# Helm3 Compatibility Checker

Copyright (c) 2011 by Parallels

This tool will analyze your Helm 3 installation and report Plesk incompatibilities.

Migration has some known issues and limitations, please read this document before starting compatibility check.

### 1. Migration State

- 1.1 What Is Migrated
- 1.2 Notes

### 2. Issues

- 2.1 Not Currenly Migrated
- 2.2 Limitations
- 2.3 Known Issues
- 2.4 Troubleshooting

## 1. Migration State

For detailed list of migrated features and limitations see Helm 3 to Plesk Migration Guide.

### 1.1 What Is Migrated

- Server
  - Global DNS records
  - Shared SSL domains
- Admin
  - Admin account details
  - Admin password
  - Reseller plans
- Resellers
  - Reseller account details
  - Hosting plans
  - Extra features (see limitations)
  - DNS settings (see limitations)
- Users
  - User account details
- Packages
- Domains
  - Content
  - Forwarding domains and domains without hosting
  - Mail
    - POP3 accounts
    - Mail content (with limitation)
    - Forwarders
    - Catch all (with limitation)
    - Multi-recipient addresses
  - FTP accounts (with limitation)
  - Databases (with limitation):
    - Users
    - Content (MySQL and MSSQL only. Access files are not migrated)
  - MIME types
  - ODBC DSNs
  - DNS records
  - Subdomains
  - Domain aliases
  - Web settings
  - Shared SSL (see limitations)
  - Virtual directories (see known issue)
  - Web scheduler tasks (see known issue)

### 1.2 Notes

#### File system structure changes

There are some differences in the structure within domain directory:

- wwwroot directory from Helm is migrated to httpdocs/<domain-name> subscription directory in Plesk;
- all files and directories besides wwwroot from domain directory are migrated to private/<domain-name> directory in subscription root (this is because Plesk users can't write to subscription root);
- content of SSL directory from Helm is migrated to httpsdocs/<domain-name> directory in Plesk.

## 2. Issues

### 2.1 Not Currently Migrated

- Secure folders
- ColdFusion
- FrontPage
- Statistics
- Domain registrars
- Custom error pages

Following items are not migrated for forwarding domains:

- Scripting settings (ASP.NET, PHP, etc.)
- Website settings (app pool isolation, etc.)
- Secure folders
- Virtual directories
- Subdomains
- MIME types

### 2.2 Limitations

Following limitations are caused by differences between Helm and Plesk.

#### FTP accounts and databases from all package domains are migrated to subscription.

Plesk supports FTP accounts and databases for subscription, not individual domains.

#### PHP4 and PHP5 limits are merged.

Helm allows to set PHP4 and PHP5 limits independently, but Plesk only allows either to fix PHP version (without ability to turn it off) or give user to choose/disable PHP version.

PHP version selection will be allowed in Plesk if at least one of PHP4 and PHP5 limits in Helm is non-zero.

#### ASP.NET1 and ASP.NET2 limits are merged.

Similar to PHP4/PHP5 limits merging.

#### Some Helm limits are turned to permissions

Some limits in Helm 3 (like "number of Perl installations") are permissions in Plesk ("enable/disable Perl").

See Helm 3 to Plesk Migration Guide for complete list of Helm 3 limits and corresponding Plesk settings.

#### In Plesk a reseller can't specify DNS template records.

Helm resellers can specify DNS template which will propagate to their users. Plesk has no such feature.

DNS records from template will be merged into user's DNS records.

#### Plesk doesn't support demo accounts

Demo accounts (whose name starts with 'DEMO' in Helm) are not supported by Plesk and will not be migrated.

#### Databases of type '...' are not supported

Plesk doesn't support this database type.

#### Database user password is not valid for Plesk

Database user password doesn't satisfy to Plesk requirements and will be changed.

Special characters will be replaced with underscore, too short password will be extended. If new password is not secure, it will be replaced with autogenerated one. In this case you have to change password for this account manually after migration.

#### Account details doesn't satisfy to Plesk requirements

Length of the name of the state should not exceed 50 characters. For US and CA individually checked the existence of the state.

Zip code for US accept format "****" or "*****-****". For other countries, it should not exceed 10 characters.

Fax number can contain only numbers amd symbols '()-+., '. Fax should be no longer than 60 symbols.

Address should be no longer than 255 symbols

Phone should be no longer than 60 symbols

Company name should be no longer than 255 symbols

City name should be no longer than 50 symbols

#### Database user name is not valid for Plesk or conflicts with another account

User name must start with a letter and contain only "A-Za-z0-9_-". If it starts with a number, '-' or '_' then name will be prefixed with "u" character. If name doesn't contain valid characters then new user name prefixed with "dbuser" is generated.

##### Note for MS Access databases

Plesk doesn't support MS Access database type so database will not appear in databases list after migration. However database file (*.mdb) will be migrated as part of private site content. You may use it directly from your applications or create ODBC DSN for it. If you already have ODBC DSN record for this database in Helm it will be migrated to Plesk.

#### Plesk doesn't support flags in forwarding domain URLs.

Forwarding domain will be migrated, but flags will be lost.

