Migration

When an operating system reaches end-of-life (EOL) — whether its support lifecycle has ended, a third-party service has been discontinued, or an open-source project has evolved — it no longer receives official security patches or technical support. Use Server Migration Center (SMC) to migrate your workloads to a supported OS version and maintain system stability and security.

How it works

The following figures show how OS migration works.

Linux migration

Download and run the SMC client on the source ECS instance.

The SMC client is a migration tool provided by Alibaba Cloud. You can import a migration source by using the CLI or the client. When you use the CLI, the system automatically downloads the SMC client package.
The SMC client runs on the source ECS instance and reports registration information to the SMC service through the SMC service endpoint.
After you create a migration task, the SMC service prepares the source ECS instance for migration. For example, it creates a snapshot for data backup. If an error occurs, you can use the snapshot to roll back the cloud disk.
The SMC client migrates the operating system by installing or updating the system kernel and software packages.

Important
Application software versions may change, but application data is retained.
After the migration is complete, the SMC service updates the operating system type of the ECS instance.

Windows migration

Download and run the SMC client on the source ECS instance.

The SMC client is a migration tool provided by Alibaba Cloud. You can import a migration source by using the CLI or the client. When you use the CLI, the system automatically downloads the SMC client package.
The SMC client runs on the source ECS instance and reports registration information to the SMC service through the SMC service endpoint.
After you create a migration task, the SMC service prepares the source ECS instance for migration. For example, it creates a snapshot for data backup. If an error occurs, you can use the snapshot to roll back the cloud disk. The service also creates and attaches a pay-as-you-go installation media disk that contains the media required for the Windows Server OS migration.
The SMC client migrates the operating system by installing or updating the system kernel and software packages.

Important
Application software versions may change, but application data is retained.
After the migration is complete, the SMC service updates the operating system type of the ECS instance, and then detaches and releases the installation media disk.

Billing

SMC itself is free. However, ECS resources created during migration incur charges as described in Product Billing.

Migration process

SMC supports two migration methods: fast migration and staged migration. Choose a method based on your business requirements.

Fast migration (Recommended)

Fast migration does not require you to manually import the migration source. You only need to complete the required configurations as prompted, which reduces operational complexity.

The migration process is as follows:

Prepare for the migration

Before you migrate an operating system, you must sign up for an Alibaba Cloud account, complete real-name verification, activate Resource Access Management (RAM), and enable the snapshot service. For more information, see Preparations.
Select an instance

After clicking Start Migration, select the source ECS instances. The system then uses Cloud Assistant to automatically import the selected migration sources. No manual intervention is required.
Migration check

The SMC platform automatically checks whether the selected instance meets the migration requirements and displays the results in the Pre-check tab.
Configure and start the migration task

Create and start the operating system migration task as prompted. For more information, see Operating system migration (Windows) and Operating system migration (Linux).
Note
- Before a migration task starts, SMC checks whether migration drill conditions are met.
  - Successful drill -- The system starts the migration task automatically by default.
  - Abnormal drill -- Fix the Critical drill items according to the drill report, then retry the drill. See Configure a migration drill.
- If conditions are not met, the system starts the migration task automatically by default.

Staged migration

Staged migration lets you perform the migration in phases, giving you finer control over the process and flexibility to start the migration task at a convenient time.

The migration process is as follows:

Prepare for the migration

Before you migrate an operating system, you must sign up for an Alibaba Cloud account, complete real-name verification, activate Resource Access Management (RAM), and enable the snapshot service. For more information, see Preparations.
Import the migration source.

SMC supports multiple methods to import a migration source. Choose one of the following methods based on your requirements:
- Import using the CLI
- Import using the client
For more information, see How do I choose a method to import a migration source?.
Create a migration task

Create and start the operating system migration task as prompted. For more information, see Operating system migration (Windows) and Operating system migration (Linux).
Note
- Before a migration task starts, SMC checks whether migration drill conditions are met.
  - Successful drill -- The system starts the migration task automatically by default.
  - Abnormal drill -- Fix the Critical drill items according to the drill report, then retry the drill. See Configure a migration drill.
- If conditions are not met, the system starts the migration task automatically by default.

Feedback and support

For questions or suggestions, join the SMC DingTalk support group or scan the QR code below. Download the DingTalk client

SMC DingTalk support group QR code