You can download and run the Server Migration Center (SMC) client on a source server. The SMC client reports information about the source server to and works with the SMC server to migrate the source server to Alibaba Cloud. This method allows you to fully replicate the data of the source server without modification.
Scenarios
Migrate servers from data centers to Alibaba Cloud
Migrate on-premises virtual machines (VMs), such as VMware, VirtualBox, Xen, Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), and Hyper-V, to Alibaba Cloud
Migrate servers from clouds of other vendors, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Tencent Cloud, UCloud, China Telecom Cloud, and QingCloud, to Alibaba Cloud
Migrate servers across Alibaba Cloud accounts or regions
Benefits
Supports mainstream versions of platforms and operating systems, regardless of the underlying environments of source servers.
Supports online migration without downtime, so the operation of the source system is not affected.
Allows users to directly decompress and run the downloaded SMC client, which is small in size and does not need to be installed.
Uses 2048-bit Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) keys for data encryption and transmission, which ensures security.
Supports resumable data transfer and data compression.
Supports incremental migration to reduce business suspension and accelerate cutover.
How it works
You can migrate a source server to a custom image and then use the custom image to create an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance. You can also directly migrate a source server to an ECS instance. This section describes how migration with an agent works.
Migrate a source server to a custom image
Migration to a custom image consists of the following steps:
Download the SMC client to a source server. If you import the information about the source server by using the CLI or the SMC console, the system automatically downloads the SMC client to the source server. In this case, you can skip this step.
Run the SMC client on the source server. The SMC client submits the information about the source server to the SMC server by using the endpoint of SMC.
The SMC server creates a temporary intermediate instance and enables ports 8080 and 8703 in the outbound direction by using security group rules.
The SMC client connects to port 8080 of the intermediate instance to establish communication and transmits the disk data of the source server to the data disks of the intermediate instance by using port 8703 of the intermediate instance.
The SMC server creates snapshots based on the disk data of the intermediate instance and creates an image from the snapshots.
Migrate a source server to an instance
Migration to an instance consists of the following steps:
Download the SMC client to a source server. If you import the information about the source server by using the CLI or the SMC console, the system automatically downloads the SMC client to the source server. In this case, you can skip this step.
Run the SMC client on the source server. The SMC client submits the information about the source server to the SMC server by using the endpoint of SMC.
The SMC server connects to the destination instance, creates and mounts a temporary intermediate cloud disk, and then enables ports 8080 and 8703 in the outbound direction by using security group rules.
The SMC client connects to port 8080 of the destination instance to establish communication and transmits the disk data of the source server to the data disks of the destination instance by using port 8703 of the destination instance.
The SMC server creates snapshots based on the disk data of the destination instance and creates an image from the snapshots.
The SMC server replaces the system disk of the destination instance with a disk that is created from the custom image.
Supported network types:
SMC supports server migration over the Internet or a virtual private cloud (VPC). You must ensure the network connectivity between the source server and the intermediate instance or destination instance.
Server migration over the Internet: You must connect the source server to the Internet and enable ports 8080 and 8703 in the outbound direction by using security group rules for the migration source. The data of the source server is transmitted to the intermediate instance over the Internet. By default, this network type is used to transmit data.
Server migration over a VPC: You must connect the source server to an Alibaba Cloud VPC. The data of the source server is transmitted to the intermediate instance or destination instance over the VPC. You must specify a VPC and a vSwitch during migration. If a server in a data center, a VM, or a third-party cloud server can connect to a VPC in an Alibaba Cloud region, we recommend that you use SMC to migrate the server over the VPC. Compared with server migration over the Internet, server migration over a VPC is more efficient and stable. You can use VPN Gateway, Express Connect, or Smart Access Gateway to connect the source server to a VPC. For more information, see Connect a data center to a VPC and Migrate servers over a VPC.
Limits
Limits on operating systems
The following table describes the operating systems that are supported by the SMC client.
Windows | Linux |
Important Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 cannot be activated after the migration. You can upgrade the operating system after the migration. For more information, see Windows Server EOL guidance. |
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Limits on data migration
Operating system of the source server | Limit |
Windows |
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Linux |
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Limits on the number of migration sources and migration jobs
Item | Limit | Adjustable |
Maximum number of migration sources that can be registered within an Alibaba Cloud account | 1,000 | |
Maximum number of migration jobs that can be created within an Alibaba Cloud account | 1,000 | |
Maximum number of migration jobs that can be concurrently executed within an Alibaba Cloud account | 50 |
Start migration
For more information about how to start server migration, see Migration guide.