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    Cloud Backup:Migrate a VMware VM

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    Cloud Backup:Migrate a VMware VM

    Last Updated:Jun 21, 2026

    Migrate entire VMware virtual machines (VMs) from on-premises environments to Alibaba Cloud ECS instances. Cloud Backup uses VMware snapshots and disk-level data reads for agentless, non-intrusive full-disk migration.

    Prerequisites

    Reviewed the Limits on VMware VM migration, including supported operating systems and VMware platforms.

    How it works

    Cloud Backup reads VMware snapshots at the disk level and replicates the entire VM to an ECS instance. No agent is installed on the source VM.

    Step 1: Create a migration gateway

    1. Log on to the Cloud Backup console.

    2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Migration > VMware VM Migration.

    3. In the top-left corner of the menu bar, select a region.

    4. On the VMware VM Migration page, click Create Migration Gateway.

      Note

      Only one migration gateway can be created in each region.

    5. In the Create Migration Gateway panel, configure the following parameters and then click Create.

      Parameter

      Description

      Gateway Name

      Enter a name for the migration gateway. Maximum 64 characters.

      Software Platform

      Currently, only vSphere is supported.

      Network Type

      • VPC: Use when the gateway transmits data over a leased line (Express Connect).

      • Internet: Use when no VPC connection is available.

      Use HTTPS

      Enable HTTPS for data transfer. Data is also encrypted at rest in the backup vault. Changes take effect at the next migration task.

    6. On the Migration Gateway tab, click Actions > More to select Download Gateway and Download Certificate.

      Note

      The gateway connects to Cloud Backup and the certificate activates the client. Both are available from the client list at any time.

    Step 2: Install the client

    Install the downloaded client and certificate to connect to Cloud Backup.

    1. Log on to the vSphere Web Client.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, right-click the VM on which you want to deploy the template and select Deploy OVF Template.

      Note

      Deploy an OVF template in the VMware documentation.

    3. Deploy the OVF template.

      1. On the Deploy OVF Template page, select Local file. Click Browse to select the downloaded gateway installation package, and then click Next.

      2. Enter a name for the OVF template, select a deployment location, and then click Next.

        For example, name the OVF template Alibaba-Cloud-Migration-Appliance-1.0.0 and select Datacenter as the deployment location.

      3. Select the location to run the template, and then click Next.

        In the resource tree, expand the DC6.0 data center and select the Cluster1 cluster.

      4. Review the template details and click Next.

        The template details include: Product: Alibaba Cloud Backup Appliance, Version: 1.0.7, Vendor: Alibaba Cloud, Download size: 1.6 GB, and Size on disk: 3.2 GB (thin provisioning) or 100.0 GB (thick provisioning).

      5. Select a virtual disk format and a datastore for the deployed template files, and then click Next.

        For example, select Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed as the virtual disk format and select 6.0_local_2 as the datastore.

      6. For each source network, select a target network, and then click Next.

        For example, set the destination network for the source VM Network to HBR. For IP allocation, select Static - Manual. For IP protocol, select IPv4.

      7. Customize the deployment properties of the software solution and click Next.

        The deployment properties include Admin User Name, Admin User Password (enter and confirm the password), Gateway, Hostname, IP, Netmask(CIDR notation) (a value from 0 to 32, such as 24), Primary DNS, and Secondary DNS.

      8. Review your settings, and then click Finish.

        The configuration summary includes the name, source VM name, download size, size on disk, data center, resource, storage mapping, network mapping, IP allocation settings, and network parameters in the Properties section, such as Admin User Name, Gateway, Hostname, IP, Netmask(CIDR notation), Primary DNS, and Secondary DNS.

      In the Recent Tasks pane, monitor the task status and wait for it to complete. After the deployment is finished, confirm that both the Deploy OVF template and Import OVF package tasks show a status of Completed.

    4. Start the deployed VM. Open a browser and enter http://hostname:8011 in the address bar.

      Note

      hostname is the IP address of the deployed VM.

    5. On the Activate Gateway page, configure the following parameters and click Register.

      Parameter

      Description

      AccessKey ID

      AccessKey pair of an Alibaba Cloud account or RAM user. For security, use a RAM user. Create an AccessKey pair for a RAM user.

      AccessKey Secret

      Certificate File

      Select the certificate downloaded from the console. Certificates expire if the VM stays shut down for more than five days after activation. Download a new certificate and activate it again.

      After activation, click OK to open the Cloud Backup console.

    Step 3: Add a vCenter server

    1. Log on to the Cloud Backup console.

    2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Migration > VMware VM Migration

    3. In the top-left corner of the menu bar, select a region.

    4. On the Migration Gateway tab, click View in the Actions column.

    5. Click Add vCenter Server.

    6. In the Add vCenter Server panel, enter the Server IP, Username, and Password, and then click Create.

      Passwords with these special characters may cause the vCenter addition to fail:

      ` ^ ~ = ; ! / ( [ ] { } @ $ \ & # % +

      Note

      Create a dedicated vCenter account with Administrator permissions. Use periods (.) instead of other special characters in the password.

