You can use Alibaba Cloud's Server Migration Center (SMC) to migrate your existing lightweight servers, such as Tencent Cloud Lighthouse instances, Huawei Cloud's lightweight cloud servers, or AWS Lightsail instances, to Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server (SAS). SMC is an Alibaba Cloud migration platform that provides accessible, consistent, and efficient services to meet your migration requirements.
Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server is a lightweight cloud server that is easy to set up and manage. It provides services for application deployment, security management, and service monitoring for a single server, offering a one-stop solution to improve your server experience and efficiency. For more information, see What is Simple Application Server?.
If Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server does not meet your business needs, you can migrate your lightweight servers from other cloud providers directly to Alibaba Cloud ECS instances for more flexible resource configurations. For more information, see Migrate servers to Elastic Compute Service.
Limits
SMC does not support migrating Alibaba Cloud ECS instances to Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server.
You can use the SCP command and Data Transmission Service (DTS) to migrate website applications deployed on ECS instances to Simple Application Server. For more information, see Migrate ECS instances to Simple Application Server.
SMC does not support migrating data between Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server instances.
To migrate data between Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server instances, see Data migration between Simple Application Server instances.
Migration between Windows and Linux systems is not supported. You can migrate Windows systems only to other Windows systems, and Linux systems only to other Linux systems.
The source lightweight server can have a maximum of one data disk attached.
Migration drills are not supported. During the migration phase, the migration drill step is automatically skipped.
Migration impact
Before you migrate, take note of the following.
Impacted item | Description |
Migrated data directories | During migration, SMC automatically generates a disk partition structure for the destination that is as consistent as possible with the source server's disk partition structure. You can adjust the partition structure of the destination disk, including partition size, order, transfer method, and logical volume management (LVM) configurations. By default, all disks on the server are migrated:
For more information, see Adjust the disk partition structure as needed. |
Intermediate instance | Do not interfere with the intermediate instance. To prevent migration failure, do not stop, start, restart, or release the intermediate instance, or change its billing method during the migration. After the migration is complete, the intermediate instance is automatically released. Note
For more information, see Migration principles. |
IP address | The IP address changes after migration, which may cause service interruptions. We recommend that you perform the migration during off-peak hours. If your services involve IP address configurations, modify the domain name resolution and ICP filing information yourself after the migration. Note If a domain name is already mapped to the source server, map the domain name to the new public IP address of the server. For more information, see Add a website resolution. |
Underlying hardware devices | The underlying hardware devices change after migration. This may invalidate some application licenses that are bound to hardware. Check your licenses. |
Performance impact | The migration process consumes server resources, including CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network bandwidth. |
Data consistency before and after migration | For information about data and system configuration changes that occur before and after migration, see Data consistency issues after migration. |
Preparations
Complete the pre-migration preparations for the server.
Familiarize yourself with the SMC client, migration principles, billing, migration procedure, and feedback channels. For more information, see Migration guide.
Create an Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server instance. Ensure its storage and operating system configurations are compatible with the source server. If you have not created a destination Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server instance, see Create a Simple Application Server instance.
WarningAfter the migration, the original data on the destination Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server instance is cleared. The data on the source server is not affected. Therefore, if the destination Simple Application Server instance contains important data, you must back it up.
Consistent operating systems: The source server and the destination server must run the same operating system. You can migrate a Windows system only to another Windows system, and a Linux system only to another Linux system.
Data disk quantity and capacity requirements:
The number of data disks attached to the destination server must be greater than or equal to the number of data disks on the source server. However, the destination instance can have a maximum of one data disk attached. If the destination instance has an insufficient number of data disks, you must attach one data disk. For more information about how to attach a data disk, see Attach a data disk and Partition and format a data disk.
The capacity of the system disk and data disk on the destination server must be greater than or equal to the capacity of the disks on the source server. If you want to shrink the system disk and data disk of the source server, the disk capacity on the destination instance must be at least equal to the used disk capacity on the source server. If the disk capacity of the destination instance is insufficient, you must resize the disks. For more information about how to resize a disk, see Resize a data disk.
Migration procedure
Step 1: Import the migration source
A migration source is a server that you want to migrate, such as an on-premises server in an IDC, a virtual machine, or a cloud host from another cloud platform. SMC supports multiple methods for importing a migration source. You can choose a method based on your requirements. For more information, see How do I choose a method to import migration sources?
