Migrating From One Ubuntu Machine to Another

Move a lab to a new Ubuntu machine, or rebuild a machine that has died, from the old machine's backups.

The new machine must run Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or later and be connected to the internet.

Choose the situation that fits, then follow its steps from top to bottom.

Old machine still worksOld machine is deadBackups on a server or share

On the old machine

1. Open a terminal and take a fresh backup, so nothing entered since the last automatic backup is lost:

   intelis backup
   

   If it asks Set up off-machine backups now?, press Enter (No).

   If intelis is not recognised

   The install is older. Export the database with this instead:

   cd ~ && wget -O db-backup.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/deforay/intelis/master/scripts/db-backup.sh
   sudo bash db-backup.sh
   

   • Enter the MySQL username and password.
   • Choose the vlsm database, and interfacing if the lab uses the interfacing tool.
   • When asked for the location, enter /var/www/intelis/backups/db. On older installs, enter /var/www/vlsm/backups/db.
   • Wait for Script completed. If it prints These databases were NOT backed up, stop.
   If MySQL will not start

   Nothing can be backed up until MySQL runs. Follow MySQL will not start, then come back to step 1.

2. Plug a USB drive into the old machine.

3. In the terminal, type this, followed by a space. Do not press Enter yet:

   sudo cp -r /var/www/intelis/backups
   

   On older installs, type /var/www/vlsm/backups in place of /var/www/intelis/backups.

4. Open the Files app. Drag the USB drive from the left sidebar onto the terminal window. Its path appears after the command.

5. Press Enter. The backups folder is copied onto the USB drive.
6. Unplug the USB drive.

On the new machine

7. Plug in the USB drive.

8. Open a terminal and download the installer:

   cd ~ && wget -O setup.sh "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/deforay/intelis/master/scripts/setup.sh?v=$(date +%s)"
   

9. Type this, followed by a space. Do not press Enter yet:

   sudo bash setup.sh --restore-from-backup-folder
   

10. Open the USB drive in the Files app. Drag the backups folder onto the terminal window. Its path appears after the command.

    Instead of dragging, click the folder once and press Ctrl+C. Then click in the terminal and press Ctrl+Shift+V. If the path has spaces and no quotes around it, add ' at both ends.

11. Press Enter, then answer the installer's questions:

    Question	Answer
    Installation directory	Press Enter.
    Which backup should be restored?	Press Enter. The newest backup is on top and already selected.
    What is this machine?	Lab machine (LIS).
    Remote STS URL	The STS address the old machine used. Leave it empty if the lab has no STS.
    New MySQL root password	A new password for this machine, typed twice. Write it down.
    Is this correct?	Check the summary, then press Enter (Yes).

12. Wait 10 to 20 minutes. The installer ends with Setup complete.

    If it stops with Failed to decrypt

    Setup could not open the backup with the old machine's settings in backups/config. Ask the STS administrator for a one-time recovery token. They run this on the STS:

    cd /var/www/intelis && sudo -u www-data php bin/backup-key-admin.php approve --lab <lab-id>
    

    Then repeat steps 9 to 11, adding the STS address and the token after the folder path:

    sudo bash setup.sh --restore-from-backup-folder '<folder>' --sts-url https://sts.example.org --recovery-token ABCD-EFGH-JKMN-PQRS
    

    The second run asks Reuse your previous setup answers and skip the prompts?. Press Enter (Yes) to reuse the answers. If it says An existing database was found, choose Keep a copy, then start fresh.

Check the lab

13. Open InteLIS in the browser.
14. Log in with an administrator account from the old machine. Do not create a new one. The restored database already holds the users, the lab settings and all the data.
15. Check the lab settings under Admin → Settings → General Configuration.

16. If the lab uses the interfacing tool, restore its database too.

    1. In a terminal, type sudo cp followed by a space. Do not press Enter yet.
    2. Drag the newest file starting with interfacing- from the db folder onto the terminal. Then type /tmp/ and press Enter.

    3. Restore it into the interfacing database:

       cd /var/www/intelis && sudo -u www-data php vendor/bin/db-tools restore --profile=interfacing /tmp/interfacing-*
       

    4. Delete the copy:

       sudo rm /tmp/interfacing-*
       

    If step 3 reports that the profile interfacing does not exist, set up the interfacing tool first with Setting up the interfacing tool, then repeat step 3. If it reports that it cannot open an encrypted file, contact support with the file name.

Use the backups folder that was copied off the old machine.

Check the copied folder

1. Plug the USB drive with the copied folder into the new machine.

2. Open the backups folder in the Files app. Check it holds both of these folders:

   Folder	What it holds
   db	The database backups.
   config	The old machine's settings. The key to the database backups is read from here.

   If config is missing, carry on. Step 8 shows what to do if the backup does not open.

3. Open db and find the newest file starting with vlsm-. Its name gives the date and time of the backup. For example, vlsm-20260903-100002-… was made on 3 September 2026 at 10:00. The lab returns to that point.

Do not rename any file. Each file's name is part of its key.

Install and restore

4. Open a terminal and download the installer:

   cd ~ && wget -O setup.sh "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/deforay/intelis/master/scripts/setup.sh?v=$(date +%s)"
   

5. Type this, followed by a space. Do not press Enter yet:

   sudo bash setup.sh --restore-from-backup-folder
   

6. Drag the backups folder from the Files app onto the terminal window. Its path appears after the command.

   Instead of dragging, click the folder once and press Ctrl+C. Then click in the terminal and press Ctrl+Shift+V. If the path has spaces and no quotes around it, add ' at both ends.

