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This runbook answers “How do I move my Drupal site off Acquia?”, “How do I migrate Drupal to a VPS without downtime?”, and “How do I copy an Acquia database and files to a new server?” It applies most directly to Composer-managed Drupal installations, including Drupal 11.
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A Drupal installation is not a single archive. Treat these components independently so each can be checked before the DNS change.
Application code and dependencies
Move the exact Git commit or release archive that Acquia is serving, including custom modules, themes, patches, the Composer manifest, and the Composer lockfile. Reinstall dependencies on the VPS from that lockfile rather than resolving new versions during the migration. The web server should expose the project’s intended document root; a site created with drupal/recommended-project normally serves its web/ directory, not the repository root.
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Database
The database contains content, users, roles, enabled-module state, and active Drupal configuration. Export it from the Acquia environment, transfer the dump securely, import it into a newly created VPS database, and rebuild Drupal caches before testing.
Public and private files
Copy web/sites/default/files and every private-files or multisite files directory used by the installation. Private files must remain outside a publicly served web root. Preserve timestamps and permissions, then verify representative image, document, and download URLs.
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Inventory the Acquia site before building anything
Record the current state while the source remains authoritative. This inventory becomes both your build specification and your rollback checklist.
- Drupal core version, PHP version, Composer lockfile, enabled modules, themes, patches, and custom code.
- Database engine and size, table prefixes if present, character-set settings, and the location and size of public and private files.
- Cron schedules, queue workers, Drush commands, scheduled jobs, and any Acquia hooks or environment variables.
- Search services, CDN or reverse-proxy behavior, outbound mail provider, image derivatives, webhooks, payment or game-community integrations, and other external services.
- DNS A and AAAA records, certificate coverage, redirects, canonical hostnames, robots rules, and any subdomains used by editors or APIs.
- Current traffic patterns, concurrent authenticated users, PHP worker limits, peak database load, backup retention, and the time required to restore.
Choose the final content-freeze window before you start. Name one person who can approve the cutover and one person who owns rollback. Confirm that your Acquia subscription permits the required database export and file access; export permissions, private-file access, external services, mail reputation, CDN behavior, and database size differ by site and plan.
Choose and size the VPS
The VPS must satisfy the requirements of the Drupal version you are running, not merely boot a web server. Drupal.org’s 2026 requirements list these minimums for Drupal 11:
| Component | Drupal 11 baseline | Operational qualification |
|---|---|---|
| PHP | PHP 8.3 or newer | Install every PHP extension required by the project’s modules and confirm the CLI and web-server PHP versions match. |
| Database | MySQL 8.0 or newer, or MariaDB 10.6 or newer | Use InnoDB tables and verify the server’s character set and collation against the source. |
| PHP memory | 64 MB minimum stated by Drupal.org | Drupal.org notes that 128–256 MB is common in production; complex modules, search, imports, and traffic can require more. |
| Composer memory | 1 GB RAM minimum cited for Composer in Drupal 10/11 guidance | Composer also needs temporary disk space and a complete set of PHP extensions. |
Allocate storage for the operating system, code, database, public and private files, logs, backups, and at least one safely isolated restore copy. Size CPU, RAM, disk I/O, and PHP workers from your measured traffic and database activity. The exact VPS size cannot be selected responsibly without concurrency, module, search, storage, and geographic requirements.
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Managed or self-managed operations
| Decision area | Managed VPS | Self-managed VPS |
|---|---|---|
| Updates and firewall | The provider may handle or assist with operating-system patching and baseline security. | Your team schedules patches, hardening, firewall rules, and incident response. |
| Backups and restore | Look for documented schedules, retention, off-server copies, and a tested restore workflow. | Choose backup software, destinations, encryption, retention, and restore testing yourself. |
| Monitoring and support | Confirm what metrics, alerts, and response times are included. | Install and operate monitoring, alerting, and escalation. |
| Scaling and network | Check the available upgrade path, storage I/O, locations, IPv4/IPv6, and DNS controls. | You control architecture but must plan capacity changes and network configuration. |
| Total cost | Higher recurring operations cost can buy time and support. | Lower infrastructure pricing can require more staff time and tooling. |
Do not declare a provider suitable until its current PHP and database versions, storage performance, backup behavior, locations, network options, support response, and security controls have been checked against your inventory.
Build the VPS before copying production data
- Install a supported Linux-like production environment with Apache or Nginx, the required PHP version, the database engine, Drush, Composer, and the PHP extensions used by the site.
