How to Migrate Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) Volumes to Vultr Block Storage

Migrating block storage volumes between cloud providers requires a structured approach to prevent data loss and ensure a smooth transition. Vultr Block Storage is a high-performance storage solution that offers flexible storage options for various workloads. Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes are storage disks attached to Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances, whereas Vultr Block Storage integrates with Vultr Cloud Compute instances. You can leverage the attached instance to transfer data to a Vultr Block Storage volume of an equal or greater size.

Follow this guide to migrate Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes to Vultr Block Storage with little or no downtime for your linked applications.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you need to:

• Have access to a Linux-based Amazon EC2 instance to use for migration.
• Have an existing Amazon Elastic Block Store volume to migrate and attach it to your EC2 instance.

In a single Vultr location:

• Provision Vultr Block Storage volume to use as the destination volume.
• Provision an Ubuntu Vultr Cloud Compute instance and access it as a non-root sudo user.

Set Up the Migration Environment

Follow the steps below to set up the migration environment by preparing the source Amazon EC2 instance and the destination Vultr Cloud Compute instance. Verify that an Elastic Block Store (EBS) volume is attached to the source instance and a Vultr Block Storage volume is attached to the destination instance. This ensures both volumes are ready for data transfer.

Set Up the Source Amazon EBS Volume

Follow the steps below to access the source EC2 instance and mount the EBS volume if it's not already mounted.

1. Access your EC2 instance using SSH as a non-root user with sudo privileges.

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   $ ssh -i ec2-instance.pem user@ec2-ip-address
   

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   Replace user with your username and ec2-ip-address with the public IP address of the EC2 instance.

2. List all attached devices and verify the block storage volume name.

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   $ lsblk
   

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   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   NAME     MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
   loop0      7:0    0 26.3M  1 loop /snap/amazon-ssm-agent/9881
   loop1      7:1    0 73.9M  1 loop /snap/core22/1722
   loop2      7:2    0 73.9M  1 loop /snap/core22/1748
   loop3      7:3    0 44.4M  1 loop /snap/snapd/23545
   xvda     202:0    0    8G  0 disk 
   ├─xvda1  202:1    0    7G  0 part /
   ├─xvda14 202:14   0    4M  0 part 
   ├─xvda15 202:15   0  106M  0 part /boot/efi
   └─xvda16 259:0    0  913M  0 part /boot
   xvdb     202:80   0  8G  0 disk /mnt/data_volume            

   The above output shows xvda as the root volume and xvdb as the attached EBS volume, which has a size of 8GB and mounted at /mnt/data_volume. Amazon EBS volumes follow the xvd* naming convention, incrementing with each additional volume, such as xvdc depending on the attached volume.

3. Create a new /mnt/ebs directory to mount the EBS volume if it's not mounted.

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   $ sudo mkdir /mnt/ebs
   

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4. Mount the EBS volume /dev/xvdb to the newly created /mnt/ebs directory.

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   $ sudo mount /dev/xvdb /mnt/ebs
   

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5. Verify the filesystem information of the attached block devices.

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   $ lsblk -f
   

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   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   NAME     FSTYPE FSVER LABEL           UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
   loop0                                                                            0   100% /snap/amazon-ssm-agent/9881
   loop1                                                                            0   100% /snap/core22/1722
   loop2                                                                            0   100% /snap/core22/1748
   loop3                                                                            0   100% /snap/snapd/23545
   xvda                                                                                      
   ├─xvda1  ext4   1.0   cloudimg-rootfs 104656f3-cbcd-4c1a-bbe2-5bb510be86c0    4.4G    34% /
   ├─xvda14                                                                                  
   ├─xvda15 vfat   FAT32 UEFI            534B-8AD0                              98.2M     6% /boot/efi
   └─xvda16 ext4   1.0   BOOT            91942573-b0ea-4e42-8692-2a195de77cba  743.5M     9% /boot
   xvdb     ext4   1.0                   586003ea-c9a2-493e-937d-f9e02ad90877   7.4G     0% /mnt/ebs
                                                                                            /mnt/data_volume

   ext4 is the active filesystem format for the /dev/xvdb EBS volume mounted with two directories /mnt/data_volume and /mnt/ebs based on the above output. Keep note of the volume's filesystem format to use on your destination Vultr Block Storage volume.

6. Install the Access Control Lists (ACLs) to effectively manage user permissions.

   • Install ACL on Debian-based systems (Ubuntu, Debian):

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     $ sudo apt install acl -y
     

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   • RHEL-based systems (CentOS, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux):

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     $ sudo dnf install acl -y
     

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7. Grant your user access to the /mnt/ebs directory using ACLs.

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   $ sudo setfacl -m u:user:r-- -R /mnt/ebs
   

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   The above commands grants the user read only access on the /mnt/ebs directory where the EBS volume is mounted. Replace user with your actual username.

