Migrating to a new server and keeping existing drives

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1
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The Basics

  • Nextcloud Server version (e.g., 29.x.x):
    • Latest (About to install)
  • Operating system and version (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04):
    • Ubuntu 24.04

Summary of the issue you are facing:

Due to some hardware issues I’ve had to move my server to a new PC but have kept the original drives. I am running Linux Server 24.0.4.1 on a 500 GB SSD and use 2x 8TB HDD’s in a raid format for storage. I want NextCloud to retain the existing folder structure as I already have photos backed up and I’m not sure what part of the folder structure is generated by me, and what is generated by NextCloud.

On the previous Docker AIO install I added the line;

--env NEXTCLOUD_DATADIR="/mnt/NextCloud"

When checking the folder structure using ls -a /mnt/NextCloud I have the following;
admin

appdata_ocyfqebfmue8

Becky

Dad

.htaccess

index.html

.ncdata

nextcloud.log

I couldn’t find a topic for this and I’m assuming that if i use --env NEXTCLOUD_DATADIR="/mnt/NextCloud" again I should be fine and NextCloud will continue to save to the account folders (admin, Becky, Dad) but before I do, do i need to amend any of the existing files or folders? I have read Migrating to a different server — Nextcloud latest Administration Manual latest documentation but that seems to be about copying files and folders from an old harddrive to new hard drives

2

Hi, did you check GitHub - nextcloud/all-in-one: 📦 The official Nextcloud installation method. Provides easy deployment and maintenance with most features included in this one Nextcloud instance. · GitHub already?

3

Yes, I’m not currently using BorgBackup because due to costs I don’t yet have a backup drive (8TB drives aren’t cheap) so these are the original drives taken from the previous machine with all data intact.

4

I went ahead and did it and it didn’t work. Without a backup in place moving the server to new hardware required deletion of the existing folder structure.

5

Your case is quite similar to mine that I had in 2024.
I used rsync to move my aio volume from old to new hard drive.
You can find my tutorial here.

Maybe it helps.