Platinum Sandbox

• Will my website go down during or after my upgrade?
• How does the sandbox work?
• Will the sandbox co-exist with my current website?
• What happens if the original website has been updated with new information while I'm still testing the new site?
• How does publish work?
• I submitted a copy request and it was queued. How long does it take?
• I published the site but it was still in the old server
• I can't see new emails in my webmail
• I can't upload files or change the file's permissions in the sandbox account via FTP
• It says I have a database but I can't see it
• I can't log into the original control panel
• How do I edit the MX record?

1. Why are we upgrading your account?

At SmartyHost, we want to make it easy for you to find new customers and do business online. That means your domain, email and website all need to work reliably and with minimal fuss.

That’s why we’ve introduced our Project Platinum upgrade. With Platinum, your account will be hosted in more advanced cluster environment, so it’s more reliable and better performing. You’ll also benefit from a range of changes, including:

• Better spam protection: de-cluttering your inbox to save you time, frustration and dodgy subject lines
• A new control panel (we call it the Toolkit): easy-to-use with new options for greater control
• New, faster webmail: just like using your standard email software, but without being tied to your desk
• Enhanced website traffic statistics: see who’s visiting your site, and what they’re looking at

To make life as easy as possible, we’ve created a simple transition process to help you complete the upgrade.

We’ll do the grunt work. We’ll create your account in the Platinum system and copy across all the existing website files and databases. Your existing settings will be copied into the Platinum system as well.

Of course, what you really want to know is:

Will my website go down during or after the upgrade?

We’ve put a lot of thought into the best way to complete the upgrade without causing downtime. We’ve come up with a solution that allows you to test your website in the new environment while continuing to run your site on the existing system – two sites in parallel, if you like.

When you’re happy that your website is functioning properly in the new environment, you can hit the switch to send it live. We’re calling this test environment your sandbox.

2. Preparing for the upgrade

2.1 How the sandbox works

For clients with dynamic websites, using tools such as CMS and online shopping carts, we’ll create a testing environment – the sandbox – which allows your existing site to continue being served from the old server while you make any changes to your new site.

Because each site has different settings and customised designs, you need to test the website in the new environment to make sure everything works properly. If you’re not sure how to make changes to the settings, you might need to contact your developer for assistance.

We’ve prepared some general questions and answers to help explain the sandbox in more detail.

• Will the sandbox co-exist with my current website?

The sandbox allows you to make changes and test settings without affecting your existing website. This means that your website, www.example.com, will still be public and functional.

While testing in the sandbox, you can view the new site at www-sandbox.example.com. Any changes made to your site on the new servers will be visible there. This will also work for any sub domains you have; for example, customers.example.com can be viewed and tested at customers-sandbox.example.com

• What happens if the original website has been updated with new information while I’m still testing the new site?

Changes may have occurred on your site between the time that your files and databases were copied to our new servers, and when you finished testing it. For this reason, you may need to make a fresh copy of your databases and/or your site files before publishing. To make this easier, you can tick the box to copy either (or both) of these across to the new servers again.

Please note: If you copy files again, you cannot publish immediately due to the likely changes needed to database credentials (such as user name and password). Once we’ve copied the files, we’ll send you an email to let you know. You can then make the relevant changes to your code, test again and hit publish when you’re ready.

• How does publish work?

When you finish testing the new site, all you need to do is to tick the publish checkbox for that domain and click submit.

Selecting this option will remove the sandboxed URLS (www-sandbox.example.com.au) and re-delegate your domains to the new servers.

Please note: re-delegation may take several minutes due to the nature of DNS. If you manage your own DNS externally, you will need to re-delegate your domain manually to 117.104.160.134

• What happens in the background?

Your request to copy files, copy databases or to publish your site will go into a queue to be processed as soon as possible. When the job is done, we'll send you an email explaining the next steps or confirming your site’s publication.

2.2 The new addresses and environment settings

Because your website will be upgraded to a new environment, there are some changes to the servers’ addresses and settings. The new addresses and settings are:

New name servers:

• dns1.smartydns.com.au
• dns2.smartydns.com.au
• dns3.smartydns.com.au

New web server IP:

• 117.104.160.134

New MX record:

• smtp.smartyhost.com.au

New Toolkit (control panel) address:

• • http://toolkit.smartyhost.com.au
• • Or http://toolkit.hosting-toolkit.net

New webmail address:

• • http://webmail.smartyhost.com.au
• Or http://webmail.<your domain name> (if we are managing your domain name)

New ftp server address:

• • ftp.smartyhost.com.au
• Or ftp.<your domain name> (if we are managing your domain name)

All of the above information can also be found in the Toolkit. The Toolkit login details have been sent to your account’s default contact email address previously.

2.3 I submitted the copy request and it was queued. How long does it take?

It depends on the size of the files and databases. It normally takes less than 20 minutes to finish the copy request.

2.4 How long will the sandbox be available? What happens if I don’t publish the site?

The sandbox will be available until you publish the website. If the website is not published by 30 April 2010, we will publish the site for you.

