Domain prepropagation, then propagation.

[Ed.]

I'm looking to recommend a vBulletin board to a company currently operating IPB and they're also changing hosts due to poor service. They need continuity of service and the question is when setting up vBulletin with a prepropagation URL on the new host, when the time comes to transfer the domain across, is it just a case of changing the Forum URL in the vBulletin options and 'hey presto, it works!'?

I guess it would be the same as changing the directory of the forum, say from /forum/ to maybe the root directory of a host. Is changing the Forum URL option reliable in these instances?

Thanks.

[GHOwner]

I'm looking to recommend a vBulletin board to a company currently operating IPB and they're also changing hosts due to poor service. They need continuity of service and the question is when setting up vBulletin with a prepropagation URL on the new host, when the time comes to transfer the domain across, is it just a case of changing the Forum URL in the vBulletin options and 'hey presto, it works!'?

I guess it would be the same as changing the directory of the forum, say from /forum/ to maybe the root directory of a host. Is changing the Forum URL option reliable in these instances?

Thanks.
Yes, pretty much. You might need ot clear your cookies, but otherwise it is that easy.

[feldon23]

If you are changing domain, and have access to the settings on the DNS server, then a few days before the changeover, modify the DNS expiration (TTL) from the default 86400 (24 hours) to something much shorter like 14400 (4 hours).

See the 3rd paragraph:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System#Caching_time


Of course there is nothing you can do about lazy ISPs that ignore the TTL and set a default of 72 hours.