Introduction
A practical step-by-step guide using PuTTY, WinSCP, Cloudflare DNS, CyberPanel backup/restore, SSL, and LiteSpeed Cache
Migrating a live WordPress website from one cloud server to another can feel risky, especially when the website is already connected with Cloudflare DNS, SSL, CyberPanel, databases, and caching.
In this guide, I will explain the complete migration process from DigitalOcean CyberPanel to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure CyberPanel, also called OCI CyberPanel.
This guide is written in a practical way so that you can follow easily.🚀
Let’s get started!
1. What we are doing
We are migrating a WordPress website from the old server to a new Oracle Cloud server.
Old setup:
New setup:
2. Why use Oracle Cloud OCI for WordPress hosting?
Oracle Cloud provides Always Free compute options that can be useful for small WordPress websites, testing servers, lightweight business websites, personal blogs, and development environments.
For this setup, we will use a small Always Free OCI compute instance. It can run a lightweight WordPress website if the server is configured properly.
The instance shape we will use:
This is not a powerful server, so the configuration must be done carefully. The most important steps are adding swap memory, keeping the CyberPanel installation lightweight, and using LiteSpeed Cache with Cloudflare.
3. Important recommendation before starting
The most important rule to remember is:
⚡ Never change DNS before testing the migrated website!
First, we will prepare the new OCI server, then restore the website, test it privately using the Windows hosts file, and only then change the Cloudflare DNS.
This gives you a rollback option if anything goes wrong during or after the migration.
4. Overall migration flow
The complete migration process looks like this:
Step 1: Create a New Oracle Cloud OCI Instance
To begin the migration, create a fresh Oracle Cloud compute instance. This instance will become the new CyberPanel server where the WordPress website backup will be restored.
In the Oracle Cloud Console, go to:
Oracle Cloud will open a step-by-step instance creation wizard. Complete each section carefully before creating the instance.
1. Basic Information
In the Basic information section, enter a clear instance name.
Example:
The compartment can be left as the default/root compartment unless you are already using a separate compartment structure.
Example:
In the Placement section, Oracle Cloud usually selects the availability domain automatically.
For this migration setup, the default placement setting is fine.
2. Select the Operating System Image
In the Image and shape section, click:
Select:
From the Ubuntu image list, choose:
For CyberPanel, Ubuntu 22.04 is a stable and compatible choice.
Avoid these options for this setup:
For this guide, avoid the aarch64 image because it is for ARM-based instances. Use the standard x86_64 Ubuntu image for better CyberPanel compatibility.
3. Select the Correct OCI Shape
After selecting Ubuntu, click:
In the shape selection window, select:
Under Shape series, choose:
From the available shape list, select:
This shape provides:
This shape is suitable for a lightweight WordPress website when it is properly optimized with swap memory, Cloudflare, and LiteSpeed Cache.
Important: Choose the AMD/x86-based micro shape, not an ARM/aarch64 shape.
4. Security
Leave it default.
5. Configure Networking
In the Networking step, Oracle Cloud asks whether you want to use an existing VCN or create a new virtual cloud network.
For a fresh setup, choose:
Oracle Cloud will automatically create:
For additional servers, you can also use an existing VCN if it already has the required security rules configured.
Both approaches are valid:
If you use an existing VCN, make sure its security list or NSG allows these ports:
These ports are required for SSH access, website access, SSL/HTTPS traffic, and CyberPanel access.
6. Public IPv4 Address Assignment
This is an important step.
Under Public IPv4 address assignment, make sure public IPv4 assignment is enabled.
The server must have a public IPv4 address because it needs to be accessed by:
Enable this option:
If this option is disabled, the server may be created without a public IP address. In that case, direct PuTTY, WinSCP, CyberPanel, and website access will not work.
The IPv6 warning can be ignored for this setup if the server is being configured with IPv4 only.
7. Add SSH Keys
SSH keys are required to connect to the OCI instance securely.
Oracle Cloud provides these SSH key options:
For a beginner-friendly setup, choose:
After selecting this option, Oracle Cloud shows two download buttons:
Download both files.
The private key is the most important file because it is required to connect to the server using PuTTY or WinSCP.
Save both files in a safe folder on your Windows computer.
Example folder:
Important safety notes:
If the private key is lost and password login is not enabled, SSH access to the server may become difficult.
