Before migrating an ECS instance across zones with Server Migration Center (SMC), you must create an Alibaba Cloud account, complete real-name verification, activate RAM, and grant the required permissions.
Prepare your Alibaba Cloud account
Register an account on the Alibaba Cloud website.
Ensure that your account balance is at least CNY 100 (from either top-ups or vouchers).
NoteSMC is free, but the migration process uses a small amount of ECS resources, which are billable. For more information, see Billing.
Complete real-name verification for your account.
Method 1: Go to the real-name verification page.
Method 2: Log on to the SMC console. If you have not completed real-name verification, the console prompts you to complete it.
Activate RAM and grant permissions
Grant permissions to SMC: SMC needs to access your cloud resources for migration. Log on to the SMC console and follow the on-screen instructions to grant the required permissions.
If you use a RAM account, log on to the RAM console with your master account and grant the RAM account the
AliyunSMCFullAccesspermission.
Enable the snapshot service
SMC creates snapshots of the source server during migration, so the snapshot service must be enabled. To enable it, log on to the SMC console and follow the on-screen instructions.
Back up your data
Back up your data by creating snapshots to prevent data loss or corruption from system failures.