Import the migration source from the command line (Recommended)
The source server must have public network access. If the source server has firewall restrictions, see What are the service domains of SMC? to obtain the SMC domain names and ports, and add them to the firewall whitelist.
If your source server cannot access the public network or you want to improve migration efficiency using a private network transfer, see the private network migration solution.
Visit SMC Console-Server Migration.
On the Server Migration page, click Import Migration source.
Configure the parameters as prompted on the page and copy the activation code command. The parameters are described in the following table.
Parameter
Description
Workgroup (Optional)
This applies to the scenario of batch migration to cloud server images. For single server migration, skip this parameter.
You can add multiple migration sources to the same workgroup for management. Migration sources associated with a workgroup must have automatic incremental synchronization enabled during migration. For more information about batch server migration, see Batch migration of servers.
If no workgroup has been created, click Create a New Workgroup.
Migration Source Type
Physical Machine/VM/Cloud Server From Other Platform
Import Method
Select Command-line Import.
Generate an activation code script command as needed. Run the command on the source server with a single click to import the migration source.
Migration Source Quota
The number of migration sources that can be activated by the activation code. The value ranges from 1 to 1000. The default value is 200.
Validity Period
The validity period of the activation code. The value ranges from 1 to 90 days. The default value is 90 days.
Activation Code
After generating the activation code, copy the command. Perform the following steps:
Click Generate.
Based on the source server's operating system, click the Linux Shell or Windows Powershell tab.
Click Copy to copy the activation code command.
Log on to the source server, and then paste and run the copied command with administrator privileges to import the migration source.
Linux source server
Log on to the Linux source server.
Paste and run the copied command with administrator privileges to import the migration source.
After you run the command, a message similar to
Import Source Server [s-bp18x8751kgz2oyh****] Successfully!appears, which indicates that the migration source was imported successfully.
Windows source server
Log on to the Windows source server.
Open Windows PowerShell with administrator privileges.
Paste and run the copied command to import the migration source.
After you run the command, a message similar to
Import Source Server [s-bp19rlidl3mwuptc****] Successfully!appears, which indicates that the migration source was imported successfully.If the command fails to run, see What do I do if the command fails to run when I import a Windows migration source from the command line?.
On the Server Migration page of the SMC console, you can check the status of the migration source in the Real-time Migration Status column.
A status of Source Online indicates that the import was successful.
If the status is not Source Online, the import failed. Troubleshoot the issue using the following solutions and then re-import the source.
Troubleshoot the issue based on the error message in the console or by checking the SMC client log file. The default installation directories for the SMC client are:
Windows source server: C:\smc.
Linux source server: /smc.
For common issues and solutions, see SMC FAQ and Troubleshooting.
Import the migration source using the SMC client
For more information about the SMC client, see SMC client user guide.
The client must run on the source server, with public network access enabled by default. If the source server has firewall restrictions, see What are the service domains of SMC? to obtain the SMC domain names and ports, and add them to the firewall whitelist.
If your source server cannot access the public network or you want to improve migration efficiency using a private network transfer, see the private network migration solution.
Visit SMC Console-Server Migration.
On the Server Migration page, click Import Migration source.
On the Import Migration Source page, configure the parameters as described in the following table.
Parameter
Description
Migration Source Type
Physical Machine/VM/Cloud Server From Other Platform.
Import Method
Select Client Import.
You need to manually download and install the SMC client on the source server.
Import Instructions
In the Import Instructions section, follow the prompts to download, install, and activate the corresponding SMC client based on the source server's operating system (Linux or Windows) and architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).
Click Generate Activation Code and copy the activation code information.
You need to enter the activation code when installing the client.
Import the migration source.
ImportantDo not close the SMC client during the migration process. Otherwise, the migration source loses its connection with the SMC console, which causes the migration to fail.
Import a migration source from a Windows source server
Use a remote connection tool that supports file transfer, such as WinSCP, to upload the SMC client to the Windows source server.
On the Windows source server, use the system's built-in or a self-installed decompression tool to unzip the SMC client package.
In the SMC client folder that matches the system version of your source server, run the SMC client.
You will be prompted for administrator privileges. Click OK.
GUI version: Double-click the go2aliyun_gui.exe application to run it.
Command-line version: Double-click the go2aliyun_client.exe application to run it.
Obtain an activation code or an AccessKey pair.
(Recommended) Obtain an activation code. In the Import Instructions section of the SMC console, click Generate Activation Code and copy the activation code.
