One-click migration from cloud platforms

Migration scenarios

• Migrate source servers to Alibaba Cloud ECS (as images or instances)

• Migrate source servers to Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server

To migrate to container images, see Containerized migration.

Prerequisites

Limits

• This feature currently supports one-click migration only from Windows and Linux servers on Tencent Cloud (including CVM and Simple Application Server) to Alibaba Cloud. Other cloud platforms are not supported. If this does not meet your needs, use Migrate servers to ECS.

• Tencent Cloud servers must have public network access and use VPC networks. Basic networks are not supported.

• If migrating to an Alibaba Cloud ECS instance:

  • Only VPC networks are supported. Classic networks are not supported.

  • Cross-architecture migration is not supported. For example, x86 architecture can only migrate to x86 architecture.

  • The operating system type of the source server must match that of the destination ECS instance.

  • Migration to instances with local disks attached is not supported.

  • Migration to hibernated instances is not supported.

Before you begin

• If migrating to a ECS Image:

  SMC creates a temporary intermediate instance named No_Delete_SMC_Transition_Instance in your destination Alibaba Cloud account to assist with migration. Do not stop, start, restart, release, or change the billing method of this instance during migration. The instance is automatically released after migration completes.

• If migrating to a ECS Instance or Simple Application Server:

  • Do not stop, start, restart, or release the target instance during migration.

  • Back up the target Alibaba Cloud server before migration to prevent data loss. After creating a migration task, all data on the target instance is erased. If the target ECS instance or Simple Application Server contains important data, do not use this method. Instead, set Destination Type to ECS Image, then create an ECS instance from the image.

  • A temporary pay-as-you-go cloud disk named SMC_Temp_Disk is created for data transfer. This disk is automatically released after migration.

  • Migrating to a target instance replaces its operating system. Automatic snapshots of the system disk are deleted and cannot be restored. You can disable automatic snapshot deletion. For details, see Configure automatic snapshots to be deleted with disks.

Procedure

1. Go to the Server Migration page in the SMC console.

2. On the Server Migration page, click Quick Migration on Cloud Platform.

3. On the Quick Migration on Cloud Platform page, configure parameters based on your source server.

   1. Add a migration source.

      The following table describes the parameters.

      Parameter	Description
      Service Provider (required)	Select the source server that you want to migrate: Tencent Cloud CVM Tencent Cloud Lighthouse
      SecretId and SecretKey (required)	Enter your cloud account’s SecretId and SecretKey, then click Verify. If verification succeeds, you see Verified. Note To obtain SecretId and SecretKey: Tencent Cloud: See Access keys.
      Select migration source (required)	Select the region and instance of the server to migrate. Note The source server must have Cloud Assistant installed and be in the running state. If not installed, see: Tencent Cloud: Install Automation Assistant client

   2. Click Next.

      SMC automatically imports the migration source. This takes 1–3 minutes. Wait patiently.

   3. Configure migration settings.

      The following table describes the parameters.