8. Boot Volume and Storage
In the Storage step, Oracle Cloud shows the boot volume settings.
For a small WordPress website, the default boot volume is usually enough.
In this setup, the server had around:
This is enough for:
Oracle Cloud may also show an option to attach a block volume.
For this migration, a separate block volume is not required.
Recommended setting:
For larger websites or media-heavy WordPress sites, you can increase the boot volume size during instance creation, increase it later, or attach a separate block volume.
9. Review and Create the Instance
At the final step, Oracle Cloud shows a summary of the selected configuration.
Review these details carefully:
If everything looks correct, click:
Oracle Cloud will start creating the instance.
After a few moments, the instance status should become:
Once the instance is running, copy the public IPv4 address.
Example:
This public IP address will be used for:
10. Important Note About OCI Quota Error
While creating more than one VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro instance, an OCI quota error may appear.
Example error:
This means the tenancy or compartment quota allows fewer micro instances than required.
To fix it, go to:
Find the quota policy related to:
If the policy contains:
Change it to:
Then update the quota policy and try creating the instance again.
This is useful when creating two separate Always Free micro instances.
Step 2: Connect To The Instance Using the PuTTY
1. Convert OCI Private Key to PuTTY .ppk Format
Oracle Cloud downloads the private key in OpenSSH format. PuTTY on Windows usually
needs a
.ppk file.
So after downloading the private key, convert it using PuTTYgen.
Steps:
1. Open PuTTYgen by searching the keyword below:2. To select the SSH private key, click below:
This will import the OpenSSH private key into PuTTYgen.
3. Finally, click Save private key to save/download the converted.ppk file.
This .ppk file was later used in:
PuTTY was used for running Linux commands.
WinSCP was used for uploading and downloading backup files.
2. Connect to OCI Server Using PuTTY
To connect using PuTTY:
Open PuTTY and then go to:
.ppk key.
Now go back to the Session screen in PuTTY and enter the details below:
The .ppk private key should already be attached from the previous step:
Finally, click Save to save the PuTTY session. After saving, click Open. PuTTY will open the terminal window and connect you to your OCI server.
Step 3: Verify server details
After connecting to the server with PuTTY, run the following commands to check the server details:
The expected output should confirm the Ubuntu version, CPU architecture, RAM, swap, and disk size.
Example output:
This confirms that the server is running the correct Ubuntu version, using the x86_64 architecture, and has the expected RAM and disk size.
Step 4: Update and upgrade Ubuntu Server
Before installing CyberPanel, update the server packages to make sure the system is ready:
sudo reboot command will restart the server, so PuTTY will disconnect automatically.
Wait for one or two minutes and then reconnect using PuTTY.This update step is recommended before installing CyberPanel because it helps prevent package dependency and installation-related issues.Step 5: Add 2 GB swap memory
The OCI micro instance has only 1 GB RAM. CyberPanel, MariaDB, OpenLiteSpeed, PHP, and WordPress may become unstable without swap.
Create a 2 GB swap file:
Make the swap file permanent so it remains active after reboot:
Check whether swap is active:
Expected output:
Confirm that the swap entry has been added to /etc/fstab:
You should see this line:
This confirms that swap is active and will remain enabled even after the server is rebooted.
Tune swap settings
Now tune the swap settings so Ubuntu uses RAM first and uses swap only when needed.
Apply the new settings:
Check whether the settings were applied correctly:
Expected output:
Step 6: Open Required OCI Ports
Oracle Cloud has a network firewall called Security List or Network Security Group. Oracle describes security lists as virtual firewalls for instances, where ingress and egress rules control allowed traffic.
1. Go to OCI Security List
In Oracle Cloud Console:
Open your VCN.
Then go to:
Now add ingress rules.
2. Add required ingress rules
| Source CIDR | Protocol | Destination Port | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
0.0.0.0/0 | TCP | 80 | HTTP website |
0.0.0.0/0 | TCP | 443 | HTTPS website |
YOUR_IP/32 | TCP | 22 | SSH PuTTY |
YOUR_IP/32 | TCP | 8090 | CyberPanel admin |
YOUR_IP/32 | TCP | 7080 | OpenLiteSpeed WebAdmin optional |
For easier setup during installation, you can temporarily use:
8090, but after setup, restrict it to your own IP.Minimum ports required for your case:3. Also allow ports in Ubuntu firewall if active
Check UFW:
If UFW is active, allow the required ports:
If UFW says inactive, no problem. In that case, OCI Security List or NSG rules are still the most important firewall settings.
