“Pack up!” — an article about moving from the cloud into the on-premise in Bitrix24

Starting acquaintance with Bitrix24 from the cloud version is a common practice for most users. Here you can learn, try, look and plan further development. The on-premise version has more functional expansion options...

But first things first.

To start using the cloud version of Bitrix24 is very simple: you just need to purchase a license and go through a simple registration. The entire portal is located on the server of the company-developer; accordingly, everything that concerns the technical part, maintaining the work and protecting data is the responsibility of the developer. For more information about the safety of information, you can read in an article from our blog of the same name: Data Security with Bitrix24

Actually the benefits end there. Using the cloud version you definitely cannot:

1. Modify the portal interface or business logic;

2. Change the appearance or placement of menu items, widgets and other elements;

3. Conduct your own integration of Bitrix24 with other programs (not to be confused with installing ready-made applications from Bitrix24 Marketplace and custom cloud applications that simply work with data, without customizing familiar business processes);

4. Independently create backups of the portal.

5. Add modules for the portal with the functions you need.

The number of virtual space on the server of the service provider and the total dependence on the Internet connection are also not critical.

Thus, it is possible to integrate your small business into the cloud version, but business development or its specialization can make it insufficiently functional. In nature, if a cloud is gaining mass, it will certainly be poured onto the earth by rain.

And now, when the decision to move to the on-premise version is made, you need to start preparing for this process. Let's go through the stages of moving and place accents at important places.

Actually, the main role here is played by the technical support of Bitrix24. But you still need to decide on the choice of a Bitrix24 Partner. Do not forget that we are dealing with a complex software product of impressive volumes, and any program can malfunction or present other unpleasant surprises. In addition, after moving to the on-premise edition, it is necessary to carry out a configuration that is not within the competence of technical support Bitrix24. Therefore, if you have no Bitrix24 developer in your team, there can be difficulties. For example, in our company there are 6 such specialists.

The on-premise version can be deployed both on your personal server and on the hard disks of a representative of such services. The choice, of course, is yours, but here the situation is similar to the use of the cloud version: you do not need to buy powerful equipment, monitor its performance or data integrity. If you decide to deploy the on-premise for yourself, then the hardware should correspond to the following minimum characteristics:

• Server of VPS/VDS type;

• from 100 GB of data storage capacity (and preferably SSD in addition for optimal system speed);

• from 8 GB of RAM and there is not top level here;

• Intel Core i7 processor of minimum 4,0 kilomegaherz of clock speed;

• Operating system CentOS 7.xx (64-bit) minimal;

• Elements of uninterruptible power systems support.

Do not forget about the licensed software of all this “technical park”. For normal operation of the product, it is recommended to install the “Bitrix: Web Environment” package. You can also use the BitrixVM virtual machine reference environment as server software.

At first you need to purchase a license of the desired commercial rate. For the correct choice, you can contact the specialists of Avivi company, who will advise you the best option. When the license is already yours - we register the key and check it on the Bitrix24 website.

Now you can select the domain name of the portal and link it to the IP of the selected server (A-record). For convenience, the portal can use the subdomain of the main site: if our site is called avivi.pro, then the portal can be crm.avivi.pro or portal.avivi.pro.

By this time you should already be ready for minor interruptions in working time. To move to the on-premise version from your cloud, you need to create a backup, which is exclusively the competence of the company “Bitrix24”. To do this, you must contact technical support and agree on a time frame. As a rule, backup takes 1-2 business days, but always 5 business days is given by default.

You should understand that your future in the on-premise and your current cloud are essentially the same, only in different places. Therefore, the backup will save all current developments. Thus, it is not desirable to use the cloud during its creation: the changes made at this time can either simply not be saved, or have a negative effect on data packaging.

When the backup is ready, you can expand your on-premise Bitrix24. Make sure that there is at least three times more free physical space on your server than the downloaded by technical support backup “weighs”. This process is preferably carried out with a Bitrix24 Partner. We expand the portal from the backup and get an exact copy of your former cloud, but in your personal portal.

In theory, you can already be congratulated - the most difficult is over. But now you are faced with the time-consuming task of adjusting your purchase. It will take you some time to check the performance of the entire program. From practice we can say that the most common, but quite solvable problems are:

• Only an arbitrary part of the comments to the tasks is displayed;

• Links to the pages in notifications still lead to the cloud version of the portal;

• The task is not created from the incoming email;

• Some robots are become “crazy”;

• The users are “thrown out” from the portal.

If you observe this, it means that the system is already working, and a competent Bitrix24 Partner will quickly fix the problem.

More difficult is the connection of an e-mail. Without this, neither the extranet nor the e-mail notifications for users work. Thus, the SMTP configuration should be carried out immediately after deployment, as well as the transfer of telephony from the cloud. After transferring to the box, you need to set up a trusted SSL certificate and only then return to technical support to transfer the telephony account.

And the last important point is the relocation of the portal users themselves. Definitely, they will not be able to enter the portal using the old passwords. For a small number of users, you can use the password recovery form. For a large number of users it is better to entrust the portal administrator to reset all inactive passwords to problematic users. All this can be done from the admin panel of the portal, which looks like this:

As you can see, the transfer of data from the cloud to the on-premise is not as scary as it may seem at first glance. The most important are the good preparation and reliable Partner. Our company has extensive experience in installing and configuring the on-premise editions of Bitrix24, as well as on restoring the system from the backups. From practice we can say that there are no hopeless situations, but there are some interesting nuances.

For example, one of our clients got into trouble: something happened in the backup with the creation process. After deployment, half of the functionality did not work in the on-premise, different languages ​​were present, but it’s not at all necessary to speak about the correctness of the data. In such cases, the main thing is not to panic. Technical support urgently prepared a new backup, and we, as partners, have made every effort to fix problems. As a result, the portal functions as it should function. In the process, our employees received an unprecedented extreme experience, and also brought out custom life hacking on product customization, which significantly affect the correctness of the program. But this is our trade secret.

Avivi company is ready to assist in moving from cloud to on-premise to anyone who wants to grow their business and reach new heights with Bitrix24. In the best case, this process can take 10-12 hours of work of our specialists. But do not forget that when changing the edition or the Bitrix24 rate with the help of our company, you will receive a special gift in the form of up to 10 free hours for integration depending on the rate and order volume! We are waiting for your applications)