      Basic configuration

      Parameter	Description
      Migration Job Name (optional)	Enter a name for the migration task.
      Job Description (optional)	Enter a description for the migration task.
      Destination Type (required)	Select a target type based on your business needs. ECS Image Migrate the source server to a server image, then create an ECS instance from the image. Configuration options: Destination Region: Select the Alibaba Cloud region to which you want to migrate your Tencent Cloud Simple Application Server. For more information about regions, see Regions and zones. Image Name: Enter a name for the generated Alibaba Cloud server image. ECS Instance If you already have an Alibaba Cloud ECS instance, migrate the source server to it. The ECS instance must match the source server in storage and operating system. Storage space: The ECS instance disk capacity (system and data disks) must be greater than or equal to the source server’s. Important If the target instance disk capacity is smaller, scale out the disk first. See Resize cloud disks. If the target instance has fewer data disks than the source, extra source data disks will not be migrated. Security group: Open the same ports as on the source server. See security groups. Bandwidth: Set the highest possible bandwidth on both ends for faster migration. See Estimate migration time and test transfer speed. Configuration options: Destination Region: Select the Alibaba Cloud region for the migrated instance. For more information about regions, see Regions and zones. Destination Instance: Select an Alibaba Cloud ECS instance. Important Do not stop, start, restart, or release the target instance during migration. Simple Application Server If you already have an Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server, migrate a Tencent Cloud Simple Application Server to it. The Alibaba Cloud instance must match the Tencent Cloud instance in storage and operating system. Storage space: The Alibaba Cloud instance disk capacity (system and data disks) must be greater than or equal to the Tencent Cloud instance’s. Important If the target instance disk capacity is smaller, upgrade its configuration first. See Upgrade configuration and Resize data disks. If the target instance has fewer data disks than the source, extra source data disks will not be migrated. Firewall: Open the same ports as on the Tencent Cloud instance. See Firewall settings. Bandwidth: Set the highest possible bandwidth on both ends for faster migration. See Estimate migration time and test transfer speed. Configuration options: Destination Region: Select the Alibaba Cloud region for the migrated instance. For more information about regions and network connectivity, see Regions and network connectivity. Destination Instance: Select an Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server. Important Do not stop, start, restart, or release the target instance during migration.
      Modify Disk Partition	Select whether to adjust the disk partition structure based on your requirements. Only SMC client versions 2.8.0 and later support this feature. SMC Client User Guide. Disabled: The disk information of the source instance is not shown. SMC automatically reads the source disk information and generates a disk layout. After migration, the destination disk partition structure matches the automatically generated layout by default. Enabled: The disk information of the source instance is displayed. SMC automatically reads the source disk information to generate a disk layout. You can adjust the destination disk partition structure, including the partition size and order, transfer method, and whether to enable LVM. The disk partition parameters are as follows: Configure disks System Disk: The size of the destination system disk, in GiB. Valid values: 20 to 2,048. The destination system disk size must exceed the used space on the source system disk. For example, if the source system disk is 400 GiB and 100 GiB of space is used, the destination system disk size must be greater than 100 GiB. Note The default value is the size of the source system disk. Unless you need to reduce the system disk size, we recommend that you do not specify a value smaller than the default. Data Disk<N>: The size of the destination data disk after migration, in GiB. Valid values: 1 to 32,768. The <N> variable represents the data disk number. If you are migrating to a destination instance, N is the data disk ID. The destination data disk size must exceed the used space on the source data disk. For example, if the source data disk is 500 GiB and 100 GiB of space is used, the destination data disk size must be greater than 100 GiB. If a Data Disk has no mount target, or if all its mount targets are set to not be migrated, the data disk is not migrated. LVM: Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is a disk partition management system for Linux. LVM offers more flexibility than standard disk partitions and allows for dynamic resizing of disk space. You can enable LVM based on your requirements. If enabled, the destination disk is automatically rebuilt with an LVM structure. Example: For each destination disk with LVM enabled, the system creates one physical volume (PV) and its corresponding volume group (VG). Within this VG, it creates one logical volume (LV) for each mount target. The VG is named vgX by default (where X is the disk