Obtain an AccessKey pair: An AccessKey pair for an Alibaba Cloud account includes an AccessKey ID and an AccessKey secret. If you have not created an AccessKey pair, you must create one. For more information, see Create an AccessKey pair.
Enter the activation code or AccessKey pair as prompted.
In the GUI, enter the activation code or AccessKey pair in the Token Id/AK and Token Code/SK text boxes and click Run. For more information, see SMC client user guide.
Command-line version: Enter the values for
access_access_token_idandaccess_token_code, and press theEnterkey.
When a message similar to
Import Source Server [s-bp18x8751kgz2oyh****] Successfully!appears, it indicates that the migration source was imported successfully.
Import a migration source from a Linux source server
Use a remote connection tool that supports file transfer, such as WinSCP, to upload the SMC client to the Linux source server.
Remotely connect to the Linux source server and unzip the SMC client package.
This example uses the
Linux 64-bit General-purpose Edition. If you use a different version of the SMC client, replace the package name in the command with the actual downloaded file name.tar -zxvf go2aliyun_client.tar.gzNoteThe Linux 64-bit ARM Edition supports the g6r general-purpose instance family and the c6r compute-optimized instance family. For more information about instance families, see Enterprise-level Arm-based compute instance families.
(Optional) As needed, filter and exclude files or directories that do not need to be migrated.
ImportantIf you enable block replication for migration, you cannot exclude files or directories from migration.
Obtain an activation code or an AccessKey pair.
(Recommended) In the Import Instructions section of the SMC console, click Generate Activation Code to obtain an activation code, and then copy the code.
Obtain an AccessKey pair: An AccessKey pair for an Alibaba Cloud account includes an AccessKey ID and an AccessKey secret. If you have not created an AccessKey pair, you must create one. For more information, see Create an AccessKey pair.
In the SMC client folder, run the following commands to start the SMC client.
cd go2aliyun_client_linux_x86_64 sudo chmod +x go2aliyun_client sudo ./go2aliyun_clientEnter the activation code or AccessKey pair as prompted. This example uses an activation code:
After you enter the activation code or AccessKey pair, the following prompts may appear:
If the source system does not have a snapshot driver installed, the SMC client prompts you, as shown in the following figure. You can choose whether to install the snapshot driver based on your needs.
If you enable block replication when you create the migration task, enter
yesto automatically install the snapshot driver.If you do not enable block replication when you create the migration task, enter
no.
ImportantIf the snapshot driver fails to install, do not enable block replication when you create the migration task. Otherwise, the migration fails.
Most mainstream source systems have rsync installed by default. If it is not installed, the SMC client prompts you. Enter
yesto automatically install rsync, as shown in the following figure.
If SELinux is enabled on the source system, the SMC client prompts you to disable it. Enter
yesto automatically disable SELinux, as shown in the following figure.
When a message similar to
Import Source Server [s-bp11npxndknsycqj****] Successfully!appears, it indicates that the migration source was imported successfully.NoteIf importing the migration source fails, you can resolve the issue based on the displayed message, and then run the following commands in sequence to exit the background program and re-import the migration source. For more information about common issues and solutions, see SMC FAQ and Troubleshooting.
sudo ./go2aliyun_client --abort sudo ./go2aliyun_client
On the Server Migration page of the SMC console, you can check the status of the migration source in the Real-time Migration Status column.
A status of Source Online indicates that the import was successful.
If the status is not Source Online, the import failed. Troubleshoot the issue using the following solutions and then re-import the source.
Troubleshoot the issue based on the error message in the console or by checking the SMC client log file. The default installation directories for the SMC client are:
Windows source server: C:\smc.
Linux source server: /smc.
For common issues and solutions, see SMC FAQ and Troubleshooting.
Step 2: Configure the migration
Find the migration source that you want to manage and click Start Migration in the Actions column.
Configure the parameters and click Start Migration.
Configure basic parameters.
Parameter
Description
Migration Job Name
The name of the migration task.
Job Description
Enter a description for the migration task.
Destination Type
Select Simple Application Server.
Destination Region (Required)
The region where you want to migrate your lightweight server to on Alibaba Cloud. For more information about regions, see Regions and zones.
Destination Instance (Required)
Select a Simple Application Server instance as the destination instance.
The storage, operating system, and other configurations of the Simple Application Server instance must be compatible with the source server. For example, you can migrate a server only from a Linux source server to a Linux simple application server, or from a Windows source server to a Windows simple application server.
