Hi Team,

I'm planning to migrate an old iRedMail server setup to a new cloud environment and would appreciate your guidance on the best approach, especially considering the version differences.

Current Server Details:
- iRedMail version: 1.6.2 (MariaDB edition)
- Installation type: Downloadable installer (not iRedMail Easy)
- OS: Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS
- Backend: MariaDB (MySQL)
- Web server: Nginx
- iRedAdmin: Free version (not Pro)

We are migrating from a dedicated server to a cloud server> There is  one domain with 19 email accounts. The new server will run the latest iRedMail version 1.7.4 and iRedAdmin 2.6. I'm aware of the potential issues due to changes in SQL structure and configurations between these versions.

I've reviewed the support article: "Migrate old iRedMail server to the latest stable release", and I have a few concerns and questions:

1. Maildir path – will it change?
On the old server, I see mail stored under:
/var/vmail/vmail1/domain_name/

How do I confirm whether this path will remain the same on the new server, or if it will change with the newer iRedMail version? This is important for rsync and ensuring consistency in mail access.

Option A:

Follow all iRedMail upgrade tutorials

Apply SQL structure changes on the old server step-by-step until it matches the new version

Then export/import the vmail database

Or Option B:

Set up the new server from scratch

Manually create the domain and email accounts

Use rsync to copy /var/vmail/ contents (assuming maildir structure remains the same)

Manually copy over other items like DKIM keys, Sieve filters, Roundcube data, etc.

’d prefer the safer and more future-proof method, but I want to avoid unnecessary risk or complexity if a simpler method (like Option B) is sufficient and reliable.

Any guidance or clarification would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!

Thank you
Abdul