sequence number), and the LVs are named lvX by default (where X is the LV sequence number), as shown in the following example: Important LVM cannot be enabled in the following cases: The source server runs Windows. The system disk does not have a boot partition. If you enable LVM, the feature does not take effect in the following scenarios: The source server does not support lvm2, or the lvm2 package is not installed. The source server runs a Debian system with a kernel version of 3.x or earlier and has a disk with an XFS file system mounted. Configure mount targets Migrate: Specifies whether to migrate the mount target based on your business requirements. Enable Block Replication: This option is visible only for SMC client versions before 3.2.0. Block replication improves the stability of the transfer speed and ensures that the destination partition structure is identical to the source, but you cannot modify the partition size. SMC determines whether to support block replication based on the status of the source disk partitions. If the source partition does not support Block Replication, this option cannot be enabled. File-level replication is used by default, which allows the partition size to be modified. If the source partition supports Block Replication, this option is enabled by default to perform a partition-level disk migration. Note If the source server runs a Windows operating system, block replication is enabled by default and cannot be disabled. If LVM is enabled for the disk and the partition size is not a multiple of 4 MiB, block replication does not take effect. File-level replication is used instead. Set Partition Size: If block replication is disabled, you can set the partition size. The sum of partition sizes cannot exceed the total size of the disk. Windows operating systems: You cannot adjust the partition size. Linux operating systems: You can set the partition size based on your requirements, but the sum of partition sizes cannot exceed the disk size. For SMC client versions earlier than 3.2.0, ensure that block replication is disabled. Note If the disk sizes of the destination instance do not match the source disks, you cannot create the job. In this case, the system automatically adjusts the mount target locations to meet the disk size requirements. If the requirements are still not met after the adjustment, resolve the issue as prompted on the UI. You can also manually drag and drop mount targets to meet the disk size requirements. However, you cannot move boot or system partitions. To do this, perform the following steps: Hover the pointer over the icon next to the mount target. Drag the mount target to another disk.
      Migration Test	This parameter appears only when Destination Type is ECS Image or ECS Instance. Migration drill helps you assess feasibility and risks before actual migration. It estimates data volume, transfer speed, and total duration, and provides remediation suggestions to reduce issues and data loss. Pay-as-you-go resources incur costs during drills. Migration Test is enabled by default. Warning If the target type is ECS Instance, the migration drill creates snapshots of all disks on the target ECS instance. If the drill fails or the execution method is set to Test Only, snapshots are automatically rolled back after the migration drill completes. The target ECS instance is unavailable during the migration drill, and data is lost. Ensure that the target ECS instance contains no important data. For more information, see Configure migration drill.
      Execution Method	Select an execution method based on whether Migration Test is enabled: With migration test Test Only: Creates only a migration drill job. After the drill is complete, you must manually start the server migration job if you want to migrate the server. Test and Migrate: After the migration drill is complete, the system automatically starts the server migration job if no drill items have a status of Critical. By default, Test and Migrate is selected. Without migration test Migrate Now: Starts the migration immediately after you create the migration job. By default, Migrate Now is selected. Migrate Later: Schedules the migration job to start automatically at a specified time. Note The earliest you can schedule the job is 10 minutes from the current time. Create Only: Creates the migration job but does not start it. You must manually start it later by clicking Start Migration Job in the Actions column.
      Automatic Incremental Synchronization	This parameter appears only when Destination Type is ECS Image or ECS Instance. Enables automatic, incremental data synchronization from the source server to Alibaba Cloud. By default, this feature is disabled. If you enable this switch, you must configure the following parameters: Synchronization Interval: The interval at which the incremental migration job automatically runs. Maximum Reserved Images: The maximum number of images that the incremental migration job retains. The migration job runs periodically to synchronize incremental data to Alibaba Cloud. Incremental server migration. If you disable this switch, the migration job runs only once.
      Enable a migration template	This parameter appears only when Destination Type is ECS Image. Migration templates predefine task parameters, which are auto-filled when starting migration. For setup instructions, see Configure migration templates.

