Bravo Hosting Transfer Service   published OCT 6, 2012   updated MAR 6, 2013

Applicable when you change among dedicated server/virtual server/shared hosting, which involves physically rerouting of traffic to different hosts; as well as when you switch domain names. This does not apply to upgrading/downgrading within the same class of hosting, by adjusting space/#acct/bandwidth quotas. In that case, no transfer service is required, and no fees incurred. It's merely an administrative change.

This is purely routine IT service. The following factors are irrelevant, and will not affect transfer service fees:

• whether we are your source/destination (or both) hosting provider
• whether we are your domain registration provider (domain registrar agent/reseller)
• whether we currently host your DNS Name Server, or will do so in the new plan.
• whether we are currently your web developer, or will become so going forward.

3 Levels of Service

DIY transfer is free: new hosting plan is setup, with basic access info, and no guidance/work is provided. You perform the process of user account provision & all pertinent coordination and adjustments. You must supply your own strategies and techniques. This option is subject to our qualification process (interviewing your designated person). Not applicable to transferring to shared hosting.

Near-Seamless transfer is guided by us, and you'd end up with at most a couple of messages missing during the weekend of transfer. This is the most sensible option for vast majority of companies.

Additional fees apply, if particular users wish to effectively achieve seamless results after-the-fact. Such retrospectively commissioned services are available on a resource-available basis, not booked-and-guaranteed. The costs could end up exceeding opting for the seamless option in the first place. Naturally, they are also subject to the physical feasibility of the exact circumstance, event sequence, and point-of-progression. Majority of the non-seamless effects are retrospectively correctable.

Seamless transfer is most complex, with 2 distinct pop server names active simultaneous, a 1-week parallel phase, with 2-stage setting changes. No email message loss will be incurred by this process. Depending on your external (not us) hosting circumstance, this process might involve putting up with email client error messages during the transition period.

Summary/Clarifications/FAQ

What you gain when you change from Virtual Server Hosting to Shared Hosting:

• much improved email hosting features
  • 20x to 50x increase of email space quota (now @ 2.0 G per user)
  • no per-piece size sending quota (previously 25M)
  • unlimited alias per users, 1-time setup fee after first 2
  • user-managed server-side anti-virus filter (default: disabled)
  • user-managed server-side SPAM filtering (default: disabled)
  • user-managed server-side auto-responder (previously reseller-controlled)
  • IMAP server option (previously POP3 only)
  • custom smtp port (for you to circumvent your ISP's port 25 blocking)
  • redundant option available: failover MXs at our alternate site(s)
• added web hosting features
  • 3x to 20x more space (now 1G/2G/5G/10G/20G)
  • dedicated web/ftp space (previously shared quota with email storage)
  • unlimited web traffic
  • gentler space quota overage:
    • now soft limits with notification, instead of immediate forbiddance
    • if overage stays past grace period & 2nd notice, auto upgrade for the billing cycle
    • after 2 consecutive cycles, upgrade becomes permanent
    • previously hard limits: some functions cease working, new email rejected
  • ftp server now supports resume transfer
  • extensive built-in CGI package
  • PHP 5 (managed, upgraded and patched continuously)
  • Python scripting
  • 5 MySQL Server(s)
• much more powerful Webmail
  • modern interface (web-based intelligent app, instead of HTML-based)
  • integrated web portal with contacts, calendar & todo-list
  • integrated email account aggregator (to retrieve & consolidate other POP/IMAP accounts)
  • optional upgrade to Webdesk (fully integrated cloud space)
• better redundancy (clustered server farm)

What you lose:

• "reseller level" admin panel
  • no direct control of user provision, as well as (now streamlined and performed by Mach 4)
  • intra-plan per-user allocation (now fixed 2G space per mailbox)
  • restrictions/customization (now self-administered by users, not reseller/site admin)
• full telnet/SSH (root level) access (now only limited user account SSH)
• certain "system-level" custom CGI (due to loss of root access)
• raw httpd (Apache) access logs
• slightly higher resource demand on web browser for webmail
• very slightly higher latency, due to higher utilization rate than practically zero utilization of previous server

What's Included with the base fee?

• provision & activation of new hosting plan
• furnishing ftp access info + email access info
• furnishing SSH access info (if applicable to your new plan)
• wholesale host-to-host transfer of existing HTML web site, from public vantage point, hence with server-side scripts expanded/evaluated.
• field proven, time release instructions/checklists catered to your scenario
• prescribed strategies and techniques (conveyed concisely but not hand-holding)
• pre-event review of your existing DNS records, alert as needed
• specifications for domain registrar side changes (not tutorial)
• all server-side steps performed (except for DIY option)

What's Excluded?

• client-side (Outlook/Thunderbird, etc.) adjustments, unless explicitly opt for it
• get involved with arrangement to accept offline content for ftp upload, etc. (fees applied)
• handling registrar side steps, unless we also happen to be your provider/agent in that
  • exceptions arising from those areas
  • your failure to execute the prescribed steps, requiring subsequent takeover/redo, incurring additional projects & costs
  • if you don't feel confident in that, it's easiest to simply turn over registrar login access
• all things related to SPF Records (both administrative and technical)
• backup/transfer and/or conversion of existing MySQL databases
• adaptation of existing CGI or any other server-side scripting (e.g. dropbox, counters, guestbook, forms and custom tracking)
• updating of code to account for new PHP version upgrade
• editing of web content to reflect new domain name, email address, etc.
• SSL certificates migration
• custom server-side Apache redirect
• .htaccess (password protected directories, index, referrer restrictions)
  • temporary removal might be necessary
  • a brief planning & coordination session is needed
• all above excluded services are available as regular IT services