Production Migration Test Runbook

Objective

Validate full disaster recovery capability by restoring production to a new Linode, cutting over DNS, and confirming the site runs cleanly on fresh infrastructure.

Pre-Migration (Day Before)

Post maintenance notice on Instagram (Jenny)
Add site banner or maintenance page notification
Confirm Linode Backups are enabled on production
Verify Cloudflare dashboard access
Have SSH keys ready for new server access
Notify Jenny of maintenance window and estimated downtime (30-60 min)

Migration Steps (Early Morning)

1. Final Production Snapshot

Log into Linode dashboard
Navigate to production Linode → Backups tab
Take manual snapshot, label: pre-migration-YYYY-MM-DD
Wait for snapshot to complete (watch progress in dashboard)

2. Spin Up New Linode from Snapshot

Linode dashboard → Create → From Backup
Select the snapshot just taken
Choose same or equivalent plan (2GB Linode)
Same region as current production
Note the new server's IP address
Wait for provisioning to complete

3. Verify New Server

SSH into new server using noted IP
Run docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}" — confirm all containers are running
Check WordPress responds: curl -H "Host: plantbasedsoutherner.com" http://localhost:80
Verify MySQL is healthy: docker exec mysql-container mysqladmin ping
Spot check wp-content files exist in the WordPress volume

4. DNS Cutover

Log into Cloudflare dashboard
Navigate to plantbasedsoutherner.com DNS settings
Update A record to new Linode IP address
Cloudflare proxied traffic should cut over within minutes
Verify: browse to https://plantbasedsoutherner.com from phone
Check multiple pages — homepage, a recipe, member login
Test PBS-API health endpoint
Verify n8n is accessible and workflows are intact

5. Post-Cutover Validation

Check Uptime Kuma monitors are green
Verify Portainer accessible
Confirm SSL certificate is valid (green lock)
Test Instagram automation — trigger a test comment if possible
Check Google Chat alerts are still routing

Decision Point

After validation, choose one:

Option A: Keep New Server

Update Linode dashboard labels/tags
Update any hardcoded IPs in Ansible inventory
Run updated Ansible against new server to layer staging changes
Destroy or archive the old production Linode
Update SSH config with new server IP

Option B: Revert to Original

Flip Cloudflare DNS back to original Linode IP
Verify site works on original server
Destroy the temporary test Linode
Document any issues found for future reference

Rollback Plan

If anything goes wrong at any step:

Flip Cloudflare DNS back to original production IP
Original server is untouched and still running
Destroy the test Linode
Site downtime should be under 30 minutes total

Post-Migration

Remove maintenance notice / site banner
Post on Instagram that site is back up
Document outcome and any lessons learned
Update Tech Wiki with any new findings

Key Details

Production domain: plantbasedsoutherner.com
DNS provider: Cloudflare (proxied)
Current hosting: Linode 2GB
Estimated downtime: 30-60 minutes
Best window: Early morning, low traffic

Lessons Learned

(Fill in after completing the test)

Created: 2025-03-25 Updated: 2025-03-25

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