#### Only one catch-all address is migrated

Plesk supports only one catch-all address per domain.

#### Plesk doesn't have addons (extra features) for resellers

Plesk don't support addons for reseller plans. If Helm reseller has extra features purchased then his plan is merged with extra features and this new plan is assigned to reseller.

#### All extra features purchased by reseller are either don't have counterparts in Plesk or don't have any effect on the plan.

Reseller has purchased some extra features but limits or permissions from these extra features have no corresponding limits/permissions in Plesk. Extra packages will be completely ignored and no custom plan will be created.

See also Plesk doesn't have addons (extra features) for resellers.

#### Extra feature can't be converted to Plesk addon.

Extra feature affects limit or permission which is not migrated to Plesk. Extra feature will be skipped.

#### Plesk doesn't support purchasing several instances of the same addon.

Helm allows to set quantity during extra feature purchase. Plesk allows only one instance of addon per subscription. Migrator overcomes this restriction by creating separate addon for each purchased quantity.

#### Adjust the limit to take into account package domains.

Additional package domain was created in Plesk so the maximum domain limit was increased for the subscription.

#### Virtual directories of type 'URL redirect' are not migrated

Plesk doesn't support virtual directories which redirect to URLs, so such directories are not migrated.

#### Forwarding domains don't have web settings in Plesk.

Helm stores web settings for forwarding domains. So you may turn domain with hosting into forwarding domain and then back without loosing web settings. Plesk doesn't store web settings for forwarding domains so they will be lost.

#### All domains in Plesk subscription share one IP.

Plesk uses single IP for all domains in subscription so migrator has to change domain IP sometimes.

Migrator uses following algorithm to choose IP for subscription:

- If domain is the only one in a package it's IP will be used;
- If there are several domains in a package, shared IP of some domain will be used;
- If all domains in package use dedicated IP and web service has shared IP, service's IP will be used;
- If web service has dedicated IP, some shared IP from ones assigned to web server will be used;
- If all IPs on web server are dedicated, error will be reported and package will be skipped.

This is warning, no action is required.

#### Text file ODBC DSNs are not supported by Plesk

Plesk doesn't support ODBC for text files. However text files will be migrated as part of domain private content.

#### User name is not valid for Plesk or conflicts with another user.

Plesk's rules for naming customers are stricter than Helm's ones:

- Helm user name can contain up to 30 latin letters, digits, dashes, underscores or dots.
- Plesk limits customer name length to 15 characters and doesn't accept names starting with dash, underscore or dot.

This may lead to changing user names during migration. Following algorithm is used:

1. Starting dashes, underscores and dots are removed.
2. Name is truncated to 15 characters.
3. If resulting name is already used, underscore and unique number are appended (name may be truncated again to ensure result fits to 15 characters limit).

Note that user name may change even if it is valid in Plesk. For example, if there are two users in Helm named ".Alex" and "Alex", than first one will be renamed to "Alex" and second one to "Alex_2". Users are ordered by signup date during conflict resolution, so adding new users in Helm will not change generated names for already existing users. This will help you to perform selective migration.

#### FTP account name is not valid for Plesk or conflicts with another account

Plesk's rules for naming FTP account names are stricter than Helm's ones.

See description of User name limitation for algorithm used to make names valid and resolve conflicts.

#### Couldn't dump full-text objects.

Full-text objects from database will not be migrated.

#### Database entity is encrypted

MSSQL database doesn't allow to get definition of encrypted entities.

#### Plesk doesn't support user groups for secure folders

Unlike Helm Plesk doesn't support user groups for secured folders. Groups will not be migrated. However, group users will be migrated and assigned to the correct folders.

#### Secure folder user doesn't comply with Plesk's naming rules

Plesk's naming rules for secure folder users are much stricter then Helm's. Plesk allows only letters, digits, dots, dashes and underscores. All nonconforming users will be renamed during migration.

#### Password for secure folder user is not known in plain text

Helm stores passwords for secure folder users as hashes, while Plesk requires plain text. Migrator will reset passwords for secure folder users.

#### Secure folder name doesn't satisfy to Plesk requirements

Some secure folders have names allowed by Helm but rejected by Plesk, e.g. name starting with dot. Content of such folders will be migrated, but they won't be protected by password. Site will be suspended to prevent unauthorized access to secure folder content.

Please rename and protect folders manually before resuming site.

#### Some secure folders will not be migrated

Some secure folders weren't migrated due to invalid name (see corresponding limitation). Site will be suspended to prevent unauthorized access to secure folder content.

#### Password doesn't satisfy to Plesk requirements

Helm account password doesn't satisfy to Plesk requirements and will be changed.

Special characters will be replaced with underscore, too short password will be extended. If new password is not secure, it will be replaced with autogenerated one. In this case you have to change password for this account manually after migration.

#### FTP account password doesn't satisfy to Plesk requirements

FTP account password will be changed to satisfy Plesk requirements.

See Password doesn't satisfy to Plesk requirements for detail.

#### Plesk doesn't support setting specific days of month and days of week simultaneously

You can set specific days of month or specific days of week but not both for Plesk cron task.