    Step 4: Migrate the VMware VM

    1. On the Migration Gateway tab, click View in the Actions column.

    2. On the Managed vCenter Servers page, click Migrate in the Actions column.

    3. In the Create Migration Plan panel, set the following parameters and click Next.

      Parameter

      Description

      Plan Name

      Optional. Name for the migration plan. A random name is assigned if left empty.

      Configure Migration Plan

      Select Right Now or On Schedule.

      If you select On Schedule, specify a Start Time, accurate to the second.

      Force Quiesced Snapshot

      • Selected: Forces quiesced snapshots for backup. If a quiesced snapshot cannot be created, the backup fails.

      • Not selected (default): Attempts to use a quiesced snapshot first. If a quiesced snapshot cannot be created, a standard snapshot is used.

      Enable Incremental Sync

      Specify whether to use incremental migration.

      If you enable incremental migration, set the Incremental Sync Frequency. Units: hours, days, or weeks.

      Note

      • If Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is disabled, incremental migration falls back to full migration. How to enable CBT mode.

      • In incremental mode, Cloud Backup creates images for test failovers. Image fees apply per ECS pricing. Billing overview.

    4. Select Select VMs to Migrate, and click Next.

    5. In the Configure ECS Instance tab, configure an ECS instance for each source VM.

      The settings include VPC, vSwitch, instance family (General-purpose, Compute-optimized, Memory-optimized, High Clock Speed, or Entry-level), instance type (for example, ecs.sn2ne.large (2Core, 8GB)), Storage Type (Ultra Disk or Standard SSD), security group, and IP Address Type (DHCP or Static), and checkboxes such as Assign Public IP, Start System After Restore, and Create System Image. The available ECS resources depend on the selected availability zone. After configuration, click Save Configuration to Current VM to save the settings for the current VM, or click Copy Configuration to All VMs to apply the settings to all VMs. Finally, click Create.

      1. In the pane on the left, click the source VM that you want to configure.

      2. In the right pane, configure the ECS instance for the source VM.

        Important

        Ensure the security group allows outbound TCP ports 80, 443 and UDP port 53.

        Parameter

        Description

        VPC

        Select the VPC for the target ECS instance from the VPC list.

        vSwitch

        Select the vSwitch for the target ECS instance from the vSwitch list.

        Instance Family

        Target ECS instance type.

        Instance Type

        Instance family of the target ECS instance.

        Disk Type

        Disk type for the target ECS instance.

        • Ultra Disk

        • Standard SSD

        Security Group

        Select the security group for the target ECS instance from the Security Group drop-down list.

        IP Address Type

        IP assignment method for the target ECS instance.

        • DHCP: Assigns an IP address dynamically.

        • Static: Allows manual IP address configuration.

        IP Address

        Required only when the IP Address Type parameter is set to Static. Specify a static IP address for the ECS instance.

        Assign Public IP

        Assign a public IP address to the ECS instance.

        Reboot After Restoration

        Start the ECS instance after migration completes.

        Create System Image

        Create a system image.

      3. To apply the same ECS configuration to all source VMs, configure the parameters for the current source VM based on the table above and click Apply to Current VM. Then, click Apply to All VMs. Finally, click Create.

      On the Migration Plans tab, you can view the migration progress. Click the Migration Status tab to view the execution progress of the migration task. The page displays the migration plan name, migration policy, the total number of VMs, and the number of tasks that are migrating, completed, or failed. You can expand a plan to view details for each VM, such as its ECS instance type and migration progress percentage.

      For incremental migration, the following operations are available after migration completes.

      • Click Sync Tasks. On the Incremental Sync History page, you can view the Sync ID, Migration Gateway, Incremental Data Size, Last Sync Marker, Time Period, and Status of each sync record. After you confirm that the status of all incremental sync records is Synced, proceed with the next steps.

      • Click Create ECS, and in the dialog box, select Verify Migration or Finish Migration.

        • Click Verify Migration. An ECS instance is then created based on the data from the latest synchronization (for example, 2020-02-21 20:21:31). You can use this instance to verify that the migrated virtual machine (VM) works correctly. You can perform this verification up to three times for each VM. To confirm the migration verification, click OK to start creating the ECS instance. After the ECS instance is created, you can click Resume Migration to remove the created ECS instance and continue the migration. When the migration task status changes to Creation Completed, click Continue Migration in the Actions column.

        • Click Finish Migration to create an ECS instance from the latest synchronization data (e.g., 2020-02-21 20:21:31) and stop all subsequent synchronization. To include data since the last sync, select Run an incremental synchronization task before finishing the migration job.

        Note

        • Final incremental synchronization increases migration completion time.

        • VM migration is billed on the first successful validation or completion per VM. No additional charges for subsequent operations. Pricing Details

      • Click Cancel Migration to cancel the current migration job.

    Collect logs

    You can collect logs from the Cloud Backup gateway without logging in.

    To collect logs when you cannot log in to the gateway:

    1. Open a browser and go to http://<Migration gateway IP>:8011.

    2. In the upper-right corner, click Diagnostics. After you log in, the Diagnostics button is available in the same location.

    3. Choose Log Collection > Download Logs.