I currently have a server hosted here at TP, for quite a few years now. We run our own DNS on the server and have around 50+ domains pointing to the main DNS domain setup on the server as well.

Well the time has come and we are finally picking up a new server, but this brings up an issue. What is the proper way to keep from any extended downtime trying to move the sites to the new server? We still want to control our own DNS with the domains on the server, I'm just not sure as to the proper procedure to do this without breaking everything. I know when people have registered their domains they had to put in the dns name (ns1.ourdnsdomain.com / ns2.ourdnsndomain.com) but also the IP for each one of these which will be changing of course when we get the new server.

We are using Plesk on the old server and will be using it as well on the new one.

Thanks for any information.

It's actually a simple process that many people tend to over-complicate.

1) Migrate the accounts from the old to the new:
If your control panel has a migration script, I'd use that. If not, you should be able to find one.

2) Verify everything's working:
On linux, turn off php open_base_dir so you can go to yourdomain.com/~customer'susername to see that files are intact.

3) Change your DNS:
Log in to your domain name administration panel and change both the domain name hosts (what runs ns1.yourdomain.com and ns2.yourdomain.com - What your customers point to.)

4) Allow a week or two before cancelling your old box:
Just wait a little while for customers to email you with any problems - Make sure everything is running seamlessly. THIS IS IMPORTANT. We had a few databases become corrupted during our recent migration - It was a life saver still having the old boxes.