"Days of month" field will be set to 'every day' after migration.

### 2.3 Known issues

#### Migration of additional admin accounts is not supported

Additional admin accounts can be created in both Helm and Plesk, but Plesk doesn't support their migration. This may be fixed in future versions of Plesk.

#### Mail service '...' is not supported by Plesk.

Mail content can't be migrated from your mail service.

Mail services supported by both Helm and Plesk:

- SmarterMail
- MailEnable
- Merak (IceWarp)

Mail services Plesk supports migration from:

- IMail
- hMail3
- MDaemon

Mail services not supported by migrator:

- hMail4

#### Primary DNS service not specified for domains.

Migrator can't find primary DNS service for domain. Custom DNS records will not be migrated.

#### Incorrect combination of DNS records

Plesk doesn't allow to have 'CNAME' and 'A' records with the same name. 'A' record won't be migrated.

#### Shared SSL issues

##### IP and certificate for shared SSL domain are not migrated

If you have shared SSL configured in Helm, shared SSL domain will be migrated, but you have to set up it's IP and certificate manually after migration.

##### Shared SSL can be migrated only for main domain of a subscription.

This issue is caused by bug in Plesk and will be fixed in the future.

#### You have multiple shared SSL domains configured

Plesk allows only one Shared SSL domain. One Shared SSL domain from Helm will be migrated into Plesk's Shared SSL domain, others will be converted into domain which just forward requests to main Shared SSL domain. In order for forwarding to work you have to manually enable HTTPS forwarding for these domains in IIS manager.

#### Migration doesn't support multiple shared SSL master domains

This issue is reported for every domain affected by Shared SSL limitation. Requests from old HTTPS address will be redirected to another domain.

#### ODBC DSN has unknown type

ODBC DSN type is not supported by migration tool.

#### Plesk doesn't support URLs in scheduled tasks

While web scheduler tasks are migrated, they are not functional because Plesk expects script and not an URL.

### 2.4 Troubleshooting

#### Incompatible MigrationAgent installation.

Some migrator components can't be found. Plesk Migration Agent should be installed on every mail server.

Use instruction at http://kb.parallels.com/en/111820 to install Plesk migration agent with Helm 3 support.

#### SSL folder name is not configured in web service settings.

You have to specify SSL folder name in web service settings In order to migrate domains with shared SSL.

#### Several domains with dedicated IPs in a package and no shared IPs are globally configured.

See All domains in Plesk subscription share one IP issue description for details.

Solution: add shared IP to web server.

#### Database referenced by ODBC DSN record is not found

ODBC DSN record references database which doesn't exists anymore. DSN will not be migrated.

#### Error while migrating mail content

External tool used by Helm migrator to migrate mail content has failed for unknown reason. Look at tool output provided in error message.

#### There is no shared or free dedicated IP needed to migrate Shared SSL domains

Helm doesn't manage Shared SSL domains, administrator has to create them manually and set their name in service settings. Thus Shared SSL domains in Helm do not use IP addresses from Helm pool.

In contrast, Plesk manages domains used for Shared SSL. Migrator will create these domains for you, but it needs free IP to use.

Add IP address to Helm pool.

#### The Helm installation is multi-server. Migration should be started under Helm system account

Migration tool requires access to every server of multi-server Helm installation in order to perform migration. Start Helm compatibility checker and Plesk migration agent under Helm system account.

#### Domain directory doesn't exist or is not accessible

Ensure that domain directory exists and access to it is permitted to user performing migration.

#### No one Shared SSL domain is configured

Helm domain uses Shared SSL service, but references Shared SSL domain is not found.

Possible causes:

- Helm misconfiguration: Shared SSL domain name was set in Web service settings at the time of domain creation, but was reset later. Shared SSL may still work for domain, but migration tool is unable to migrate Shared SSL domain settings.
- Some error occured during Shared SSL domain migration, look for corresponding issues.

#### No shared IPs are configured

Empty subscriptions are not supported by Plesk, empty packages are migrated into subscription with generated domain name. This subscription requires IP address to use. Helm system should contain at least one shared IP.

#### Error while migrating DNS record

See details in provided error message.

#### WMI error during mail content migration. Check that CP server is reachable from remote servers by it's FQDN.

This error may arise during migration of mail content from remote server. It won't be shown by compatibility checker tool, because tool doesn't perform actual mail migration.

Error is caused by network misconfiguration. Please check that fully qualified machine name of Helm CP server is resolved to proper IP address from each remote server.

#### Failed to parse web scheduler task schedule

Helm allows complex rules for task schedules, like '2-4,8' or '*/4,3'. Migrator tries to parse them, but may fail. Report error to Parallels.

Task will be migrated, but it's schedule will be reset and task will be disabled.

#### SQL Server Management Objects software is not installed

In order to migrate content of MS SQL databases migrator requires SQL Server Management Objects software to be installed on machine.

Download and install software version corresponding to your operating system from Microsoft site.

#### The plan is absent.

The plan is not selected for the package. Please choose for the package plan in the GUI.

#### Database can't be dumped.

Database content will not be migrated. Ensure that there is a connection to the database and database is consistent.