Server Migration & Relocation Runbook

Generate coordinated, zero-downtime cutover runbooks when moving live servers between hardware nodes or datacenters. Automates DNS TTL reduction, rsync delta transfers, maintenance window freezing, and contingency rollback triggers.

RUNBOOK ENGINE ZERO-DOWNTIME

Relocation Plan Overview

Checklist Progress: 0 of 17 Tasks (0%)

Target Engine DayZ Standalone

Source Node 198.51.100.10:22

Target Node 203.0.113.50:22

Downtime Budget 45 min window

Migration Parameters

Game Title

Server Name

Source Node (Current Host)

IP Address / Host

SSH Port

Save / Server Directory Path

Target Node (New Host / Warden)

IP Address / Host

SSH Port

Target Directory Path

Server Domain / FQDN

Maintenance Window (Minutes)

Include Heavy Asset Pre-Sync Phase

Include DNS TTL Cutover Steps

Include Emergency Rollback Procedure

Phase 1: Pre-Migration Staging & Planning

T-48h to T-2h

Prepare target host, lower DNS TTL, pre-sync static assets, and notify users.

Lower DNS TTL for dayz.dustbowl.games

Reduce DNS A record Time-to-Live (TTL) to 300 seconds (5 minutes) so that DNS cache records expire quickly during the final cutover.

dig +nocmd dayz.dustbowl.games any +multiline +noall +answer

✓ Verification: Confirm TTL <= 300s across public resolvers.

Verify Target Environment & Allocations

Verify SSH connectivity to 203.0.113.50:22 and ensure the target directory structure and DustBowl Warden port allocations are ready.

ssh -p 22 [email protected] 'mkdir -p /home/container'

✓ Verification: Target host returns exit code 0.

Execute Initial Asset Pre-Sync (Heavy Files)

Transfer static assets, mods, maps, and binaries while the source server remains live. Excludes active saves and logs to minimize final maintenance downtime.

rsync -avzP -e 'ssh -p 22' --exclude 'save*' --exclude '*.log' --exclude '*.sqlite-journal' /opt/dayz/server/ [email protected]:/home/container/

✓ Verification: Check target disk space and initial file transfer.

Post Community Maintenance Window Notice

Publish an announcement to Discord, forums, or Steam groups scheduled for T-0 (45 minute expected downtime).

✓ Verification: Community is notified of maintenance start time.

Phase 2: Freeze & Delta Synchronization

T-0 (Maintenance Start)

Gracefully stop source server, lock data state, and transfer differential saves.

Broadcast In-Game Warning Countdown

Send broadcast notices at 15m, 5m, and 1m warning active players that server maintenance is beginning.

✓ Verification: Broadcast acknowledged in game chat/logs.

Flush State & Stop Source Server CRITICAL

Issue save-all / flush command via RCON, then gracefully terminate the server daemon to freeze game world state.

ssh -p 22 [email protected] 'systemctl stop game-server || true'

✓ Verification: Confirm no active processes are writing to save files.

Execute Final Delta Sync (Save Files & State) CRITICAL

Run exact delta synchronization with --delete flag to copy dynamic world saves, databases, player inventories, and state.

rsync -avzP --delete -e 'ssh -p 22' /opt/dayz/server/ [email protected]:/home/container/

✓ Verification: rsync exits with 0 and shows total bytes transferred.

Verify Critical Save File Checksums

Generate SHA-256 checksums of the primary world save on both source and target to guarantee zero corruption during transfer.

sha256sum /home/container/$(ls -t /home/container | head -n 1)

✓ Verification: Hashes match between source and target hosts.

Phase 3: Target Boot & Smoke Testing

T+15m

Apply permissions, start daemon on target node, and perform operator verification.

Normalize Linux Permissions on Target

Fix UID/GID ownership (1000:1000) and ensure folders have 755 and files have 644 permissions.

ssh -p 22 [email protected] 'chown -R 1000:1000 /home/container && find /home/container -type d -exec chmod 755 {} + && find /home/container -type f -exec chmod 644 {} +'

✓ Verification: Directory and file permissions verified via ls -la.

Test Boot Target Server in Whitelist / Private Mode CRITICAL

Start the game server process on the target host. Verify logs for successful world loading, chunk parsing, and database initialization.

ssh -p 22 [email protected] 'cd /home/container && ./start.sh || systemctl start game-server'

✓ Verification: Server log indicates 'World Loaded' or 'Game Server Active'.

Perform Admin Smoke Test Connection

An operator connects directly via target IP to verify inventory, base structures, permissions, and entity data.

✓ Verification: Admin character spawns with intact inventory and base structures.

Phase 4: DNS Cutover & Public Launch

T+30m

Shift DNS resolution to target node and open public player traffic.

Update DNS A Record to 203.0.113.50 CRITICAL

Point dayz.dustbowl.games to target IP 203.0.113.50. Because TTL was lowered to 300s, resolution shifts rapidly.

✓ Verification: dig +short dayz.dustbowl.games returns 203.0.113.50.

Remove Whitelist & Enable Public Traffic

Disable password/whitelist restriction on target server to welcome public players.

✓ Verification: Target server accepts incoming player connections.

Publish All-Clear Relocation Announcement

Notify community that migration is complete with updated connection IP/port info.

✓ Verification: Community announcement posted.

Phase 5: Post-Cutover Monitoring & Rollback Plan

T+60m to T+72h

Observation period and emergency rollback safeguards.

Monitor Target Server Performance & Metrics

Watch CPU, RAM, tick rate / FPS, and query response for 60 minutes post-cutover.

✓ Verification: Resource usage and tick rates remain stable.

Retain Source Host Snapshot for 72 Hours

Keep the source host intact and stopped for 72 hours as an immutable fallback snapshot.

✓ Verification: Source host remains powered down with original data preserved.

Emergency Rollback Procedure (If Target Fails)

If catastrophic data failure occurs on target: (1) Revert DNS dayz.dustbowl.games to 198.51.100.10, (2) Start source server daemon, (3) Post incident update.

ssh -p 22 [email protected] 'systemctl start game-server'

✓ Verification: Source server resumes operations if rollback is triggered.