This page provides background information and help regarding the discontinuation of the service Webhosting.

• Background of the discontinuation
• Alternative Offers
• Assistance With Selecting the Appropriate Service
• Acquisition of Alternative Offerings
• Existing Domains/Subdomains
• Domain Migrations and SSL Certificates
• PDF-Guide: Web Hosting Migration to an External Service Provider (only available in German)

Background of the discontinuation

The operation of the Webhosting service is provided by our cooperation partner FH Aachen. A transition process initiated there has led to the conclusion that continuing the service is no longer economically viable compared to available cloud-based offerings. Additionally, various cloud-based services cover a broader range of functionalities. As a result, we no longer accept orders for new websites as part of the FH Aachen web hosting service. 

Alternative Offers

As an alternative to the offerings from FH Aachen, the following options are available:

• Central CMS of RWTH 
• Use of a commercial service
• Own web hosting based on the Virtual Server Hosting service
• Service RWTHblog
• in git.nrw and git-ce, GitLab Pages can be used

Assistance With Selecting the Appropriate Service

• Institute websites in the RWTH corporate design, as well as microsites for conferences and projects can be implemented using RWTH’s central CMS.
• Blogs can continue to be set up via the central RWTHblog service.
• Web applications that are access-restricted, use process personal data, or are intended for storing confidential data should only be provided through public cloud solutions after an appropriate review has been conducted. Alternatively, on-premises solutions such as the Virtual Server Hosting service can be used.
• All other web applications and additional public websites may be hosted either by commercial providers or through the Virtual Server Hosting service.

Acquisition of Alternative Offerings

An attempt was made to expand existing framework contracts with a web hosting offer, but unfortunately, it was not successful. The list offers have been successfully acquired in parts; the remaining offers have been subjected to preliminary checks as far as possible. However, an assessment of individual needs remains fundamentally necessary.
At the same time, another attempt is being made to establish a framework contract for web hosting services. We will inform you about this promptly.

Existing Domains/Subdomains

Existing domains or subdomains may remain in place. However, after migrating the data to the alternative web hosting package, the domains or subdomains must also be transferred. Please contact the IT-ServiceDesk at the appropriate time to arrange the transfer.

Domain Migrations and SSL Certificates

Domain Migrations

General procedure:

1. You rent a web space.
2. You migrate the files of your web space.
3. You migrate your database(s).
4. The domain must be integrated into the new web hosting package. There are two options for this:
   • The domain is in the RWTH DNS (RWTH is hostmaster):
     • You configure the domain with your new provider as an "external domain".
     • The provider usually provides instructions on how the A/AAAA record must be configured in the RWTH DNS (usually pointing to an IP address of the provider, more rarely via CNAME).
     • You may need to set a TXT record in the RWTH DNS for verification purposes.
   • Externally hosted domains (RWTH is not hostmaster):
     • In this case, you clarify the configuration directly with your respective domain provider.

SSL Certificates

As long as the domain is located under RWTH (e.g., a .rwth-aachen.de domain), you can obtain certificates via the RA portal. Please note that ACME is not possible from non-RWTH IP ranges.

For externally hosted domains (where RWTH is not the hostmaster), applying via the RA portal is only possible as long as the domain remains validated with Harica (you can view this in the RA portal).

Own certificate management servers within RWTH can be used, and the generated RSA/ECC keys along with the certificate can be transferred via SSH. However, we do not provide a sample script for this.

Additional information: