I'm changing hosts to VPS.net. I'd like to use the Joomla Appliance to avoid the server configuration and ongoing security update issues. However, my Joomla site has too many add-ons and existing content for me to want to recreate it step-by-step. While the installation is highly customized, there are no edits to the core files. Will the following steps work?

1. Install appliance
2. Confirm that my existing installation and the appliance are the same Joomla version.
3. FTP old Joomla installation without the .htaccess and config.php files.
4. Empty the new SQL tables.
5. Upload the old SQL

I also have a question about security updates on VPS.net. VPS.net tech support doubts that the application software updates are automatic, just the environment software. For example, Joomla updates are not automated, but Ubuntu, Apache, php, mysql,etc. updates are automated.

Does anyone on this forum have experience with this issue on VPS.net? If so, please confirm one way or the other. Thanks.

Steve