Debian 11 reached EOL on August 31, 2026. After this date, the OS vendor no longer provides security updates or technical support.
We recommend switching to a supported operating system to ensure the security of your server.
How to Migrate from Debian 11
There are two ways to migrate from Debian 11:
- Via ispmanager migration, when all control panel and website data are transferred to a new server. Migration is a controlled process with no risk of resource corruption. We recommend this migration method and will describe it below.
- By changing the OS on a production server. Changing the OS on a production server is an operation that can lead to unpredictable consequences and prolonged resource unavailability. If you need to change the OS this way, we recommend contacting experienced professionals.
How to Change the OS with ispmanager Installed by Migrating to Another Server
Preparing for migration
1. Order a trial ispmanager license on the ispmanager.com website. You need the license for the duration of the migration so that you do not have to purchase a new one. Specify the IP address of the new server when placing the order.
2. Install ispmanager on a clean server with a current OS.
ispmanager supports the following operating systems:
- AlmaLinux 8, 9, 10;
- Debian 12, Debian 13;
- CloudLinux 8, 9, 10;
- Ubuntu 22, 24, 26 (available starting with ispmanager 6.151. Only MariaDB is supported as a native database server).
We recommend choosing an OS from the same vendor — Debian. Alternatively, Ubuntu 24 is recommended for ispmanager.
Pay attention to the programming languages used by your websites. Older programming languages, such as PHP 5.X, may be unavailable or may not have support for some modules in newer operating systems.
If this applies to you, it is worth considering modernizing your websites ;).
Read more about how to install ispmanager in our documentation
3. Immediately before starting the migration, adjust the configuration of the new panel to match your current server and increase the session lifetime on both servers:
- In the configuration file at /usr/local/mgr5/etc/ispmgr.conf, add the AuthenLifeTime directive with a high value, for example, 10000;
- In the configuration file at /usr/local/mgr5/etc/ihttpd.conf, add the timeout directive with the same value;
- Restart the panel web server service and the panel itself using the command service ihttpd restart && /usr/local/mgr5/sbin/mgrctl -m ispmgr exit;
How to prepare the server for data import
Data migration
In the new ispmanager, go to the Data Import section and start the migration:
- Click New import;
- Select the control panel from which the data will be imported;
- Select the data transfer method (we recommend using rsync) and enter the server connection details;
- Select the users whose data needs to be transferred. Specify the import parameters.
Verification
After the migration, make sure that the websites are working correctly on the new server.
To do this, specify the domain-to-IP address mapping in the “hosts” file on your local machine. The websites will then open from the new server for you.
Final touches
- If necessary, run the migration again to “pick up” the changes accumulated on the old server (the websites continued to operate there). When ispmanager is run again, it will indicate that users already exist on the server and ask what to do with them. Select “Overwrite all entities and files”.
Select the “Proxy requests to websites on this server” option if you will not be transferring the IP address from the old server to the new one. This will help avoid problems caused by DNS update propagation delays. - Transfer the IP address or reconfigure the DNS records for the websites.
- Remove the trial ispmanager license. Go to the Client Area. Select ispmanager Licenses → click Delete.
- Bind the active ispmanager license to the new server.
There are two ways to do this:
- Activate the license with a key
- Change the license IP address. To do this, go to your Client Area → Licenses → select the active license → Edit → change the IP address.
If You Have Any Questions
Contact our technical support team—we will provide free consultation on changing the OS and answer all your questions. We are available 24/7.
Our administrators can also perform the migration for you as part of paid administration services.