Step 1: Import the information of a migration source

Migration sources can be physical servers, VMware virtual machines (VMs), Xen, KVM, or Hyper-V VMs, and VMs that run in public clouds. Before you use Server Migration Center (SMC) for server migration, you must run the SMC client with your Alibaba Cloud account on the migration source, and import the migration source information. Then, you can log on to the SMC console to perform migration. This topic describes how to import the information of a migration source.

1. Download and decompress the SMC client package.
   1. Download the SMC client package.
      If the migration source has access to the Internet, you can also download the SMC client package to the migration source.

      Note You can log on to the SMC console. In the upper-right corner of the page, click Download Latest SMC Client to download the latest version of the SMC client.
   2. Upload the SMC client package to the migration source.
      • You can build an FTP site to upload files. For more information, see Manually build an FTP site on a Windows instance or Manually build an FTP site on a CentOS 7 instance.
      • You can also use a remote connection tool that supports file transfer. This allows you to upload the SMC client package to the migration source.
   3. Decompress the SMC client package.
      The SMC client is available for different operating systems and architectures. Select an SMC client version that is compatible with the migration source.
      The following figure shows the decompressed client folders for Windows.

      Note For Linux systems, run the unzip <name of the SMC client package> command to decompress the SMC client package. Make sure that the unzip utility is installed on the source server. For example, you can run the yum -y install unzip command to install the unzip utility in CentOS 7.

      

      Table 1. SMC client packages

      Client package	Architecture	Operating system	Bits	Supported destination image types
      go2aliyun_client2.5.8_linux_arm64.zip	ARM	Linux	64	ECS image ECS instance
      go2aliyun_client2.5.8_linux_i386.zip	x86	Linux	32	ECS image ECS instance Container image
      go2aliyun_client2.5.8_linux_x86_64.zip	x86	Linux	64
      go2aliyun_client2.5.8_windows_i386.zip	x86	Windows	32	ECS image ECS instance
      go2aliyun_client2.5.8_windows_x86_64.zip	x86	Windows	64

      Note

      • The version number 2.5.8 in the name of the client package is for reference only. The actual version number shall prevail.
      • SMC allows you to migrate Linux servers of the ARM64 architecture to ECS instances of the g6r or c6r instance family. For more information, see Instance families.
   4. Decompress the client package that is compatible with the operating system of your source server.
      The following figure shows the directories and files in the decompressed folder.

      Table 2. SMC client folders and files

      Folder or file	Description
      go2aliyun_client.exe	The Windows CLI executable file.
      go2aliyun_gui.exe	The Windows GUI executable file. For more information about the GUI version, see Use the Windows GUI version of an SMC client.
      go2aliyun_client	The Linux CLI executable file.
      user_config.json	The configuration file of the migration source and destination.
      Excludes	The folder in which to add directories to exclude from migration.
      client_data	The migration data file. This includes the intermediate instance information and migration progress.

2. Optional:Optional. Exclude files or directories from migration. If you do not need some files or directories after migration, you can exclude them from migration. For more information, see How do I exclude files or directories from a migration task?.
   Note If you enable the block replication feature, you cannot exclude files or directories from migration.
3. Run the SMC client to import the migration source information.
   1. Enter the SMC client folder and run the SMC client.
      • For Windows servers, use one of the following methods to run the SMC client:
        • To run the Windows GUI version, double-click the go2aliyun_gui.exe file.
        • To run the Windows CLI version, double-click the go2aliyun_client.exe file.
        Note When you run the program, you must click OK to confirm that you have the administrator privilege.
      • For Linux servers, run the SMC client as a root or sudo user.
        • In the directory of the go2aliyun_client file, run the following commands as the root user:

          chmod +x go2aliyun_client

          ./go2aliyun_client

        • In the directory of the go2aliyun_client file, run the following commands with the sudo permission:

          sudo chmod +x ./go2aliyun_client

          sudo ./go2aliyun_client

        If you have required permissions on the migration source system, you can also run the following commands to import the migration source information. In this case, you do not need to enter your AccessKey pair.

        Note An AccessKey pair of an Alibaba Cloud account includes an AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret. If you have not created an AccessKey pair, create one first. For more information, see Obtain an AccessKey pair.

        • Run the following command as a root user:

          ./go2aliyun_client --accessid=<AccessKey ID> --secretkey=<AccessKey Secret>

        • Run the following command as a sudo user:

          sudo ./go2aliyun_client --accessid=<AccessKey ID> --secretkey=<AccessKey Secret>

   2. Enter the AccessKey pair of your Alibaba Cloud account.
      Note If the AccessKey pair you entered is invalid, open the user_config.json file, delete the access_id and secret_key values, and then run the client again.

      • For Windows servers
        • If you use the Windows GUI version, enter the AccessKey ID in the Access Id field, enter the AccessKey secret in the Secret Key field, and then click Start. For more information, see Use the Windows GUI version of an SMC client.
        • If you use the Windows CLI version, enter the AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret, and then press Enter.
      • For Linux servers
        Enter the AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret, and then press Enter.
        The following prompts may appear:

        • If no snapshot dependency is installed on your source server, the following prompt appears, as shown in the following figure. Decide whether to install one based on whether you need to enable block replication.
          • If you need to enable block replication for the migration, enter yes to automatically install a snapshot dependency.
          • If you do not need to enable block replication for the migration, enter no.
          Note If the snapshot dependency fails to be installed, do not enable block replication when you create a migration task. Otherwise, the migration may fail.
          
        • The rsync tool is installed in most mainstream migration sources. If rsync is not installed on the migration source, the SMC client displays a prompt. Enter yes to install rsync, as shown in the following figure.
        • If SELinux is enabled on the migration source, you are prompted to disable SELinux. Enter yes to disable SELinux, as shown in the following figure.
   Notice Do not close the client until the migration is complete. Otherwise, the migration source will be disconnected from the SMC console and the migration fails.