New feature: Server Migration Service


Flexible Engine
Release Notes

May 20, 2020


Server Migration Service (SMS)  is a feature that allows the user to migrate physical or virtual servers (e.g. VMware) including the OS and all related data to the Flexible Engine platform. SMS allows you to seamlessly and efficiently migrate servers with just a few clicks.

This feature works by deploying an agent installed on the source server that will replicate server data to prepare for a migration task. You can access SMS through the Flexible Engine technical console and selecting the Paris (EU-West-0) region.

More information and technical documentation for SMS is available here.

Use cases

  • Online migration: it is also called online cloning. The server to be migrated is in the running state. After the server is migrated, users need to switch services to the destination ECS and verify the application availability.
  • File-level migration: it refers to the process of copying the files and directories in the source disk to the destination ECS during migration.
  • Block-level migration: it refers to the process of reading data from the source disk sector and migrating the data to the destination ECS in sequence.
  • High security migration: SMS uses AK and SK to authenticate migration agent identities. SMS uses SSL protocol to encrypt the transmission channel to ensure the security of your data.    The certificates and secret keys used for SSL encryption are dynamically generated.

Current Limitations

  • Linux OS are supported by downloading “Linux Agent”.
  • Windows 2003/2008 versions are supported by downloading “Windwos Agent (Python 2).
  • Windows 2012/2016 versions are supported by downloading “Windwos Agent (Python 3).
  • Licenses with PAYG pricing structure have to be activated again after migration.
  • Only VMware vSPERE 4.1 / 5.0 / 5.1 / 5.5 / 6.0 are supported.
  • For “on-premise server”, only x86 servers provided by mainstream vendors such as HP, Dell, IBM, and Huawei are supported.