Step 7: Install CyberPanel on OCI
Become root:
Check that no apt process is running:
If you see only the grep line, fine.
Also run:
Start CyberPanel installer:
During installation, choose generally:
For your 1 GB RAM server, I recommend:
Example:
Keep the setup simple first. You can enable caching later if memory allows.
Once Cyberpanel will installed successfully, it will ask “would you like to restart your server now?” Entrer “Y”.
Step 8: Verify CyberPanel services after reboot
Reconnect with PuTTY. Check OpenLiteSpeed:
Expected:
Press q to exit the service status screen.
Check CyberPanel service:
Expected:
Check MariaDB:
Expected:
Check port 8090:
Expected:
Step 9: Reset CyberPanel password
If you forgot the CyberPanel password, reset it from PuTTY. Become root:
Reset the CyberPanel admin password:
Use single quotes if the password contains special characters like &, $, or !.
Then log in again:
Step 10: Login To The CyberPanel in browser
First, get your OCI public IP:
It will show something like:
Now open this URL in your Windows browser:
Example:
You may see a browser warning like Your connection is not private. This is normal because CyberPanel initially uses a self-signed certificate. Click:
Use:
After login, immediately change the admin password if needed.
If it does not open
Your OCI rule for port 8090 may be restricted to this IP:
If your ISP changed your public IP, the page will not open. Check your current public IP on your Windows browser by searching:
157.49.51.152, update the OCI ingress rule for port 8090, or temporarily use:Once you can log in to CyberPanel, the next step is to create or restore your WordPress site backup from DigitalOcean.
Step 11: Create Backup from Old DigitalOcean CyberPanel
Log in to the old DigitalOcean CyberPanel.
Go to:
Select the website and choose the backup destination:
Click:
After completion, verify the backup from the DigitalOcean terminal:
Example:
Expected:
Step 12: Transfer backup using WinSCP
WinSCP is a Windows file transfer tool that works over SFTP. PuTTY is for commands, while WinSCP is for transferring files.
1. Download from DigitalOcean
Connect WinSCP to the old DigitalOcean server:
You should see:
Download the backup file to your Windows PC.
If a permission error occurs, run this command on the old server:
2. Upload to OCI
Open a new WinSCP session.
Connect to the new OCI server:
Upload the backup file to:
Then in PuTTY, move it to the CyberPanel backup folder:
Expected:
Step 13: Restore Backup on OCI CyberPanel
Log in to the new CyberPanel.
Go to:
Select the uploaded backup file.
Click:
Wait until the restoration completes.
Because the server has only 1 GB RAM, do not run other heavy tasks during the restore process.
After the restore, check the website files:
You should see:
Also check:
Backup → Restore Backup
Step 14: Fix WordPress file ownership and permissions
After restore, check file ownership:
You should see, something like below:
In this example, the site owner is wnetl1574 but the file owner is docker. This is not ideal.
This can cause WordPress problems later, such as:
So fix ownership now.:
Fix directory permissions:
Set public_html permission:
Verify:
Expected:
Step 15: Test website before changing Cloudflare DNS
Before changing Cloudflare DNS, test the restored site privately from your own Windows PC.
1. Open CMD as Administrator
Search:
Right-click:
2. Run This Command
Now the hosts file will open in Notepad.
Edit it, then click:
Example entry
Add lines like this at the bottom:
3. Flush DNS After Saving
In CMD as Administrator, run:
Then test the website in your browser.
If Notepad says “Access denied”
It means CMD was not opened as Administrator.
Close CMD and open it again using:
4. Test website
Open browser:
Test:
At this stage, HTTPS may not work properly because Cloudflare DNS is still pointing to DigitalOcean. Test mainly over HTTP first.
5. Fix permalinks
In WordPress admin:
Do not change anything. Just click Save Changes.
Step 16: Change Cloudflare DNS to OCI IP
Go to Cloudflare DNS for the domain.
Change:
to:
www, either use:or:
During SSL setup, keep proxy status:
Do not touch email records like:
After the DNS change, remove the hosts file entries from Windows.
