I am using a translator, so I apologize if I am wrong. Currently, the name server for the domain name acquired at Name.com is designated to Xserver, and the record designated by Exchange Online is registered as a DNS record on the Xserver side for operation. The contents of Exchange Online are used for e-mail, and the contents of Xserver are used for websites. I am going to change Xserver to Sakura Server. Can I continue to use Xserver by simply changing the nameservers of the domain to Sakura and adding the records of Exchange Online to the DNS of the Sakura Server? Do I need to re-certify the server? We would like to avoid the possibility of not being able to send or receive email at any time, so if there is a way to take over without a time lag, please let us know. Thank you in advance.

Hi @ kobayashi , Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A platform! According to your description, you can continue to use Exchange Online for email and Sakura Server for your website by updating your DNS records accordingly. Here is a general step-by-step process to make the switch with minimal downtime: Lower the Time to Live (TTL) values for your DNS records on Xserver at least 24-48 hours before making the switch. This will help propagate the changes more quickly when you update the records. Create a full backup of your website files and databases from the Xserver. Upload the backup to Sakura Server and set up your website there. Make sure everything works correctly by using temporary URLs or the server's IP address. Log in to your domain management panel at Name.com and change the nameservers to point to Sakura Server’s nameservers. Once the nameservers are pointed to Sakura Server, add all the necessary DNS records for Exchange Online to the DNS management section of Sakura Server. This would include the MX records, CNAME records, TXT records, etc., that are required by Exchange Online. You can find the exact records you need in your Exchange Online admin panel or documentation. Monitor the domain propagation. Once it has fully propagated, emails should start routing through Exchange Online seamlessly, and the website will be served from Sakura Server. After you're confident that everything is working correctly (I would suggest waiting at least another 48 hours), you can remove the DNS records from Xserver and close your account there if it’s no longer needed. During this process, no re-certification should be needed as long as the domain remains the same and you're just changing the server and DNS records. However, if you're using any SSL certificates, you will need to make sure that they are properly installed on Sakura Server for your website to be served over HTTPS. By following these steps and coordinating the changes properly, you can avoid any significant downtime and ensure a smooth transition for both your website and email services. Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries. Best, Jake Zhang

Server Relocation during Exchange Online Operation

Accepted answer

Jake Zhang-MSFT 6,370 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-07-19T08:09:27.8266667+00:00
Hi @kobayashi,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A platform!

According to your description, you can continue to use Exchange Online for email and Sakura Server for your website by updating your DNS records accordingly. Here is a general step-by-step process to make the switch with minimal downtime:

Lower the Time to Live (TTL) values for your DNS records on Xserver at least 24-48 hours before making the switch. This will help propagate the changes more quickly when you update the records.

Create a full backup of your website files and databases from the Xserver.

Upload the backup to Sakura Server and set up your website there. Make sure everything works correctly by using temporary URLs or the server's IP address.

Log in to your domain management panel at Name.com and change the nameservers to point to Sakura Server’s nameservers.

Once the nameservers are pointed to Sakura Server, add all the necessary DNS records for Exchange Online to the DNS management section of Sakura Server. This would include the MX records, CNAME records, TXT records, etc., that are required by Exchange Online. You can find the exact records you need in your Exchange Online admin panel or documentation.

Monitor the domain propagation. Once it has fully propagated, emails should start routing through Exchange Online seamlessly, and the website will be served from Sakura Server.

After you're confident that everything is working correctly (I would suggest waiting at least another 48 hours), you can remove the DNS records from Xserver and close your account there if it’s no longer needed.

During this process, no re-certification should be needed as long as the domain remains the same and you're just changing the server and DNS records. However, if you're using any SSL certificates, you will need to make sure that they are properly installed on Sakura Server for your website to be served over HTTPS.

By following these steps and coordinating the changes properly, you can avoid any significant downtime and ensure a smooth transition for both your website and email services.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries.

Best,

Jake Zhang
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1 person found this answer helpful.
kobayashi 25 Reputation points

2024-07-19T10:27:13.4666667+00:00

Thank you for your very clear and thorough response.

