Hello Acraiglunar,
Let me to try to reply on your questions.
1) What is installed in a 'new' vps server? Are things like apache, php, mysql installed by default or do I have to install those things myself?
All these components will be installed on your VPS. However, there can be some version difference, which can be fixed as per your will.
2) It looks like by using plesk can easily add new email accounts as seen here
http://www.lunarpages.com/tutorials/tutorial_files/plesk75_eu_pop.htm. Is this a true representation or is some other setup required on a new server to do that? I've seen posts where people are missing icons for things like mail and databases so trying to get an idea of what a brand new server will look like and what work I will need to do to get my email accounts setup.
Those tutorials are true although you can check a more recent Plesk look at
https://plesk8.demo.parallels.com:8443. Use admin as username and plesk as password to login as panel administrator. To get email setup, the following tasks should be performed:
1. Domain created in plesk
2. Email accounts setup on the domain
3. Point the domain to the server by configuring it on your private nameservers.
3) How long will my shared account stay up once I want to upgrade it to VPS one? I'm assuming I will be sent some sort of login information for the new server.
I want to try to lock my forums so I won't loose too much data in the transfer to the vps. Once I know that the VPS is setup I can lock my forums and do the data dump I will need to install on the new server. So need some period where both are active while I install/check on the VPS server.
Your original account will be deleted in 14 days after upgrade. Usually this period is enough to migrate the sites seamlessly. If there are special circumstances that require the transition to be longer, the date of old shared account termination can be set to a few days later.
4) The cost of installing plesk. In some posts I've read (granted some are a few months old ) that it's a $10 install plus a monthly fee. However, when I go to the signup page ( from
http://www.lunarpages.com/virtual-private-server/ ). It lists the costs at 0$/0$ for 10 domains.
The signup page lists the current costs correctly. Plesk for 10 domains does not have setup or monthly costs. Plesk with license for more domains will require a setup fee of $10 plus license cost.
5) Not very clear on what steps I need to do to start this procedure of upgrading my account to shared.
It is easy to initiate the upgrade. For this, just contact our dedicated/vps support either by emailing
vps@lunarpages.com or call the support number listed on the site.
I hope this helps. Please advise, if you have any further questions.