7. Press Enter, then answer the installer's questions:

   Question	Answer
   Installation directory	Press Enter.
   Which backup should be restored?	Press Enter. The newest backup is on top and already selected.
   What is this machine?	Lab machine (LIS).
   Remote STS URL	The STS address the old machine used. Leave it empty if the lab has no STS.
   New MySQL root password	A new password for this machine, typed twice. Write it down.
   Is this correct?	Check the summary, then press Enter (Yes).

8. Wait 10 to 20 minutes. The installer ends with Setup complete.

   If it stops with Failed to decrypt

   The installer could not find the key. Either the config folder was not copied, or the backup uses a key held by the STS. Ask the STS administrator for a one-time recovery token. They run this on the STS:

   cd /var/www/intelis && sudo -u www-data php bin/backup-key-admin.php approve --lab <lab-id>
   

   Then repeat steps 5 to 7, adding the STS address and the token after the folder path:

   sudo bash setup.sh --restore-from-backup-folder '<folder>' --sts-url https://sts.example.org --recovery-token ABCD-EFGH-JKMN-PQRS
   

   The second run asks Reuse your previous setup answers and skip the prompts?. Press Enter (Yes) to reuse the answers. If it says An existing database was found, choose Keep a copy, then start fresh.

   If this machine cannot reach the STS, ask the STS administrator for the recovery code instead. They get it by running this on the STS:

   cd /var/www/intelis && sudo -u www-data php bin/backup-key-admin.php show-code --lab <lab-id>
   

   Then run:

   sudo bash setup.sh --restore-from-backup-folder '<folder>' --encryption-password '<recovery-code>'
   

Check the lab

9. Open InteLIS in the browser.
10. Log in with an administrator account from the old machine. Do not create a new one. The restored database already holds the users, the lab settings and all the data.
11. Check the lab settings under Admin → Settings → General Configuration.

12. If the lab uses the interfacing tool, restore its database too.

    1. In a terminal, type sudo cp followed by a space. Do not press Enter yet.
    2. Drag the newest file starting with interfacing- from the db folder onto the terminal. Then type /tmp/ and press Enter.

    3. Restore it into the interfacing database:

       cd /var/www/intelis && sudo -u www-data php vendor/bin/db-tools restore --profile=interfacing /tmp/interfacing-*
       

    4. Delete the copy:

       sudo rm /tmp/interfacing-*
       

    If step 3 reports that the profile interfacing does not exist, set up the interfacing tool first with Setting up the interfacing tool, then repeat step 3. If it reports that it cannot open an encrypted file, contact support with the file name.

Use this when the old machine sent its backups to another Linux machine or a Windows shared folder.

Fetch the backups

1. On the new machine, open a terminal and run:

   cd ~ && wget -O restore-backup.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/deforay/intelis/master/scripts/restore-backup.sh
   sudo bash restore-backup.sh
   

2. Answer where the backups are stored, and sign in when asked.

3. Choose the lab from the list.
4. Choose Just the database backups.
5. Press Enter to accept the folder it offers.
6. Wait for the copy to finish. Near the end it prints a two-line command starting with cd ~ && wget -O setup.sh. Select both lines and press Ctrl+Shift+C to copy them.

Install and restore

7. Press Ctrl+Shift+V to paste the command, then press Enter.

8. Answer the installer's questions:

   Question	Answer
   Installation directory	Press Enter.
   Which backup should be restored?	Press Enter. The newest backup is on top and already selected.
   What is this machine?	Lab machine (LIS).
   Remote STS URL	The STS address the old machine used. Leave it empty if the lab has no STS.
   New MySQL root password	A new password for this machine, typed twice. Write it down.
   Is this correct?	Check the summary, then press Enter (Yes).

9. Wait 10 to 20 minutes. The installer ends with Setup complete.

   If it stops with Failed to decrypt

   The backup uses a key held by the STS. Ask the STS administrator for a one-time recovery token. They run this on the STS:

   cd /var/www/intelis && sudo -u www-data php bin/backup-key-admin.php approve --lab <lab-id>
   

   Then paste the command from step 6 again. Before pressing Enter, add the STS address and the token at the end:

   --sts-url https://sts.example.org --recovery-token ABCD-EFGH-JKMN-PQRS
   

   The second run asks Reuse your previous setup answers and skip the prompts?. Press Enter (Yes) to reuse the answers. If it says An existing database was found, choose Keep a copy, then start fresh.

Check the lab

10. Open InteLIS in the browser.
11. Log in with an administrator account from the old machine. Do not create a new one. The restored database already holds the users, the lab settings and all the data.
12. Check the lab settings under Admin → Settings → General Configuration.

13. If the lab uses the interfacing tool, restore its database too.

    1. Copy the newest interfacing backup out of the fetched folder:

       sudo bash -c 'cp "$(ls -t /var/intelis-restore/*/db/interfacing-* | head -1)" /tmp/'
       

    2. Restore it into the interfacing database:

       cd /var/www/intelis && sudo -u www-data php vendor/bin/db-tools restore --profile=interfacing /tmp/interfacing-*
       

    3. Delete the copy:

       sudo rm /tmp/interfacing-*
       

    If step 2 reports that the profile interfacing does not exist, set up the interfacing tool first with Setting up the interfacing tool, then repeat step 2. If it reports that it cannot open an encrypted file, contact support with the file name.