Moving a Composite 3.8 site to a new server

This document describes how to move a Composite 3.8 site from one server environment to another.

Prerequisites

• The target server meets the system requirements
• The source server is running Composite 3.8
• Composite 3.8 is installed on the target server
• A SQL Server 2000 or 2005 exists on the target environment and is of the same version as the source
• If SQL Server is not installed on the web server, please consult the readme file for MSDTC related setup

Preparing the source files

• Locate the web root of the site to copy
• Edit Web.config the locate the name (APPNAME) of the solution for later use:
  <add key="APPNAME" value="Xxx" />
• ZIP all files from the web root

Preparing the source database

• Using a SQL Server management tool, create a fill file based backup (backup to disk) of the database.

Preparing the target web site and database.

To prepare the target site and database we create a new empty solution. Later we overwrite this solution with the files and database backup from the source.

• On the target server, launch the "Composite Site Manager" from "All programs | Composite"
• Select "Create new site", click Next
• Specify Site License Key, click Next
• Specify the site name (APPNAME, see above) and desired hostname (optional), click Next
  (do not connect to existing database, use HTML Form Authentication)
• On step 2, specify a dummy password and click Next - there information will be overwritten by a later database restore
• Choose the desired language of the administrative GUI, click Next
• On step 4, specify the name of the SQL Server. Either use Trusted Connection or specify a SQL Server sa login. Click Next.
• On Step 5, database logins, click Next.
• Click Finish
• Your input will be validated and the site will be created if all input looks OK. If you get a validation error, correct this and execute the required steps again.

Restoring the source files and database

• Locate the web root folder of the target web site (C:\CompositeCMS\Websites\Xxx)
• Delete all files
• Copy the files from the source site ZIP into this directory
• Using a SQL Server management tool, locate the database created by the "Composite Site Manager"
• See database properties make a note of the paths to the physical data and log files
• Restore that backup "from device", using the backup from the source database.
  Select the option "Overwrite the existing database" and specify the paths to data and log files noted above.
• Using a SQL Command prompt connect the to new database and execute the following commands:
  
  exec sp_change_users_login 'Auto_Fix', '<App name>Guest'
  exec sp_change_users_login 'Auto_Fix', '<App name>Admin'
  exec sp_change_users_login 'Auto_Fix', '<App name>AppDbo'
  
  (where <Site name> is the APPNAME of the site)

At this point the site is ready to run. You can use the IIS Manager to configure host header bindings.