the big Question: what approach would you recommend for data transfer between these 2 alien instances, of course without bringing the current issues to the fresh installation? Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, I am open to discussions in case someone is interested in helping me with this project.

Here is a post found in this Forum, where you could get inspiration:
https://suitecrm.com/suitecrm/forum/suitecrm-7-0-discussion/22090-how-to-migrate-to-a-new-install

Additionnally I found an article on SugarCRM, so there may be differences with SuiteCRM, but I believe that this a good starting point.

Hopefully @pgr can add a few more tips.

If you attempt it please share your experience and don’t forget to take a full backup of both files and DB before doing anything and to do an attempt first on a copy.

https://support.sugarcrm.com/Documentation/Sugar_Developer/Sugar_Developer_Guide_9.1/Integration/Migration/Migrating_From_a_Broken_Instance_to_a_clean_install/

Migrating From a Broken Instance to a Clean Install
Overview
The following article describes the process of migrating a potentially broken instance to a clean install.

This is beneficial in the use case of corrupted core files. This will not correct issues caused by broken customizations.

Requirements
To migrate your instance to a clean install you will need to do the following:

Have full permissions to modify the system files.
Identify your Sugar version. The version of your instance can be found by navigating to the About page in your SugarCRM instance from the global links menu.
Once you have identified your Sugar version, you will need to download the full installer package of your Sugar version from your account’s Downloads page.
If you are on 9.1.0 Pro, you must download the SugarPro-9.1.0.zip package or the migration will not work.
Migrating to a New Instance
Make a complete backup of your broken instance. This includes both the filesystem and database.
Extract the contents of your downloaded Sugar package ( Sugar-.zip ) to your web directory. This will be your clean Sugar directory that we will migrate your existing instance to.
You will then need to copy the following directories and files from your broken instance to the clean instance:
./config.php
./config_override.php (if it exists)
./custom/
./upload/
./cache/images/ - This is optional and contains the embedded emails displayed in the UI.
Note: If you are on a version prior to 6.4.0, you will also need to copy over the entire ./cache/ directory.
Next, you will need to identify if you have any custom modules. These folders will reside in your ./modules/ directory and have a naming format of _. You will need to copy these files to their corresponding directory in the clean instance you extracted in step 2.
Once the files have been moved to the clean instance, you can remove your old instances files and move the clean instance in its place. If you choose to move the instance to a new location on the server, you will need to update the $sugar_config[‘site_url’] parameter in your ./config.php and/or ./config_override.php files.
Reset your filesystem permissions.
Log into your instance as an administrator and navigate to Admin > Repair > Quick Repair and Rebuild.

Thank you very much for your answer.

I know this article, but the situation is further complicated by the fact that the new instance is a closed box for me - basically a VM on a Linux base inside a NAS. Ia have no idea how to edit or copy files into the fresh install. I know that, in running SuiteCRM, some Linux knowledge is required, but so far I’ve managed my Windows-based setup for the past decade :slight_smile:

That’s why I was trying to find a way to move th data from the web interface - not to mention that on the old instance, backup does not successfully completes anymore…Is there a third party software that automates the migration? Or even paid support ? :slight_smile:

Again, thanks!

@bsarbu you can get paid support from SalesAgility if you want, if you want to be contacted by a colleague of mine to discuss this, just tell me, and i will ask them to email you using the email address you have in these forums.

But you can also keep asking here and we’ll do our best to help.

I fear that moving to a new server where you don’t have proper access is not a recommended path. It really helps if you have admin access to the database, and root (or sufficient) access to the files through SSH. You’re going to put your business in the critical connection with this CRM, you don’t want to want to have your hands tied in the future when you need to fix something, or customize, or make proper backups, etc.

Thanks @pgr, as always you make a valid point.

I am going to be completely honest: I would like this CRM to work, for years, without mistake, without tinkering, without broken updates, without backups and snapshots before making the slightest change. I cannot remember how many times I had to spend hours to try to fix the newsletter engine, the malfunctioning theme, cron not working as it should, php issues and so on and so forth. Even the Microsoft updates work these days :slight_smile:

And yes, I know, the answer is the hosted solution [maybe]. But we are a small company who cannot afford a Business package with included support. And then, we host our own servers for privacy reasons. The obvious solution was SugarCRM / SuiteCRM, but the older I get, the more I have patience issues…

I will try to see what an import / export brings or even start clean in this fresh instance. But sure, please give my email adress to one of your collegues, maybe we’ll be able to close a deal. Thanks!