Migrate from OVH to Valebyte
Move from OVH Eco/Kimsufi/SoYouStart to Valebyte: instant provisioning, modern hardware, multi-region beyond France.
Why people leave OVH
Long setup queues — sometimes days
Eco/Kimsufi auctions can wait 12-72 hours for the right config. New SoYouStart and Rise dedicated typically 2-6 hours but can spike. If you need a server now, this is friction.
Aging hardware on Eco line
Many Kimsufi/Eco servers are 5-10 year old E3/E5 Xeon refurbished from previous OVH datacenters. Modern EPYC/Xeon Gold with NVMe is only at the higher tiers.
Legacy panel UX
OVH Manager is functional but dated. KVM-IP and IPMI access work, but the workflow is slow compared to one-click cloud panels.
Bandwidth throttling on cheap plans
Kimsufi at 100 Mbps unmetered. Eco at 250 Mbps. Only Rise/Advance/Scale lines have 1 Gbps+. Valebyte VPS gives 10 Gbps shared even on the cheapest plan.
French jurisdiction by default
All OVH servers are in France/Canada/Australia/Singapore/UK/Poland/Germany. If you serve audiences in LATAM, Africa, or the Middle East, latency and data-residency matter.
Setup fees on cheap plans
Kimsufi has a one-time €20-50 setup fee on top of monthly. Valebyte plans don't charge setup fees on VPS or instant-provisioning dedicated.
OVH vs Valebyte: honest comparison
No marketing — actual differences. Including where they win.
| Feature | OVH | Valebyte |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest dedicated | Kimsufi KS-LE-2 ~€4.50/mo + €20 setup, 100 Mbps | Scaleway Dedibox Start-2-S ~$23/mo, 1 Gbps, no setup |
| Setup time | Auction: hours to days. New: 2-6 hours | VPS: 30 sec. Dedicated: 1-24 hours |
| Hardware on cheap line | Refurbished E3/E5 Xeon, SATA HDD/SSD | Modern Xeon Gold + NVMe SSD |
| Network on cheap plans | 100-250 Mbps shared | 10 Gbps unmetered (VPS) or 1 Gbps (Dedibox) |
| Locations | FR, CA, AU, SG, UK, PL, DE | Multi-provider: FR, NL, DE, NO, JP, IN, US, ZA, AE, BR |
| Setup fees | Yes (€20-50 on cheap plans) | None |
| KVM/IPMI access | Yes via OVH Manager | Yes via web panel + KVM console |
| Snapshot/backup | Manual rescue mode | Free snapshots on VPS, included |
| DDoS protection | Anti-DDoS Game/Pro tiers | Basic L3/L4 included, Premium Anti-DDoS optional |
| Payment methods | Card, SEPA, PayPal | Stripe, Square, SEPA, USDT/BTC/ETH/TON, MIR/SBP |
Migration checklist: 12 steps
Total time — 1 hour (small VPS) to 4 hours (TB-scale DB). Zero-downtime possible — steps 4-6.
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1
Snapshot or back up your existing servers
OVH dedicated has no native snapshots. Boot into rescue mode (OVH Manager → Server → Boot to rescue), then `dd if=/dev/sda | gzip | ssh user@temp-host 'cat > backup.img.gz'` over SSH. For Public Cloud instances, use the snapshot button.
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2
Export DNS records to a zone file
OVH Manager → Web Cloud → Domains → select domain → 'DNS zone' → 'Export'. Get a BIND zone file. Most registrars import directly.
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3
Lower DNS TTL to 300 seconds
Do this 24h before cutover. Visitors see new IP within 5 min instead of waiting hours for caches.
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4
Order your Valebyte VPS or dedicated matching specs
Match RAM and vCPU; disk you can grow later. Pay your preferred way (card, SEPA, USDT/BTC, MIR/SBP).
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5
Restore data via rsync over SSH
`rsync -avzP --delete /source/ root@new-server:/dest/` for files, configs, Docker volumes, and pre-dumped databases. Test first with `--dry-run`.
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6
Migrate databases with logical dump
Postgres: `pg_dumpall | ssh new-server psql`. MySQL: `mysqldump --all-databases | ssh new-server mysql`. If using OVH Public Cloud Database, export via OVH Manager → 'Backups' → 'Download'. For self-hosted DB on dedicated, standard `pg_dump`/`mysqldump` works.
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7
Re-create users, SSH keys, sudoers
Don't copy `/etc/shadow` blindly across distros — use `useradd` and copy `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`. Verify sudoers with `visudo -c`.
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8
Install your stack
Same Docker Compose, Ansible playbook, or k3s manifest works on Valebyte (Ubuntu 22/24, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 9 are available). No vendor-specific lock-in.
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9
Re-create firewall rules
List your existing rules → recreate via `ufw` or `nftables` on Valebyte. Test all inbound services with `nmap` from outside before going live.
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10
Update DNS A/AAAA records to new IPs
Wait for old TTL to expire (5 min if you lowered earlier). Watch traffic with `tcpdump` to confirm requests are arriving on the new server.
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11
Run both servers in parallel for 48 hours
Don't shut down the old side immediately. Watch error rates, latency, customer complaints. If something breaks — flip DNS back instantly.
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12
Cancel old service only after 7 days
Wait until you're sure nothing references old IPs (cron jobs, webhooks, hardcoded configs in third-party services).
Pick a plan that matches your OVH budget
All plans: 10 Gbps, dedicated IP, full root, KVM console
Frequently asked questions
Will OVH refund unused balance?
How fast is the actual cutover?
Can I run my Docker Compose stack on Valebyte?
Do you have an API?
Can I migrate without downtime?
What about IP-based licenses?
Leave OVH today
10 Gbps unmetered, multi-region, flexible payment (card, SEPA, crypto, MIR). VPS in 30 seconds.
Choose VPS