How to change a customer's server size

ImpulseVPS changes server sizes through WHMCS's own upgrade flow. A server's size is the Plan configurable option ImpulseVPS publishes on your product. When it changes and WHMCS runs the module's Change Package command, ImpulseVPS resizes the server where it is. A size change never moves a server to another provider account or location.

Two ways to start a change

• The customer picks a new size under Upgrade/Downgrade Options in the client area, if the WHMCS product allows configurable-option upgrades. WHMCS runs Change Package when it applies the change.
• You open the client's service in WHMCS, set the Plan option to the new size, save, and click Change Package in the module commands.

What happens on a size change

1. ImpulseVPS compares the current and new disk sizes from your Server Sizes catalog. A smaller disk is refused straight away (see the next section).
2. Otherwise the resize is queued, WHMCS is told the change succeeded, and the resize runs on the next scheduled task run.
3. ImpulseVPS checks the change with the provider against the server's actual disk, then powers the server off and waits until the provider confirms it is off.
4. The provider applies the new size. ImpulseVPS records it, and the customer's Overview tab shows Server size changed under recent activity.
5. ImpulseVPS then powers the server back on, but only if it was running before and the service is still active. A server the customer had switched off stays off.

On all four providers the server is offline while the change is applied:

• Vultr: the new size must be one Vultr currently offers in the server's location.
• Hetzner Cloud: resizes only between sizes with the same storage type.
• DigitalOcean: the Droplet is resized with its disk, not just its CPU and memory.
• Linode: the server is migrated to the new plan while it is off. Expect several minutes of downtime.

While a resize runs, powering on or off, rebooting, reinstalling, taking or restoring a snapshot, restoring a backup, and creating, attaching or detaching a volume on that server ask the customer to wait. A resize that has not finished by its deadline, counted from when Change Package queued it, is marked failed. The default is 30 minutes, set by Resize deadline (min) under Settings → Alerts & Notifications.

Downgrades: the disk can't shrink

A server never moves to a size with a smaller disk, on any provider, because shrinking a disk would destroy data. So a bigger disk is permanent: once a server has it, every smaller-disk size is refused.

WHMCS doesn't know about this rule. A customer can still choose a smaller-disk size under Upgrade/Downgrade Options, and WHMCS applies the change to the service before running the module. ImpulseVPS then refuses the resize, so:

• WHMCS records the module's error. It names both disk sizes and advises taking a snapshot and rebuilding onto the smaller size.
• The refusal appears under Diagnostics → Activity. No Dashboard alert is raised.
• The server keeps its current size, but the service in WHMCS now names the smaller one.
• Nothing in the client area tells the customer.

The guidance reaches only you, so settle each refused downgrade in one of two ways:

1. Keep the server as it is. Set the service's Plan option back to the server's current size and click Change Package. ImpulseVPS sees the server is already on that size and makes no change.
2. Move the customer to a smaller server. Set up a new service on the smaller size and have the customer move their data across, taking a snapshot of the old server first.

A smaller size with the same disk, such as one with less memory, passes ImpulseVPS's check and goes to the provider. If the provider refuses it, you get an alert (below).

When a change doesn't land

These alerts appear on the ImpulseVPS Dashboard, each naming the service:

• The plan change was not applied — the server is still on its old size (warning). WHMCS bills the new size. Typical causes: a provider refusal (including the Vultr and Hetzner Cloud checks above), a size with no provider plan mapped for the server's provider (under Plans & Products → Server Sizes), or a service suspended when the resize was due. Fix the cause and click Change Package again, or set the service back to the old size and click Change Package. Either closes the alert once it succeeds.
• The plan change may not have applied — check the provider (warning). The provider's reply didn't say whether it went through. Check the server's size in the provider account, then click Change Package again: ImpulseVPS records the change if it went through and makes it if not.
• The server did not come back on after its plan change (critical). The server was powered off for the change and is still off. This can follow a change that applied, failed or may not have applied; the alert gives the reason, so check it before you change anything. Start the server from the service's page under Customers.
• Action 'resize' timed out for service #… (critical). It may have applied, so check the server's size at the provider before you change anything.

Other refusals work like the smaller-disk one: no alert, just the module error in WHMCS and an entry under Diagnostics → Activity. For example, they happen while another operation is running on the server, while your license is inactive, or when the new size is not in your Server Sizes catalog. Run Change Package again once the cause is gone.

Changed your mind? Setting the Plan option back and clicking Change Package cancels a resize that hasn't started. One already under way finishes on the new size, and a warning alert asks you to bill that size or move the customer to a new server on the size you meant.

Other options in the same change

Adding or removing Backups switches the provider's automatic backups on or off when the server is active. If the server is suspended, an alert asks you to run Change Package again once it is active. If the switch fails, an alert asks you to switch the backups at the provider or run Change Package again. A server still being set up gets the change when setup finishes. An IPv6 change doesn't change the server; it raises an alert so you can set the option back. Lowering Additional Storage never deletes a volume.

Related

• Server plans: how they tie to WHMCS products
• How snapshots, backups and extra storage work
• Fix: a provider rejects an action or reports it busy