Restore to New Server

Remote Restore allows you to deploy and unpack a pre-existing completed backup snapshot onto a separate target server. This is highly useful for cross-server migrations, setting up local clones for testing, or performing complete disaster recovery setups on clean environments.

Unlike an in-place restore—which runs directly over your current active website to revert files—a Remote Restore acts as a fresh deployment of a backup archive to a completely new file system and database path:

1. Independent Targeting: Deploys to a custom domain and FTP/SFTP server without altering your existing production environment.
2. Cross-Server Portability: Re-writes your database host, user, and table prefixes automatically inside wp-config.php.
3. No WordPress Pre-requisites: Deployable directly on empty directories via our Standalone Recovery Toolkit.

To deploy a backup archive onto a new server, configure the following parameters in the restore wizard:

1. Source Backup Selection
   • Select the source website from your registered lists.
   • Choose a completed, healthy backup snapshot. Make sure the backup is synchronized and available in your cloud storage (S3, Dropbox, GDrive) or local storage.
2. Target Site Domain
   • Specify the destination site URL (e.g. https://restored-site.com).
   • Our system uses this to automatically perform a serialized search-and-replace to fit the target address.
3. Target Connection (FTP/SFTP)
   • Provide transfer credentials for the destination server.
   • Requires write permission in the target remote directory.
4. Target Database Connection
   • Enter host, name, credentials, and prefix details for the destination MySQL database.
   • These credentials will replace your old ones automatically in the restored wp-config.php.

To process restorations on servers that do not have WordPress pre-installed, Control Spot bundles a standalone PHP recovery toolkit. This installer is automatically uploaded, run, and deleted once the restoration is complete:

1. Automatic Server Path Resolution: Dynamically discovers the new server’s absolute physical directory path.
2. Database Schema Import: Populates SQL files directly into the target database.
3. Serialized URL & Path Replacements: Automatically re-writes absolute paths and domains safely.

Remote Restore is designed with robust safety barriers to protect against accidents and unauthorized access:

1. Suicide Guard: Prevents the toolkit from deleting or overwriting the original source backup file during extraction.
2. Identity Validation: The recovery installer validates that the target server directory matches the unique Backup ID.
3. JWT Authorization: Every remote request utilizes unique, signed JWT tokens for secure authentication during the migration handshake.

1. Backup configurations & storage destinations
2. How website cloning works