On Two Servers at Once during transition to new server

How to know when google has me on the new server

[WebMistress]

My hosting company is moving me to a new server. In the meantime, they are leaving me on the old server as well, to minimize any downtime. I have requested they leave me on both servers until I am completely crawled on the new server so I don't get dropped from the index. I would appreciate any advice on best strategy for moving to a new server such that the transition is smooth in terms of keeping my position in google.

Also, are there any negative consequences with google for being on 2 servers at once? Is this considered suplicate content? It's the same URL, so I would think not, but I know nothing about duplicate content.

[lazyz]

Googlebot will find your domain by IP. Leaving the domain on both servers during the transition is a good thing. Googlebot will visit your old server and old Ip until it finally finds your new server and new Ip. Once you start seeing hits from Googlebot on your new server and Ip, it is safe to remove the old server data. Duplicate domains don't exist. Don't worry about duplication. You only have to worry about duplication when you have "mysite.com" and "yoursite.com" with the same data/html/code, etc. but different domain names...

[WebMistress]

Thanks, LazyZ...should I wait until I see all pages hit by googlebot (216.*)? Or just once I see it found me there at all?

[lazyz]

There is no hurry... Wait until you don't see Googlebot in the logs on your old server and then give it a week or two after that just for good measure.