One of AWS’s most common challenges is moving EC2 instances between Subnets, AZ, VPCs, AWS Regions, and AWS accounts.
There are four different scenarios to migrate AWS EC2 Instances (the move is, in fact, a new copy of the source EC2 instance):
1. Move EC2 Instances to another Subnet / AZ
2. Move EC2 Instances to another VPC
3. Move EC2 Instances to another AWS Region
4. Move EC2 Instances to another AWS Account
IMPORTANT NOTE: the process of migration of the KopiCloud Move EC2 tool will keep your original EC2 untouched.
In fact, you will be available to start and use the original EC2 instance (useful for DR scenarios).
However, the machine will be shut down and the name tag of the original EC2 instance will be updated to reflect the migration. Also, the original IP address will be reassigned if you choose to do it.
The migration of EC2 Instances using AWS CLI can take up to 16 steps, so let’s look at how to move an EC2 instance to another Subnet, AZ, VPC, AWS Region, or even another AWS Account with
ONE click.
Click on
List of EC2 menu to list all EC2 instances on your AWS accounts and regions.
Select the instance you want to move and click on the
Move instance menu (we are working on a version to allow you to move multiple EC2 instances and one command line version too).
How to move an AWS EC2 Instance to another Subnet or AZ?
If the machine is moved to another Subnet, we can
re-assign an existing Elastic IP or, if we prefer to,
assign a new Elastic IP.
Then the tool offers three options to assign Security Groups:
Select existing source Security Groups: you can choose one or more existing Security Groups in the same VPC.
Clone assigned source Security Groups: the tool will clone exactly the Security Groups assigned to the source instance. If the Security Group exists (which will happen because Security Groups are associated with a VPC), the tool will add the date at the end of the Security Group Name.
Select existing target Security Groups: select existing Security Groups on the target subnet to attach to the EC2 instance.
Now you are ready to move your EC2 instance…just click the Move EC2 Instance button…in a few minutes, your new instance will be ready!
Learn more about the migration process of EC2 instances to another Subnet or AZ here
How to move an AWS EC2 Instance to another VPC?
If the machine is moved to another Subnet, we can
re-assign an existing Elastic IP or if we prefer to
assign a new Elastic IP.
Then the tool offers two options to assign Security Groups:
Clone assigned source Security Groups: the tool will clone exactly the Security Groups assigned to the source instance. If the Security Group exists (which will happen because Security Groups are associated with a VPC), the tool will add the date at the end of the Security Group Name.
Select existing target Security Groups: select existing Security Groups on the target subnet to attach to the EC2 instance.
We can use the same Key Pair o generate a new Key Pair. If you have never deployed anything on the target AWS region or don’t have a Key Pair, the tool will create a new one and download it to the folder where it is installed. Now you are ready to move your EC2 instance…just click the Move EC2 Instance button…in a few minutes, your new instance will be ready!
Learn more about the migration process of EC2 instances to another VPC here
How to move an AWS EC2 Instance to another AWS Region?
Elastic IPs are allocated to AWS Regions, so we cannot re-assign an existing Elastic IP. However, we have the option to assign a new Elastic IP.
Then the tool offers two options to assign Security Groups:
Clone assigned source Security Groups: the tool will clone exactly the Security Groups assigned to the source instance. If the Security Group exists (which will happen because Security Groups are associated with a VPC), the tool will add the date at the end of the Security Group Name.
Select existing target Security Groups: select existing Security Groups on the target subnet to attach to the EC2 instance.
We can use the same Key Pair, generate a new Key Pair, or Proceed without a Key Pair
-NEW in Version 1.2-.
If you have never deployed anything on the target AWS region or don’t have a Key Pair, select the
Create a NEW Key Pair option, and the tool will create a new one and download it to the folder where the tool is installed.
Now you are ready to move your EC2 instance… click the Move EC2 Instance button…in a few minutes, your new instance will be ready!
Learn more about the migration process of EC2 instances to another AWS Region
here
How to move an AWS EC2 Instance to another AWS Account?
Elastic IPs are allocated to AWS Regions, so we cannot re-assign an existing Elastic IP. However, we have the option to assign a new Elastic IP.
Then the tool offers two options to assign Security Groups:
Clone assigned source Security Groups: the tool will clone exactly the Security Groups assigned to the source instance. If the Security Group exists (which will happen because Security Groups are associated with a VPC), the tool will add the date at the end of the Security Group Name.
Select existing target Security Groups: select existing Security Groups on the target subnet to attach to the EC2 instance.
We can use the same Key Pair, generate a new Key Pair, or Proceed without a Key Pair
-NEW in Version 1.2-.
If you have never deployed anything on the target AWS region or don’t have a Key Pair, select the
Create a NEW Key Pair option, and the tool will create a new one and download it to the folder where the tool is installed.
Now you are ready to move your EC2 instance… click the Move EC2 Instance button…in a few minutes, your new instance will be ready!
Learn more about the migration process of EC2 instances to another VPC here
Assign an IAM Role -NEW in Version 1.3-
Select an existing IAM role or select
No Role option if you don't want to use IAM Roles.
Configure Application Settings
To configure application settings, click on the
Settings menu:
AWS Multi-Region Scanning (Default: No):
Yes: Scan and show all EC2 instances in all AWS Regions (Slow, only recommended when you have EC2 instances in multiple AWS Regions).
No: Scan and EC2 instances only in the default AWS Region.
Skip Private Region Scanning (Default: Yes):
Yes: the tool will skip scanning all private regions or regions requiring special permissions.
No: will scan all regions, including private and special regions.
Note: Special AWS regions are China, US Government, etc.
Copy Timeout (Minutes) (Default: 30 minutes):
This value configures the timeout of the AMI image copy operation.
Delete AMI When Done (Default: Yes)
Yes: delete temporary AMI images and snapshots.
No: keep temporary AMI images and snapshots.
Application Theme (Default: Dark Theme)
-NEW in Version 1.3-
Dark Theme: show UI with a Black Theme
Light Theme: show UI with a White Theme
Authentication Region define the default region for authentication and validation.
-NEW in Version 1.5-
If your AWS account is restricted to a specific region, and you receive validation errors, please select your AWS default region.
The free version allows you to move EC2 instances between Subnets or AZs.
Upgrade your license to move EC2 instances between VPCs, AWS regions & AWS accounts and receive technical support.
Move EC2