Migration process step by step

This page guides you through the complete migration process to Lobster Cloud: from the prerequisites in your existing on-premise environment, through profile transfer, to go-live with your customers and partners.

Overview

Phase 1: On-Premise Preparation

Why is this so important?

The Transport Manager requires that source and target systems run within the same major release. Migrating from an outdated version is technically possible, but makes the process unnecessarily complex. The clear recommendation is therefore: bring your on-premise environment up to the current version before starting the migration.

Lobster supports you: If you need assistance upgrading your on-premise environment, please reach out to your Lobster contact.

Version Requirements

Full details on the upgrade path and known specifics can be found under One-click migration from older systems.

Upgrade Strategy: Test Before Production

Always upgrade your test environment first and validate it fully before updating your production system. All required steps and important considerations are described in detail in the Before starting an upgrade.

Define Your Migration Strategy

Decide early whether you want to migrate all profiles at once or gradually transition customers and partners to the new system in parallel operation. A phased migration reduces risk and allows for a controlled go-live per customer or partner.

Special Case: Custom Database Tables

The Transport Manager transfers Lobster configuration objects only, such as profiles, partners, and configuration files. If your databases contain tables that are not an official part of the Lobster software (e.g. custom lookup tables or master data), you will need to find your own approach for migrating that data, for example through specifically developed profiles.

Raise this point early with your Lobster contact so the effort can be factored into the migration planning.

Phase 2: Version Synchronization During Migration

Throughout the entire migration phase, your on-premise environment and the new cloud environment must remain on the same release level. Lobster Cloud follows a fixed, predictable maintenance schedule. All details on scheduling and notifications can be found under Maintenance schedule and Cloud update policy.

Recommendation: Complete the active migration phase (profile transfer) as promptly as possible to minimize the overhead of version synchronization.

Phase 3: Cloud Environment Setup

A full description of the provisioned infrastructure and the division of responsibilities can be found under Standard architecture and Migration overview.

Phase 4: Profile and Configuration Transfer

This is the core of the migration process. Lobster provides two built-in tools available directly within the platform.

Important: Direct database imports, database dumps, and file system transfers are not supported. Profile-based migration via Transport Manager and Meta Exchange is the only supported approach.

Transport Manager

The central tool for transferring profiles, partners, configuration files, and other objects between two Lobster instances. It enables a phased migration in live parallel operation: you can transition customers and partners to the new system one by one without interrupting ongoing operations. All information on setup and usage can be found under Transport Manager.

Meta Exchange

Complements the Transport Manager for complex configurations, particularly for Orchestration systems (_pro). Meta Exchange automatically resolves all dependencies during export and packages them into a .xar export file. All details on export, import, and transfer can be found under Meta Exchange.

Phase 5: Configuration and Testing

All information on network configuration can be found under Network and connectivity and its sub-pages.

DNS Migration Workflow

If you are redirecting an existing domain from your old system to the new cloud environment, follow these steps in the order listed:

Complete your migration and test thoroughly before updating your DNS records. This minimizes the risk of downtime during the cutover.

Lobster Support

Your Migration Checklist

Phase 1: On-Premise Preparation

• Current software version of the on-premise environment verified

• Version compatibility with the target cloud version confirmed

• If required: upgrade path planned according to One-click migration from older systems

• Pre-Upgrade Checklist fully completed

• Test environment updated to target version and fully validated

• Production environment updated to target version and fully validated

• Migration strategy defined (full migration or phased by customer/partner)

• Non-standard database tables identified and migration requirements aligned with Lobster

Phase 3: Cloud Environment Setup

• Desired private network range for the VPC defined (must not overlap with on-premise network)

• VPN requirements clarified (if needed)

• Port 8020 opened between on-premise and cloud environment

• Transport Manager connection established and tested

Phase 4: Profile and Configuration Transfer

• Migration timeline defined (refer to Maintenance schedule)

• Profiles, partners, and configurations transferred via Transport Manager

• Orchestration configurations transferred via Meta Exchange (if applicable)

• Custom data migration profiles developed and tested (if non-standard database tables are present)

Phase 5: Configuration and Testing

• All migrated profiles tested and validated in the cloud environment

• Connections and communication protocols verified (SFTP, OFTP, AS2, databases, etc.)

• DNS configured (A-record to new public IP, or CNAME for HA)

• SSL certificate installed (if custom DNS names are used)

• Firewall rules in the cloud configured for all required IP addresses

• List of all customers and partners communicating via IP address (rather than DNS) compiled

• All affected customers and partners notified of address changes

• For each customer/partner: test run in the cloud environment completed and validated

Further Documentation