Migrate a First Gen server to a Next Gen server with minimal downtime

This article describes the process of migrating an existing First Generation
(First Gen) Cloud Server to a Next Generation (Next Gen) Cloud Server with
little to no downtime by using Cloud Load Balancers and Cloud Server Images. To learn
more about the Next Generation Cloud Servers platform and the migration process,
see Next-Generation Cloud Servers migration considerations and options.

Note: This article assumes that you host your Cloud Servers and Domain Name
Servers (DNS) with Rackspace. However, if you host DNS elsewhere, you need to
perform the steps in the Repoint your DNS to the load balancer
section of this article by using the DNS portal where the DNS is hosted.

Create a load balancer

The load balancer makes a seamless migration from First Gen server to a Next Gen
server possible. Use it to update your DNS entries by having your stale DNS
entry traffic continue to reach your Cloud Server while allowing the updated
traffic to pass through the load balancer.

1. Log in to the Cloud Control Panel.

2. In the top navigation bar, click Select a Product > Rackspace Cloud.

3. Select Networking > Load Balancers.

4. Click Create Load Balancer.

5. In the Identification section, enter a name and select the same region that your server is in.

6. In the Configuration section, select Accessible on the Public Internet for Virtual IP.

7. Click Create Load Balancer.

Configure the load balancer

1. On the main Cloud Load Balancers page of the Cloud Control Panel, click
   the name of the load balancer that you just created.

2. On the load balancer details page, go to the Nodes section, click
   Add Cloud Servers, and add the First Gen server to the load balancer.

Note: If you have SSL termination on your server, you need additional
configuration. Enable SSL termination through the load balancer or have two
load balancers sharing the same IP address to direct HTTP and HTTPS traffic
to your server.

Repoint your DNS to the load balancer

1. At the top of the Cloud Control Panel,
   click Select a Product > Rackspace Cloud, then select Networking > Cloud DNS.

2. Select the domain that is currently pointing to your First Gen server.

3. On the domain details page, click the gear icon next to your A record and
   select Modify Record.

4. In the pop-up dialog box, enter the IP address of the load balancer in the
   Target field.

5. Type the load balancer's IP address in to your browser's address bar to
   verify your website is loading correctly.

Create a Next Gen server image

Follow the steps in this section to create an image of the First Gen server.
You can use this image to create a Next Gen server.

Note: If you are on a Linux server with under 40 GB of disk in use, you can
resize down to a 1 GB flavor before taking the image. When you create the new
Next Gen server from the image, you can choose any flavor that allows you to
boot the server from a volume, as described in the
Boot a server from a Cloud Block Storage volume article.

1. On the Cloud Servers page of the Cloud Control Panel,
   click the gear icon next to the First Gen server that you are imaging and select
   Create Image.

2. In the pop-up dialog box, enter a name for the image in the Saved Image Name field.

3. Select the Next Generation Cloud Server Image option.

4. Click Create Image.

Create a Next Gen server

Use the following steps to create a Next Gen server from the First Gen server image.

1. In the top navigation bar of the Cloud Control Panel,
   select Servers > Saved Images.

2. Click the gear icon next to the image you created in the previous section
   and select Create Server with Image.

3. Name your server and choose your preferred flavor.

4. Click Create Server at the bottom of the page.

Switch the servers

After the server has been created, attach it to your load balancer by performing
the following steps.

1. Go to the details page for the load balancer.

2. Under Nodes, click Add Cloud Servers.

3. Select the server that you created in the previous section and then click
   Add Selected Servers.

4. Use the following steps to remove the First Gen server that you added
   previously from the load balancer:

   Note: You can remove the First Gen server by using the Edit Node Condition
   feature instead. With this option, anyone currently on the server is unaffected
   by the transition but is not permitted to start any new connections.

   a. Click the gear icon next to the First Gen server and select Edit Node Condition.

   b. In the pop-up dialog box, select Draining Connections.

   c. Click Save Condition.

   Your server traffic now uses your Next Gen server.

Delete the Load Balancer

At this time, you can delete the load balancer, but you must update the DNS.
Optionally, you can keep the load balancer and add a second copy of the server
behind it to increase your availability. For more information, see
Tiered configuration using Cloud Load Balancers.

Optional synchronization tools

To synchronize data on a Windows server, we recommend that you use FTP.