ImportantTo prevent migration failure, do not stop, start, restart, or release the destination instance during the migration.
If the number of data disks on the destination instance is less than the number of data disks on the migration source, not all data disks from the source will be migrated.
If the disk capacity of the destination instance is smaller than that of the migration source, we recommend that you first resize the disks of the destination instance. For more information, see Resize a data disk.
Execution Method
Select an execution method for the migration task:
Migrate Now: Starts the migration immediately after creating the migration task. By default, Migrate Now is selected.
Schedule Migration: After creating the migration task, it automatically starts at the set time.
NoteThe earliest scheduled execution time can be set to 10 minutes after the current time.
Create Only: Creates only the migration task. You will need to manually start the migration task later by clicking Start Task in the Actions column.
Adjust the disk partition structure as needed. The parameters are described in the following table.
Parameter
Description
Adjust Disk Partition Structure
Choose whether to enable adjusting the disk partition structure based on your needs. This feature is supported only in SMC client V2.8.0 and later. For more information about the SMC client, see SMC client user guide.
Disabled: The disk information of the source instance is not displayed. The system automatically reads the source instance disk information and generates a disk structure. After migration, the destination disk partition structure is consistent with the automatically generated disk structure by default.
Enabled: The disk information of the source instance is displayed. The system automatically reads the source instance disk information and generates a disk structure. You can adjust the destination disk partition structure, including partition size and order, transfer method, and whether to enable LVM.
Configure disks
System Disk: The size of the destination Alibaba Cloud server's system disk, in GiB. The system disk size ranges from 20 to 2048.
The destination system disk size must be larger than the actual used size of the source system disk. For example, if the source system disk is 400 GiB and the actual used space is 100 GiB, the destination system disk size must be greater than 100 GiB.
NoteThe default value is the size of the source system disk. If you do not need to reduce the system disk capacity, we recommend not setting it to a value smaller than the default.
Data Disk <N>: The size of the data disk of the Alibaba Cloud server after migration, in GiB. The data disk size ranges from 1 to 32768.
The variable
<N>represents the data disk number. If migrating to a destination instance, N is the data disk ID.The data disk size must be larger than the actual used size of the source data disk. For example, if the source data disk is 500 GiB and the actual used space is 100 GiB, the destination data disk size must be greater than 100 GiB.
If there is no mount target under the Data Disk or all mount targets are set not to be migrated, the data disk will not be migrated.
LVM: Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is a mechanism for managing disk partitions in Linux systems. LVM is more flexible than standard disk partitions and allows for dynamic adjustment of disk space.
You can choose whether to enable LVM based on your needs. If LVM is enabled, the destination end will automatically rebuild the disk with an LVM structure.
For each destination disk with LVM enabled, the system creates 1 physical volume (PV) and its corresponding volume group (VG). On this volume group, it creates a number of logical volumes (LVMs) corresponding to the number of mount targets. The volume group name defaults to vgX (where X is the disk's sequence number), and the logical volume name defaults to lvX (where X is the logical volume's sequence number), as shown in the following example:
ImportantLVM is not supported in the following cases:
If the migration source is a Windows system, LVM is not supported.
If the system disk has no boot partition, LVM is not supported.
After enabling LVM, the feature will not take effect in the following scenarios:
The migration source does not support lvm2 or the lvm2 package is not installed.
The migration source is a Debian system with a kernel version of 3.x or earlier, and a disk with an XFS file system is mounted.
Configure mount targets
Migrate: You can choose whether to migrate the mount target based on your business needs.
Enable Block Replication: Using block replication can effectively improve the stability of migration transfer speed and ensure consistency with the source partition structure, but the partition size cannot be modified. SMC determines whether to support enabling block replication based on the state of the migration source disk partitions.
If the migration source does not support enabling Block Replication for a partition, the switch cannot be turned on. The default file replication is used, and the partition size can be modified.
If the migration source supports enabling Block Replication for a partition, block replication is enabled by default to achieve partition-level disk migration.
NoteWhen the migration source is a Windows operating system, the block replication feature is enabled by default and cannot be disabled.
If LVM is enabled on the disk and the partition size is not a multiple of 4 MiB, block replication will not take effect, and file replication will be used for data transfer.
Set Partition Size: When block replication is not enabled, you can set the partition size as needed, but the sum of the partition sizes cannot exceed the size of the belonging disk.