- Create separate operating-system, database, and deployment accounts. Give the web process write access only to directories Drupal must write, such as the files directories and temporary paths.
- Configure the web root to the project’s
web/directory when using the recommended project layout. Deny direct access to the repository, configuration files, private files, and backup dumps. - Set the server timezone, system limits, process manager, TLS certificate plan, log rotation, firewall, and automated security updates according to your operations policy.
- Create the destination database and a least-privilege database user. Keep credentials in a protected secret store or environment file outside Git.
- Configure backups before the first import. A migration backup is not a substitute for recurring, off-server backups and a tested restore.
Deploy the code and Composer dependencies
Check out the same commit or release that Acquia runs. Run Composer with the project’s lockfile, not an unconstrained update, so module and library versions remain identical.
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloaderUse the project’s established deployment flags if production dependencies or build steps differ. Compare the resulting package list with Acquia, confirm that compiled assets and patches are present, and record the commit hash. Do not put database passwords, API keys, or hash salts in the repository.
Transfer public and private files
Copy files while Acquia remains live. rsync, SCP, and SFTP are appropriate transfer methods; Acquia specifically documents SFTP, SCP, and rsync for file import. Preserve timestamps, symbolic links where applicable, ownership, and permissions.
rsync -aH --info=progress2 source-files/ target-files/Run a second synchronization after the content freeze to capture uploads created during the first transfer. Compare file counts, directory sizes, and checksums for a representative sample. Request an authenticated page that displays recent media, an image style derivative, and a private download; a successful directory copy alone does not prove that Drupal can serve each file correctly.
Export and import the Acquia database
Create a consistent source dump
Use the Acquia environment’s Drush alias or an approved mysqldump process. Acquia’s documented Drush pattern is:
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drush @[source] sql:dump --gzip --result-file=../mysite.sqlConfirm that the compressed dump completed, record its size and checksum, and transfer it over an encrypted channel. For a large database, verify available export time, disk space, and transfer bandwidth before the freeze.
Import on the VPS
Import into the empty destination database with the VPS database client, then set the connection in settings.php. A typical client invocation is:
mysql --user=DB_USER --password DB_NAME < mysite.sqlUse your actual secret-handling method rather than placing a password in shell history. Inspect the import log for errors, confirm table counts and database size, and verify that the expected Drupal schema is present. On a multisite installation, select the correct database and site URI when running Drush commands; using the wrong URI can make a valid import appear incomplete.
Rebuild Drupal caches
After the connection works, run:
drush status
drush crThe status output should show the intended Drupal, PHP, database, and site values. Cache rebuild errors usually identify a missing extension, unreadable files directory, stale service definition, or incorrect settings value; fix those before testing pages.
Replace Acquia-specific settings and services
Search settings.php, included settings files, deployment scripts, and environment configuration for assumptions that only exist on Acquia.
- Replace Acquia database credentials, hostnames, sockets, table prefixes, and connection options with the VPS database array.
- Set trusted host patterns for the temporary hostname and final domains. Do not use a permissive wildcard in production.
- Generate or securely copy the site’s hash salt; never expose it in version control or logs.
- Set public and private files paths to real VPS directories, and ensure the web server cannot expose the private path.
- Remove Acquia-specific filesystem paths, platform environment variables, cron hooks, deployment hooks, and service endpoints.
- Configure reverse-proxy or CDN settings only if the VPS actually sits behind one. Incorrect proxy settings can break HTTPS detection, client IP logging, and cache variation.
- Recreate outbound mail credentials, search connections, API keys, and webhooks in the VPS secret store. Test delivery from the new source IP and monitor bounces or reputation changes.
Keep environment-specific overrides separate from shared code. Protect settings files with ownership and permissions that allow the web process to read them without granting unnecessary write access.
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Handle Drupal configuration deliberately
A database copy brings active configuration along with content. That is appropriate for a direct lift-and-shift, but configuration-managed projects need a controlled decision.
If the project’s established workflow stores exported YAML in version control, take a backup and use drush config:import only when that workflow calls for it. Review the diff before synchronization. Do not import an old configuration set over the freshly migrated production database merely because the command is available; doing so can remove site settings, fields, views, permissions, or third-party credentials created after the export.
Test the VPS with a temporary hostname
Before changing public DNS, point a temporary hostname or a local hosts-file entry at the VPS. Use the same HTTPS scheme and host headers that production will use. Test as both an anonymous visitor and an authenticated editor.