Flush DNS:
Check DNS:
Expected:
Step 17: Issue SSL from OCI CyberPanel
Go to:
Then in CyberPanel:
Find the SSL option and issue SSL for:
Before issuing SSL, confirm in Cloudflare that both records are set to DNS only:
After SSL issue
Open:
Also check:
If both open without warning, then you can turn Cloudflare proxy back to Proxied and set SSL mode to Full (strict).
Step 18: Create Subdomain For The Cyberpanel
CyberPanel should not be accessed permanently using IP.
Instead, create a subdomain like:
Example:
In Cloudflare DNS, add:
Important:
Now set the hostname on the server:
Edit the hosts file:
Add:
Save:
Check:
Expected:
Now in CyberPanel, issue Hostname SSL:
or click:
Use:
Restart CyberPanel:
Now access CyberPanel using:
The certificate should show the correct domain.
It may be issued by:
or:
Both are okay if the browser shows the certificate as valid and trusted.
Step 19: Enable Cloudflare proxy safely
After website SSL works, you can enable Cloudflare proxy for the main website.
For website records:
For CyberPanel admin:
Do not proxy the CyberPanel subdomain.
In Cloudflare SSL/TLS settings, use:
Avoid:
Flexible SSL may cause redirect loops and WordPress SSL problems.
Step 20: Install LiteSpeed Cache plugin
Since CyberPanel uses OpenLiteSpeed, install the LiteSpeed Cache plugin in WordPress.
Go to:
Search:
Install and activate the plugin.
Step 21: Recommended LiteSpeed Cache settings for 1 GB OCI server
Use simple and safe settings.
Cache tab
TTL tab
Default values are okay:
Purge tab
Keep:
Excludes tab
Keep Elementor preview excluded:
ESI tab
Object tab
For 1 GB RAM:
If it shows:
that is okay when Object Cache is OFF.
Browser tab
This means 1 day browser cache.
Advanced tab
Keep:
Step 22: Verify LiteSpeed Cache is working
From SSH, run:
Run it twice. Look for:
Example good output:
This means:
cf-cache-status: DYNAMIC is normal. It means Cloudflare is not caching the HTML page, but LiteSpeed is caching it at the origin server.
Frequently Asked Question [FAQ]
CyberPanel Login Page Not Loading?
Most likely reason: your public IP changed, or the IP you added in OCI Security List is not the same IP Cloud/OCI sees for your connection.
Your website loads because ports 80 and 443 are open to everyone. CyberPanel does not load because port 8090 is restricted to only your IP.
Why is my website loading but CyberPanel is not loading?
Your website uses normal web ports:
CyberPanel uses a different admin port:
So it is possible for the website to load correctly while CyberPanel does not load.
This usually means:
If you recently changed the OCI security rule for CyberPanel like this:
then CyberPanel will only open from that exact public IP address.
How do I check my current public IP?
On your PC, open browser and visit:
Copy the IPv4 address.
Then update the OCI security rule like this:
Example:
How do I confirm if OCI rule is the issue?
8090 rule to:Then try:
If CyberPanel opens, the problem was your IP restriction.
After testing, change the rule back to your current IP:
What should Cloudflare setting be for CyberPanel?
For example:cp subdomain must be:Correct:
Wrong:
8090.How do I check if CyberPanel is running?
SSH into the server and run:
Expected:
If it is not running, restart the CyberPanel service:
How do I check if port 8090 is listening?
Run:
Expected:
How do I test from Windows?
Open PowerShell:
If it shows:
then port 8090 is reachable.
If it shows:
then the firewall, OCI security rule, or IP restriction is blocking the connection.
Can I enable Redis/Memcached later?
Redis and Memcached will consume extra RAM. On your server, RAM is already low, so enabling them may push memory pressure higher and increase swap usage.
You already have the most important cache working:
That means LiteSpeed page cache is working. For normal visitors, this gives the biggest performance benefit.
Best setup for your current servers
Keep this setup:
This is the safest setup for a 1 GB RAM server.
Redis vs Memcached: which one if needed later?
If you ever decide to use object cache later, choose Redis only.
Do not enable both Redis and Memcached.
Recommended priority:
Redis is generally more useful for WordPress object caching.
When Redis can help
Redis may help if your site has:
But for a normal cached WordPress website, Redis may not noticeably improve public page speed.
What to monitor instead
Run this occasionally:
Example Output:
If swap usage stays low/moderate and the site is fast, your setup is fine.
Also check LiteSpeed cache (Run it 2–3 times:):
Expected Output (If LS Cache Active):