8. View the disk usage information and verify the volume's usage ratio.

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   $ df -h
   

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   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
   /dev/root       6.8G  2.3G  4.5G  35% /
   tmpfs           479M     0  479M   0% /dev/shm
   tmpfs           192M  944K  191M   1% /run
   tmpfs           5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /run/lock
   /dev/xvda16     881M   76M  744M  10% /boot
   /dev/xvda15     105M  6.1M   99M   6% /boot/efi
   tmpfs            96M   12K   96M   1% /run/user/1000
   /dev/xvdb       7.8G   24K  7.4G   1% /mnt/ebs

   The source /dev/xvdb block storage volume is mounted on the /mnt/ebs directory with a 1% usage based on the above output.

   Note

   If your EBS volume has multiple partitions, verify each partition's size and filesystem type to configure the destination Vultr Block Storage volume.

Set Up the Destination Vultr Block Storage Volume

Follow the steps below to set up the destination Vultr Block Storage volume and mount it to the Vultr Cloud Compute instance to begin with the data transfer.

1. Log in to the Vultr Customer Portal.

2. Navigate to the Vultr Block Storage volume's management page and verify that it's attached to your target Vultr Cloud Compute instance.

   

3. Access the Vultr Cloud Compute instance using SSH as a non-root sudo user. Replace Vultr-ip-address with the actual public IP of your Vultr instance.

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   $ ssh linuxuser@Vultr-ip-address
   

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4. List all attached devices and verify that the new Vultr Block Storage volume displays.

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   $ lsblk
   

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   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   NAME   MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
   sr0     11:0    1 1024M  0 rom
   vda    253:0    0   25G  0 disk
   ├─vda1 253:1    0  512M  0 part /boot/efi
   └─vda2 253:2    0 24.5G  0 part /
   vdb    253:16   0   10G  0 disk   

   The output shows vda as the root volume and vdb as the attached Vultr Block Storage volume with a size of 10GB. Vultr Block Storage volumes use the vd naming scheme, and the disk value increments when additional volumes are attached. For example, vdb, vdc, vdd, and vde based on the number of attached volumes.

5. Format the /dev/vdb Vultr Block Storage volume with the source's filesystem type, such as ext4.

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   $ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/vdb
   

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6. Create a new /mnt/blockstorage directory to mount the Vultr Block Storage volume.

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   $ sudo mkdir /mnt/blockstorage
   

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7. Mount the /dev/vdb Vultr Block Storage volume to the newly created directory.

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   $ sudo mount /dev/vdb /mnt/blockstorage
   

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8. Grant your user full permissions to the /mnt/blockstorage directory.

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   $ sudo chown -R linuxuser:linuxuser /mnt/blockstorage
   

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9. View the disk usage information and verify that the volume is mounted.

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   $ df -h
   

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   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
   /dev/vda2        25G  1.1G   23G   5% /
   /dev/vdb         10G   33M  9.5G   1% /mnt/blockstorage

   The above output shows that the Vultr Block Storage volume /dev/vdb is mounted at /mnt/blockstorage.

   Note

   If the source EBS volume has multiple partitions, then configure your destination Vultr Block Storage volume with same filesystem format and ensure each partition has enough space for the data migration.

Configure SSH for Data Transfer

Follow the steps below to set up SSH key-based authentication to securely transfer data between your source and destination instance without requiring a password. This method enhances security and simplifies the migration process.

1. Access the source instance using SSH as a non-root user with sudo privileges. Replace user and ec2-ip-address with your actual credentials.

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   $ ssh -i ec2-instance.pem user@ec2-ip-address
   

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2. Create a new SSH key pair using the ed25519 algorithm to authenticate with your Vultr Cloud Compute instance.

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   $ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/vultr_migration -C "vultr_migration"
   

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   This command generates two files:

   • ~/.ssh/vultr_migration - The private key (keep this secure).
   • ~/.ssh/vultr_migration.pub - The public key (to be added to the Vultr instance).

   When prompted for a passphrase, press Return twice to leave it empty unless additional security is required.

3. Add the SSH public key to the destination Vultr instance to enable key-based authentication. Replace Vultr-ip-address with the public IP of your Vultr instance.

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   $ ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/vultr_migration.pub linuxuser@Vultr-ip-address
   

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   This command adds the public key to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on the Vultr instance, allowing secure access without a password. When prompted, enter "yes" to confirm the connection and then enter your Vultr instance password.

4. Test the SSH connection to the Vultr instance using the new SSH key. Replace Vultr-ip-address with the public IP of your Vultr instance.