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- Drupal health: run status checks, inspect watchdog and web-server logs, and confirm there are no missing-extension or schema errors.
- Authentication: log in, log out, reset a password, check role permissions, and test editorial moderation or publishing workflows.
- Content and media: compare sampled nodes, taxonomy, menus, revisions, image styles, recent uploads, private downloads, and multilingual paths if used.
- Forms and mail: submit contact, registration, password-reset, and editorial forms; verify validation, CSRF protection, mail delivery, and bounce handling.
- Scheduled work: run cron manually, inspect queues, and confirm search indexing, feeds, notifications, and other scheduled jobs.
- URLs and caching: test redirects, canonical links, robots rules, cache tags, anonymous page caching, authenticated responses, and cache rebuilds.
- Security and transport: verify the certificate chain, HTTP-to-HTTPS redirects, trusted hosts, file permissions, private-file protection, security headers, and access to logs.
- Performance signals: watch CPU, memory, disk I/O, PHP workers, database connections, slow queries, and error rates during representative traffic. Treat this as validation, not a promise that the VPS will match Acquia.
Compare the temporary site with Acquia using a written sample of important URLs and media. Fix differences while the source remains available; do not use the DNS cutover as the first full-system test.
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Prepare DNS and communications
Lower the relevant DNS TTL to 5–10 minutes a few days before the change, as recommended in Acquia’s migration guidance. Confirm that the authoritative records, certificate coverage, IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, and any CDN or reverse-proxy records are documented. Tell editors when the content freeze begins and when normal publishing resumes.
Run the final synchronization
- Put the Acquia site into the agreed content freeze, or otherwise prevent writes that would be lost.
- Take a final database dump or delta and verify its checksum.
- Run the final file synchronization to capture uploads made since the initial copy.
- Import the final database, apply the reviewed environment settings, and run
drush cr. - Repeat smoke tests for login, forms, media, private files, cron, mail, search, permissions, HTTPS, and logs on the VPS hostname.
- Change the A and AAAA records to the VPS addresses. Keep the Acquia site serving or immediately recoverable.
DNS resolvers may continue using cached answers until the old TTL expires, so monitor both environments during propagation. Watch error rates, authentication, orders or community submissions, mail, queue backlogs, database load, and file writes for at least one normal production cycle. Raise the TTL only after the VPS is stable.
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Rollback if a critical check fails
If users cannot log in, content is missing, forms or mail fail, private files are exposed, or the database is unhealthy, restore the previous A and AAAA records and keep the content freeze in place until you know which system contains the newest writes. Recheck the last successful dump and file synchronization, correct the VPS issue, and repeat the validation. Do not let editors write to both environments during an uncertain rollback; split writes can create an unreconcilable database and file set.
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Check PHP and web-server logs, confirm the CLI and web PHP versions, install missing extensions, rerun Composer from the lockfile, and verify readable vendor and settings files. Rebuild caches after correcting dependencies.
Database connects but Drupal reports schema or table errors
Confirm that the complete dump imported into the intended database, that the multisite URI is correct, and that the database user can read and write required tables. Compare table counts and inspect the import log before attempting updates.
Images return 404 or private files are downloadable
Verify the configured public and private paths, ownership, URI schemes, and web-server location rules. Ensure private storage is outside the public document root and that image-style directories can be written by the web process.
Login loops or HTTPS is detected incorrectly
Review trusted host patterns, reverse-proxy settings, forwarded-protocol headers, cookie domain and secure-cookie behavior, and the temporary hostname. Test directly against the VPS and through the production proxy if both paths will exist.
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Cron, queues, search, or mail stop after the move
Recreate system timers and credentials, run cron and queue workers manually, inspect logs, and test each external endpoint from the VPS network. Outbound mail may require new DNS, SPF, DKIM, or provider approval because the source IP changed.
DNS appears unchanged after the record update
Check the authoritative nameservers, A and AAAA records, resolver caches, CDN records, and the TTL set before the change. Continue serving the old environment until the expected propagation window has passed and the VPS has completed production checks.
What to keep after the migration
Retain the final Acquia dump, file-transfer logs, checksums, configuration diff, DNS change record, and rollback decision for your normal retention period. Keep Acquia available or recoverable until propagation and at least one ordinary production cycle have completed. Then document the VPS’s backup schedule, patch owner, monitoring alerts, restore procedure, cron ownership, secrets, and capacity thresholds so the new platform is operable without relying on the migration team.
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