Changing from Windows to Linux based server

[tomdurkin]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently helping a client with SEO for their actinic website.

I want to change a lot of the urls they have in place to make them more search engine friendly, and obviously I will need to 301 all the old ones to the new locations.

I also want to be able to add custom 404 error pages.

I know how to do both of these on a linux based server using a .htaccess file, however my client is on a windows server...

SO my question...I was wondering if anyone has ever changed from a windows server to a linux server while their Actinic site is live? Its easy switch over in fasthosts but obviously don't want to break anything.

I'm 99% sure its a bad idea, but I'm still interested to know if its possible!

Any experience/help on this subject would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Tom

[tomdurkin]

NOTE: I'd also be looking to install wordpress in a sub-domain at some point so I would also need to switch for that too..

[Duncan Rounding]

Make sure you test with Fasthosts first as you may experience some problems. Search the forums for Fasthosts.

[fergusw]

SO my question...I was wondering if anyone has ever changed from a windows server to a linux server while their Actinic site is live?

Yes. We help people migrate from one hosting platform to our hosting platform regularly. The important point to bear in mind is that you should have the site replicated and tested on the new hosting area before making any nameserver/repointing changes.

Its easy switch over in fasthosts but obviously don't want to break anything.

......I would look at options where you can create a new site to duplicate on rather than "swtiching" the platform from one to the other.
Perhaps Fasthosts FAQ is the place to look to find out what happens to a site's files when you "switch" with them.

[tomdurkin]

thanks for the tips, I'll look into it