      Advanced configuration

      To configure network mode, transfer rate limits, and other settings, click Advanced Settings.

      Parameter	Description
      Network Type	Select the network for transferring migration data to the intermediate instance. By default, data is transferred over the public network. The intermediate instance is created in the selected Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and vSwitch and is assigned a public IP address. Public Network (Default) Migration data is transferred to the intermediate instance over the public network. This mode requires the source server to have public internet access. You can choose whether to specify a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and vSwitch. Specify a VPC and vSwitch: The migration job creates an intermediate instance in the VPC and vSwitch that you specify. Do not specify a VPC and vSwitch: The migration job creates an intermediate instance in a new VPC and vSwitch that are automatically created by the system. VPC Migration data is transferred to the intermediate instance over a private connection within a VPC. This mode requires you to connect the source server to the Alibaba Cloud VPC and specify a VPC and vSwitch. Note If you can directly access a VPC in an Alibaba Cloud region from an on-premises data center (IDC), virtual machine (VM) environment, or cloud host, we recommend that you use this method. Private network transfer is faster and more stable than public network transfer, improving migration efficiency. You can connect the source server to the cloud VPC by using a VPN gateway, an Express Connect circuit, or a Smart Access Gateway. For more information, see Connect a VPC to a data center or another cloud.
      Transmission Speed Limit	Limits the data transfer speed, in Mbit/s. If Compression Ratio is set to a value greater than 0, the actual network transfer speed for the compressed data is lower than the speed displayed in Real-time Migration Status.
      Compression Ratio	Sets the data compression level for migration. In environments with limited bandwidth, a higher compression ratio can increase data transfer speed. In environments with high bandwidth, we recommend that you do not compress data to reduce CPU usage on the source server. Valid values: 0 to 10. The default value is 7. A value of 0 indicates that data is not compressed.
      Checksum Verification	This feature is disabled by default. Enabling it enhances data consistency checks but may decrease transfer speed.
      License Type	This parameter appears only when Destination Type is ECS Image or ECS Instance. Select a license type. Alibaba Cloud (Default): Only Microsoft Windows Server licenses are supported. After migration, you are charged a license fee when you create an ECS instance from the image in the China (Hong Kong) region or other regions outside the Chinese mainland. The instance is automatically activated. The actual fee is displayed when you create the instance. BYOL: BYOL is supported for operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. After migration, no license fee is charged when you create an ECS instance from the image. You must activate the instance by using your own license. Note If you have an existing ECS instance, you can purchase software licenses, such as for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, for the instance. Purchase software licenses for an ECS instance.
      Image Check	This parameter appears only when Destination Type is ECS Image. The image check feature verifies whether an image is valid and can be used to create a fully functional ECS instance. You can use this feature when you create server migration and agentless VMware migration jobs. The image check feature helps you quickly identify potential issues with the image or instance after migration and provides solutions to ensure compliance with Alibaba Cloud standards, which increases the instance startup success rate. Configure an image check.
      Tag	Attach tag keys and values to the migration task for easier querying and management.
      Intermediate Instance Type	Select an instance type for the intermediate instance. This parameter appears only when Destination Type is ECS Image or Container Image. Select an instance type: SMC uses this type to create the intermediate instance. If out of stock, task creation fails. Do not select an instance type: SMC uses default types in sequence. Important During migration, do not stop, start, restart, release, or change the billing method of the intermediate instance.
      Report diagnostic logs	Automatically uploads SMC client logs to the SMC service for error diagnosis. Enabled by default. SMC client logs are typically stored in /smc/go2aliyun_client*/Logs under the installation directory.

4. Select I have understood and accept the potential migration costs., then click Start Migration.

   SMC is free, but migration incurs minor ECS resource charges. For details, see Billing.

5. In the Process of Quick Migration Job on Cloud Platform dialog box, monitor task creation progress.

   One-click migration takes 3–10 minutes. Do not close or refresh the browser during this time.

   The task includes three steps: Create migration source, Import migration source, and Create migration task. After all steps complete, the system returns a migration source ID and migration task ID.

6. In the navigation pane on the left, click Migration Job to view server migration progress.

   • When the task status is Completed, migration succeeded.

     For example, if Destination Type is ECS Image, a custom image is generated. Scroll right using the bottom scrollbar and click View Report in the Migration Deliverables column to see image validation results. For details, see View image validation results.

     After successful migration, take action based on Destination Type:

     • ECS Image

       In the Actions column, click Create Instance to launch an ECS instance from the image. See Create instances from custom or shared images.

     • ECS Instance and Simple Application Server

       In the Actions column, click View Destination Instance to see instance details.

   • When the task status is InError, migration failed.

     Review logs, fix issues, and restart the migration task. For common errors and fixes, see Server migration issues and FAQ.

7. Post-migration validation.

   After migration, validate data integrity and correctness. See How to check a Linux server after migration? or How to check a Windows server after migration?.

Clean up resources

References

• To migrate incremental data repeatedly, run incremental migrations at custom intervals after the initial full migration is complete. This process synchronizes incremental data from the source server to Alibaba Cloud, reducing business downtime and the final cutover time. For more information, see Incremental server migration.

• To transfer an ECS instance to another Alibaba Cloud account and retain the public IP address, see Transfer an ECS instance.

• FAQ. Troubleshooting.