Introduction #
The “Copy an Account From Another Server With an Account Password” feature allows you to generate a backup of a cPanel account from a remote WHM server. Afterward, this functionality transfers it over to your current server and restores it. The specific thing here is that no root password is required as is the case with the “Transfer Tool” feature which is in-depth reviewed in our How to use the Transfer Tool feature in WHM guide. The “Copy an Account From Another Server With an Account Password” feature is really situational because if there is a huge discrepancy between the WHM version on your current server and the WHM version of the remote server, the transfer and restore process might go completely wrong and end up not finishing at all. We highly recommend NOT using it, unless you are sure that the two WHM versions on your server and the remote one are 100% backward compatible. In this guide, we are going to explain this functionality in all of its entirety and also let you know when it is most appropriate to use it. Let’s being.
Accessing the feature #
In order to gain access to this tool, you will need to first log into the WHM control panel.
After you log in, you will see the default page which lists all of the different categories of features/functionalities WHM has to offer. It may look overwhelming at first, however, do not panic, as we got you covered with everything WHM-related. You will notice a search bar on the left side, where you need to type “Copy an Account From Another Server With an Account Password” in order to filter everything out and find the functionality you need.
When you click on the link right below the search bar called “Copy an Account From Another Server With an Account Password” you will be sent to the page where you can start the process.
Transferring and Restoring a cPanel Account #
Before we begin, let’s just get a few things out of the way. In order for the transfer to start, the remote server needs to have:
- A functioning version of Perl.
- Enabled CGI privileges.
- The cPanel configuration needs to be completely unmodified.
If you are not sure about any of the above, please contact the remote provider managing the server and ask them. If one of these is not available, we are afraid that the migration process may not be started and you should explore another way of transferring the account, such as the “Transfer Tool” feature. If this is the case we would like to encourage you to review our guide based on the topic mentioned in the introduction of this tutorial.
If all of the above requirements are met, then we can continue with the procedure.
When you land on the “Copy an Account From Another Server With an Account Password” page, the first thing you will notice is the “Security” section. It contains a single checkbox option “Restricted Restore”. At this point, you should avoid using it, as it is still experimental and should not be considered an effective security control method. Its intent is to allow the restoration of backups from untrusted sources. We STRONGLY discourage you from transferring and restoring any account backups from providers whom you do not trust.
Up next is the “Settings” section. This would be the place where you need to enter the credentials of the remote server’s account, more specifically.
- Server to copy from (IP or FQDN): In this text field, you need to enter either the IP address or the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the remote server.
- Username to copy: In this text field, please enter the username of the account you are transferring.
- User’s password: In the last text field, please enter the password of the account you are transferring.
- Give New Account an IP Address: This is a checkbox that you can tick if you want to provide the account you are moving with a dedicated IP address.
Once you have typed in the requested information, to start the process, please press the “Copy Account” button on the bottom of the page.
When the button is pressed the “Account Transfer” functionality will appear, displaying the status and progress of your account restoration along with warnings if such are present. Account transfers appear on the left side of the page, while site restorations appear on the right side of the page.
Under the transfer and restore sections, you will see a blue bar containing a message informing you that this process continues even after this page is closed and you may view this in real-time through the terminal by executing the provided command. Below it, there will be a summary section letting you know what happened after the process is finalized.
In our case, there was one warning related to the shell access of the account we transferred. Basically, instead of the normal shell the account had on the previous server, the jailed shell was applied. If you are not aware of the difference between these two, please check our Managing Shell Access in the WHM tutorial.
That’s it! All the know-how about the “Copy an Account From Another Server With an Account Password” feature in the WHM control panel. The process is pretty straightforward and there only a few things you need to keep in mind before utilizing it. If you are ever faced with an issue when you are transferring an account using this feature, despite the fact that all of the criteria are met, please, do not hesitate to contact our Technical Team by submitting a ticket from your Client Area, as they will be more than happy to assist you.