3. What to do if something does go wrong

Each website has its own design and customised settings. It’s possible that some glitches will arise when the website is tested in the sandbox. We’ve prepared some support notes for common upgrade-related issues and their solutions – please READ THE LIST FULLY before contacting support, as the issue you're experiencing is likely already covered here.

3.1 I published the site but it was still in the old server

It will not take effect immediately due to the nature of DNS. It normally takes a few hours. If you manage your own DNS externally, you will need to contact the external company and change the A record of your domain manually to 117.104.160.134.

3.2 I can’t see new emails in my webmail

There are two reasons why this may occur:

• You are using the old webmail login address.

The new webmail login address is http://webmail.smartyhost.com.au

• The MX record is pointing to the wrong server.

If the domain name is managed by us, you can log into to Toolkit (http://toolkit.smartyhost.com.au) and check the MX record in the DNS setup page.

If the domain name is managed by a third party company, please contact that company to double check the MX record setting.

3.3 I can’t upload files or change the file’s permissions in the sandbox account via FTP.

This is likely because the file’s ownership settings are incorrect. You will need to submit the copy file request in the Toolkit again. It will copy the same files to the sandbox with the correct ownership settings.

3.4 It says I have a database but I can’t see it.

If you have a database included in your package but didn’t create the database in the older server, you won’t see the database in the new Toolkit. If you’d like to create the database, let us know and we can do that for you.

3.5 I can’t log into the original control panel.

The login details we’ve sent you are for the new Toolkit system. The login address should be http://toolkit.smartyhost.com.au.

You can log in as Account Manager or Package Manager. One account might have multiple packages. If you log in as the Account Manager, you’ll be able to see all the packages. If you log in as a particular Package Manager, you’ll only see that package itself.

3.6 How do I edit the MX record?

The MX record, by default, is not editable. If you wish to change the MX record, please contact our support representatives and we’ll enable it for you.

3.7 Program specific issues

Program specific issues are usually caused by the settings in the configuration files. We have listed the most common issues and solutions as below. If you’re not confident to make the changes yourself, or the errors that occurred are not listed here, you might need to contact your web developer for further assistance.

3.7.1 Joomla:

Symptom:

Database Error: Unable to connect to the database: Could not connect to database

Analysis:

The configuration.php might still have the old database logins in the settings.

Solution:

1. Download the configuration.php file through FTP.

2. Edit the following lines with the current database logins:

var $host = ’ ’ (The host address can be found in Toolkit->My Services->MYSQL Setup)

var $user= ’ ’ (Same as current FTP user name)

var $db = ’ ’ (FTPUSERNAME_db)

var $password = ’ ’ (password can be found in Toolkit->My Services->MYSQL Setup)

3. Re-upload the configuration.php file and replace the old one.

3.7.2 Oscommerce:

Symptom 1:

Unable to connect to database server!

Analysis:

The configure.php might still have the old database logins in the settings.

Solution:

1. Download the configure.php files through FTP. The files are located in:

OSCOMMERCE_FOLDER/includes/configure.php

OSCOMMERCE_FOLDER/admin/includes/configure.php

2. Edit the following lines with the current database logins:

define('DB_SERVER', ' '); (The host address can be found in Toolkit->My Services->MYSQL Setup)

define('DB_SERVER_USERNAME', ' '); (Same as current FTP user name)

define('DB_SERVER_PASSWORD', ' '); (FTPUSERNAME_db)

define('DB_DATABASE', ' ’); (password can be found in Toolkit->My Services->MYSQL Setup)

3. Re-upload the configure.php files to the original locations and replace the old ones.

Symptom 2:

Warning: The sessions directory does not exist: … Sessions will not work until this directory is created.

Analysis:

The STORE_SESSIONS settings in the configure.php files are conflicting with our server settings.

Solution:

1. Download the configure.php files through FTP. The files are located in:

OSCOMMERCE_FOLDER/includes/configure.php

OSCOMMERCE_FOLDER/admin/includes/configure.php

2. Edit the following line:

Change it from define('STORE_SESSIONS', ' '); to define('STORE_SESSIONS', 'mysql');

3. Re-upload the configure.php files to the original locations and replace the old files.

3.7.3 Wordpress

Symptom:

Plugin cannot be installed. Wordpress reports the error as: Download failed. Could not create Temporary file or is its parent directory writable by the server?

Analysis:

It is likely because the upload_tmp_dir setting is pointing to the wrong folder.

Solution:

Contact our support representatives. We will setup or change the upload_tmp_dir setting for you.

3.7.4 Formmail form does not send out emails anymore

Symptom:

The form does not return any error messages. However the emails generated from the form don’t come through to the recipient email address.

Analysis:

This is likely because the email service has been upgraded to the new server and the website is still in the old server.

Solution:

Publish the website through the Platinum Sandbox in Toolkit.

Please make sure the sandbox website is tested and working properly before you publish the website.