Exoscale Migration Guide for Windows Server 2012/2016/2019
Exoscale Migration Guide for Windows Server 2012/2016/2019 via ACRONIS
Activate your Acronis Cyber Cloud account
Login to your Acronis Cyber Cloud account.
- cloud.acronis.com
Click on “Add devices” and download the Acronis Cyber Backup Agent for Windows
Transfer the download to your Windows server (using a remote desktop client) or you can also copy the download link and download the agent directly to your server.
Start the installation
Click on “Install
Click on “Show registry info”
Use this code to register your instance in the Acronis web portal
Register via “Add device” -> “Register via code”.
**It may take a few minutes for your instance to show up in the ACRONIS portal.
Install the Exoscale command line interface on your PC or another server
Install the Exoscale CLI, more details can be found here:
Configuration information can be found here: https://community.exoscale.com/documentation/tools/exoscale-command-line-interface/
- To create a key, click on “IAM” on the left side and create a “restricted” key for the “Compute” service
Save the key and the secret (Please do not share with third parties)
Enter the command “exo config” -> you will now be guided through the configuration where you need to enter the key and secret you just created.
Create a new instance with this template on Exoscale
- Log in to Exoscale at portal.exoscale.com
- Go to Compute -> Instances -> Add
- For Template, select Windows Server 2016
- Disk space should be at least the same size on Exoscale as on your old server!
- Hostname should be the same as on your old server
Setting the firewall on Exoscale is not in the scope of this document. More information can be found here: https://community.exoscale.com/documentation/compute/security-groups/
You can use the “Default” Security Group or create your own. To configure the firewall correctly, be sure to allow access via RDP.
In addition, the following ports must be enabled for the transmission of data from ACRONIS:
Ingress TCP 443, 7700-7800, 44445, 8443.
Here you can see an example of a correct configuration:
Starting the new server on Exoscale
Now enter the following command on the CLI to create a new instance, adjusting the color information accordingly:
exo vm create bw-prtg-3610-exo -t 7dfd88df-3e6b-4a55-9783-2cae4bd49881 -s sophos_allow_all -o medium -z de-fra-1 -d 220
hostname of the server (e.g. bw-prtg-3610) Name of the security group Type of the new server (e.g. medium) Zone (e.g. de-fra-1 for Frankfurt) disk size in GB - depending on the existing server at least the size of the used memory with a little buffer
Installing Acronis Backup Agent on the Exoscale Windows instance
- Please follow the same procedure as before when installing ACRONIS on the new Exoscale server.
- You do not need to activate a backup plan for this instance!
- In the ACRONIS portal, go to “All Devices” and perform a restore from your old instance to the Exoscale instance (your old instance is the one with status OK!).
Optional: add the IP Addresses column to distinguish between your instances and select your Exoscale instance as the destination.
- You do not need to change any other settings
- Select the Exoscale target server and disk here.
- ATTENTION: If your original system has two partitions, Disk2 of the existing server will be restored in one of the next steps, skip the message in the ACRONIS portal which indicates this.
- You do not need to change any other settings
- Select here the Exoscale target server and the corresponding disk.
- ATTENTION: If your original system has two partitions, Disk2 of the existing server will be restored in one of the next steps, skip the message in the ACRONIS portal which indicates this.
You will now lose access to your Exoscale instance as the computer reboots and the restore starts!
- You can check the status in the Exoscale console
Restore fails with the following message, turn off your instance now from the Exoscale portal.
Windows will automatically restart after a few minutes. If you see a screen asking you to select a keyboard language, the restart is already done and you can proceed to the next step.
Importing the drivers
Boot your Exoscale instance into “netboot-efi” mode to deposit required virtio drivers into the recovery using the code below:
exo vm start --rescue-profile=netboot-efi <servername>
Open Exoscale Console again and scroll down to Windows
Select Base URL and enter the following URL:
http://sos-at-vie-1.exo.io/coe-template-bucket/w2k19 for Windows 2019
http://sos-at-vie-1.exo.io/coe-template-bucket/w2k16 for Windows 2016
http://sos-at-vie-1-exo.io/coe-template-bucket/w2k12 for Windows 2012
Go to “Load Microsoft Windows Installer” and press Enter
Click on “Next”
Click on “Repair your computer” !
Now click on “Troubleshoot” and then “Advanced options” !
Then click “Command Prompt
Now add all the required drivers to your Windows instance by typing the following command:
dism /image:C:\ /add-driver /driver:X:\drivers\vioscsi.inf
Next, type this command:
dism /image:C:\ /add-driver /driver:X:\drivers\viostor.inf
Finally, you need to install NetKVM with the following command:
dism /image:C:\ /add-driver /driver:X:\drivers\netkvm.inf
Exit the console with “exit” and click on “Turn off your PC”.
Restart your instance with the Exoscale Portal
Adjust the partition sizes on your Exoscale server (optional)
- Open the disk management on the new server
- Shrink the C: partition to the appropriate size of the existing server - this will take a few minutes
- Create an additional partition (D:) with the remaining disk space
- Now restart the server.
Restore the 2nd disk (optional)
- Uninstall or disable the ACRONIS client on the original server.
- Now go back to your ACRONIS portal and select the original server there and click Recovery -> Restore -> Files/Folders
Here you can find the folder selection, choose D:
Now a selection of folders appears, here it is enough to select the folder with the name of the server. You can leave the selection and click on “Start Recovery”.
**The restore will now take some time, depending on the size.
Install CloudBase
- Now log in to your new server and download and install Cloudbase
- https://sos-at-vie-1.exo.io/coe-template-bucket/cloudbase/CloudbaseInitSetup_1_1_1_x64.msi
- During the installation, pay attention to the username
Remove server from Acronis Web Portal
- Highlight both servers and click “Delete” button
Exchange Windows Key (optional)
Finally, the product key on the new Windows server must be changed to Exoscale. This can be done directly in Settings -> Update and Security -> Activation.
Please request the product key from our support team: support@exoscale.com or directly in your portal in the “Support” section.