NoteIf the disk sizes of the destination instance do not match the migration source disks, the task cannot be created. In this case, the system will automatically adjust the mount target positions to meet the disk size requirements. If the requirements are still not met after adjusting the mount targets, handle the issue according to the prompts on the page.
You can also manually drag the mount target positions to meet the disk size requirements. However, dragging is not supported for boot or system partitions. Perform the following steps:
Hover your mouse over the
icon in front of the mount target.Use the mouse to drag the mount target to another disk.
(Optional) To set parameters such as the network mode and compression ratio, click Advanced Configuration and configure the advanced parameters. The following table describes the parameters.
Parameter
Description
Network Type
Migration data is transferred to the intermediate instance over the public network. To use this mode, the source server must be able to access the public network. Choose whether to specify a VPC and vSwitch as needed.
Specify VPC and vSwitch: The migration task creates an intermediate instance in the VPC and vSwitch you specify.
Do not specify VPC and vSwitch: The migration task creates an intermediate instance in a new VPC and vSwitch that the system automatically creates.
Transmission Speed Limit
Transfer throttling limits the actual network transfer speed, in Mbps. If the Compression Ratio is set to a value greater than 0, the actual network transfer speed (the transfer speed of compressed data) will be less than the speed displayed in the Real-time Migration Status.
Compression Ratio
The level of data compression during migration. Set the compression ratio based on your actual needs.
In environments with limited bandwidth, using a high compression ratio can increase data transfer speed.
In environments with very high bandwidth, we recommend not compressing data to reduce the consumption of CPU resources on the migration source.
The value ranges from 0 to 10. The default value is 7. A value of 0 means no data compression.
Checksum Verification
Disabled by default. Enabling it enhances data consistency checks but may reduce transfer speed.
Enable SSL Encrypted Transfer
Enabled by default. Using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption to transfer migration data can improve data security and ensure data integrity.
Tag
Bind tag key-value pairs to the migration task for easy querying and management. For more information, see Use tags to manage migration sources and tasks and Implement fine-grained permission management using tags.
NoteA maximum of 20 tags can be bound to a single migration task.
Upload Diagnostic Logs
Automatically upload SMC client logs to the SMC server for error diagnosis and analysis, which helps in locating problems when migration errors occur. This feature is enabled by default.
SMC client logs are generally saved in the
/smc/go2aliyun_client*/Logsdirectory under the installation path.
In the message that appears, read the migration notes and click Got It.
On the Server Migration page, view the real-time migration status.
The time required for data transmission is affected by factors such as the source data size and network bandwidth. Wait for the migration task to complete.
NoteSpeed: The amount of uncompressed migration data transferred per second. If the Compression Ratio is set to a value greater than 0 for a migration task, the displayed speed will be greater than the actual network transfer speed of the compressed data.
Remaining Sync Time: This is calculated as (Total Data Volume - Transferred Data Volume) / Speed.
If the transfer speed is too slow to meet your schedule, you can consider temporarily increasing the fixed bandwidth of the source and destination servers. For more information, see Estimate migration time and test transfer speed.
(Optional) To view the migration details, perform the following steps.
In the Migration Source ID/Name column of the target migration source, click the migration source ID to view the migration details.
Verify the migration result
After the lightweight server is migrated, perform the following steps to check whether the data is complete and whether the instance and applications are running as expected:
In the Actions column of the target migration task, click View Destination Instance.
You are redirected to the Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server console.
Remotely log on to the Simple Application Server instance. For more information, see Remotely connect to a Linux server or Remotely connect to a Windows server.
Check the data and applications on the Simple Application Server instance. For more information, see How do I check a Linux server after migration? or How do I check a Windows server after migration?.
If your services involve IP address configurations, you must modify them.
If a domain name is already mapped to the source server, map the domain name to the new public IP address of the server. For more information, see Add a website resolution.
NoteThe IP address changes after the migration:
References
Because the server is replaced, its public IP address changes. If you have mapped a domain name to the previous server, you must map the domain name to the new server after the data migration is complete. For more information, see Register and resolve a domain name.
You can use the SCP command and Data Transmission Service (DTS) to migrate website applications deployed on ECS instances to Simple Application Server. For more information, see Migrate ECS instances to Simple Application Server.
To migrate data between Alibaba Cloud Simple Application Server instances, see Data migration between Simple Application Server instances.