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Moving the VisNetic MailFlow Application and Database to a New Server

Author: Kevin Fortune
Version: Any

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Procedure

  1. On the old (existing) MailFlow server, disable all Message Sources and Destinations.

    Note: You can do this via SQL using:
    UPDATE MessageSources SET IsActive = 0
    UPDATE MessageDestinations SET IsActive = 0
  2. Stop and disable the VisNetic MailFlow Engine Service.
  3. Stop the WWW Publishing Service.
  4. Perform a FULL SQL backup of the MailFlow database from SQL Server Management Studio.
  5. Copy the database backup file to the new SQL server and restore it using the name: VisNetic MailFlow.
  6. Install the same or newer version of MailFlow on the new server. When prompted, choose to use the existing database.

    Note: Allow the installer to run any required database updates.
  7. After installation, log in as the Admin user to confirm successful installation.
  8. Verify the correct DB is being used via:
    Administration → Reporting → Configuration Report.
  9. Stop the VisNetic MailFlow Engine and WWW Publishing services on the new server.
  10. Copy the following folders from the old server to the new server:
    \\logs\\
    \\InboundAttach\\
    \\OutboundAttach\\
    \\Backup\\
    \\Archive\\
  11. After copying today_log.txt from the logs folder, start the MailFlow Engine and WWW Publishing services and log in.
  12. Go to Administration → MailFlow Servers → Servers and select the new server.
    Set the Type to Master.
    Verify all paths and click Save.
    Assign all tasks to the new server.
  13. Re-enable each Message Source and assign it to the new server.
  14. Re-enable each Message Destination and assign it to the new server.
  15. You may temporarily see missing attachments or unavailable archives until file copying finishes — this is normal and won’t affect system usage.

Reverting to the Old Server

If you need to revert before re-enabling sources and destinations on the new server, simply set the MailFlow service on the old server to Automatic, start it, and re-enable all Message Sources and Destinations.

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