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   $ ssh -i ~/.ssh/vultr_migration linuxuser@Vultr-ip-address
   

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   If the connection is successful, you should see an output similar to the one below:

   Welcome to Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS (GNU/Linux 6.11.0-13-generic x86_64)
   ...
   linuxuser@vultr:~$

   This confirms that authentication is working without requiring a password.

5. After verifying the connection, exit the session to go back to the EC2 instance.

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   $ exit
   

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Migrate the Amazon EBS Volume to Vultr Block Storage

Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes store persistent data in AWS EC2 instances, but migrating to Vultr Block Storage offers cost savings, flexibility, and better integration with Vultr infrastructure. Rclone is an open-source command-line tool that is used to manage files on cloud storage and helps in simplifying the migration process by securely transferring data between cloud storage providers.

1. Access the source instance using SSH as a non-root user with sudo privileges. Replace user and SERVER_IP with your actual credentials.

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   $ ssh -i ec2-instance.pem user@ec2-ip-address
   

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2. Download the latest Rclone installation script.

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   $ wget -O rclone.sh https://rclone.org/install.sh
   

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3. Run the script rclone.sh using bash to install Rclone.

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   $ sudo bash rclone.sh
   

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4. View the installed Rclone version.

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   $ rclone version
   

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   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   rclone v1.69.0
   os/version: ubuntu 24.04 (64 bit)
   os/kernel: 6.8.0-1021-aws (x86_64)
   os/type: linux
   os/arch: amd64
   go/version: go1.23.4
   go/linking: static
   go/tags: none

5. Generate a new Rclone configuration file.

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   $ rclone config file
   

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   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   Configuration file doesn't exist, but rclone will use this path:
   /home/ubuntu/.config/rclone/rclone.conf

6. Open the Rclone configuration file.

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   $ nano ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf
   

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7. Add the following Rclone configuration to the file used to access the Vultr instance. Replace Vultr-ip-address with the public IP of your Vultr instance.

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   [vultr]
   type = sftp
   host = Vultr-ip-address
   user = linuxuser
   key_file = ~/.ssh/vultr_migration
   

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   Save and exit the file.

8. Verify the connection by running the following command, which returns the list of directories present in the Vultr instance.

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   $ rclone lsd vultr:
   

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   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   -1 2025-02-15 13:57:44        -1 .ssh

9. Transfer all the volume data from Amazon EBS to Vultr Block Storage.

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   $ rclone copy /mnt/ebs vultr:/mnt/blockstorage --progress --stats=1s
   

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   In the above command:

   • /mnt/ebs: Source EBS volume.
   • vultr:/mnt/blockstorage: Destination Vultr Block Storage volume.
   • --progress: Displays transfer progress.
   • --stats=1s: Updates transfer statistics every second.

   The migration process may take some time to complete depending on the size of the EBS volume, network speed, and the number of files being transferred. Larger volumes may take several hours to complete.

   Your output should be similar to the one below:

   Transferred:          200 MiB / 200 MiB, 100%, 20.000 MiB/s, ETA 0s
   Transferred:            6 / 6, 100%
   Elapsed time:        11.1s

   Note

   If you have multiple EBS volumes to migrate, execute the same rclone copy command for each volume.

Test the Vultr Block Storage Volume

After migrating the source volume data, it's important to test the data integrity and ensure that no files were corrupted or omitted during the migration process. Follow the steps below to verify data integrity and confirm that the contents of the Vultr Block Storage volume match those of the source Amazon EBS volume.

$ rclone check /mnt/ebs vultr:/mnt/blockstorage --one-way

The above command compares the size and file hash (MDA5 and SHA1) in the source EBS volume against the destination Vultr Block Storage volume. The --one-way flag checks that all files in the source are present in the destination.

Your output should be similar to the one below:

2025/02/15 13:57:44 NOTICE: sftp://linuxuser@192.0.2.0:22//mnt/blockstorage: 0 differences found
2025/02/15 13:57:44 NOTICE: sftp://linuxuser@192.0.2.0:22//mnt//blockstorage: 6 matching files

Cutover Applications to Vultr Block Storage

Cutting over to Vultr Block Storage after migrating your EBS volume allows you to transfer your applications and services. Follow the recommendations below when the migration is successful and cut over your applications or services to Vultr Block Storage.

1. Ensure the migrated data has the correct ownership and permissions required by the application.
2. Log in to your DNS provider and update DNS records to point to the Vultr instance’s public IP address.
3. Detach and destroy your Amazon EBS volume if all the files and folders are migrated to the Vultr Block Storage.
4. Migrate all the applications and services to the destination Vultr Block Storage volume to complete the cut over traffic.

Conclusion

You have migrated an Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) volume to Vultr Block Storage using Rclone. You can now manage your storage needs with Vultr Block Storage, resize volumes when you need more space, and attach volumes to different instances. For additional information about Vultr Block Storage, refer to the official documentation.