I have one more additional question.

You say “After changing to the Sakura server nameservers, when the nameservers point to the Sakura server, add all the DNS records required for Exchange Online to the DNS management section of the Sakura server”. Does this mean that the mail server will stop and we will not be able to send or receive mail until the nameservers point to the Sakura server and the DNS records are added?

If so, is there any way to prevent this?

Jake Zhang-MSFT 6,370 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-07-22T02:33:45.1+00:00

Hi @kobayashi,

Thanks for your response.

Apologies for any confusion. To clarify, you should ideally add all the DNS records for Exchange Online to the DNS management section of the Sakura server before you change your domain's nameservers from Xserver to Sakura server. This way, you are preparing Sakura's DNS so that when the switch of nameservers is made, Sakura already has all the necessary records in place to handle the DNS queries for both your website and Exchange Online. Here's the corrected sequence of steps:

Add all the required DNS records for your website and Exchange Online on the Sakura server's DNS management section before making any changes to your nameservers.

Lower the Time To Live (TTL) values on your current DNS records at Xserver. This ensures faster propagation of DNS changes.

Change your domain's nameservers from Xserver to Sakura server at your domain registrar (Name.com).

Once the nameservers are pointing to Sakura server, DNS propagation will begin. Since you've already added the necessary DNS records for Exchange Online to Sakura's DNS, your email service should continue to work without interruption.

Keep an eye on the DNS propagation and test your services, such as email and website, to ensure they are operational.

By adding the DNS records to Sakura server before changing the nameservers, you help prevent any downtime for your email services. DNS changes can take some time to propagate across the internet, but if both the old server (Xserver) and the new server (Sakura) have the same DNS records, the services should continue without interruption regardless of which nameservers are being used at any given time during the propagation period.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries.

Best,

Jake Zhang

kobayashi 25 Reputation points

2024-07-23T05:32:51.93+00:00

Thank you very much. I understand now.

I have one more question.

The first answer I received was "However, if you're using any SSL certificates, you will need to make sure that they are properly installed on Sakura Server for your website to be served over HTTPS." Am I correct in understanding that if SSL settings cannot be made before switching name servers, there will be downtime on the mail server?

Also, is there any other way to deal with this other than changing to a server that can be configured for SSL in advance?

I apologize for asking this question so many times, but I would appreciate an answer.

kobayashi 25 Reputation points

2024-07-23T05:36:15.95+00:00

I posted the same question by mistake, so I am editing it.

Jake Zhang-MSFT 6,370 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-07-23T06:01:58.04+00:00

Hi @kobayashi,

Yes, your understanding is correct. If SSL settings, including the installation of SSL certificates, cannot be completed before you switch your name servers to point to Sakura Server, it could lead to downtime for your mail server if it relies on SSL/TLS for secure connections. This downtime occurs because the new server must have a valid SSL certificate to establish secure connections for services such as email.

To avoid downtime, you could consider the following options:

Some hosting providers allow you to set up and configure your server environment, including installing SSL certificates, before you update your domain's name servers. This way, you can ensure everything is working correctly before making the switch.

Set up a staging or temporary server with a duplicate environment and test the SSL installation there. Once confirmed, you can replicate the settings on the live server.

Lower the Time to Live (TTL) settings for the DNS records in advance of the change. This will help propagate the changes more quickly when you do switch over, minimizing downtime.

Some servers support Let's Encrypt, which offers free SSL certificates and can sometimes be installed and renewed automatically with little to no downtime.

Consider using an external email hosting service that is not dependent on your web server's SSL. This can help decouple your email services from your web server and avoid email downtime during the switch.

Note: Remember to always have a complete backup of your website and emails before making such changes.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries.

Best,

Jake Zhang

kobayashi 25 Reputation points

2024-07-24T07:41:21.3866667+00:00

Thank you very much for your very thorough instructions. This was information that I could not find in my research, so it was very helpful.
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