> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.neuroinfodb.org/nidb/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.neuroinfodb.org/nidb/getting-started/upgrade/migrate-existing-installation.md).

# Migrate Existing Installation

Sometimes you need to move your installation to a new server. Maybe you were testing in a virtual machine and want to move to a full server, or vice-versa. Maybe your server needs to be upgraded. Follow these steps to migrate an installation from one server to another.

### Migration steps

1. On the ***old server***, export the SQL database
   * `mysqldump -uroot -ppassword nidb > nidb-backup.sql`
2. Copy the exported `nidb-backup.sql` file from the ***old server*** to the ***new server***.
3. Copy the archive data from the ***old server*** to the ***new server***. The default archive directory is `/nidb/data/archive`. Copy additional data from the other /nidb/data directories.\
   Example copy command `rsync /nidb/data/archive/* user@newhost:/nidb/data/archive/`
4. On the ***new server***, install NiDB as a new installation
5. On the ***new server***, import the new database
   * `mysql -uroot -ppassword nidb < nidb-backup.sql`
6. Verify that the database table row counts are the same in the new server and old server using phpMyAdmin.
7. Verify that the /nidb/data directory sizes match between the old server and new server.\
   Example command `du -sb /nidb/data/`
8. Finish upgrade on the ***new server***, by going to <http://localhost/setup.php> . Follow the instructions to continue the upgrade.