switching from name-based to IP-based virtual host

is there a way to minimize downtime

[luong]

My site is currently hosted as name-based, but I need to
install SSL for ecommerce, and I found out that the only
way to do so is to switch to IP-based hosting.

Is there any way to keep the site up while the new DNS
information is propagated? I would like to avoid the
downtime of several days, especially since I have subscribers.

Thank

[bakedjake]

Two options:

1. You could keep them both up. If you're using a DSN or similar connection string type object for database connections, you should be able to point both sites to the same database with minimal effort, to avoid data duplication or loss.

2. 301 Redirect on the name-based site to the IP Address of the IP based site. Make sure you redirect the entire request, and not just direct them to the homepage.