EBS Migration for SysOps
- Key Concept: EBS (Elastic Block Store) volumes are locked to a specific Availability Zone (AZ). Migration to a different AZ or region requires the following process.
Steps to Migrate an EBS Volume
- Create a Snapshot: Take a snapshot of the existing EBS volume.
- (Optional) Copy Snapshot: If migrating to a different region, copy the snapshot to the target region.
- Create Volume from Snapshot: In the desired AZ, create a new volume from the snapshot.
Extras:
How to migrate an encrypted EBS volume between Availability Zones (AZs) within the same AWS region, along with important considerations:
Steps:
- Create a Snapshot:
- Take a snapshot of the encrypted EBS volume.
- Ensure that you use the same KMS key used to encrypt the original volume when creating the snapshot. This maintains the encryption of the data.
- Create a New Volume:
- From the snapshot, create a new volume in the desired target AZ.
- Specify the same KMS key used for the original volume and snapshot.
Important Considerations:
- Encryption: The process automatically preserves encryption throughout. You must use the same KMS key for the source volume, the snapshot, and the newly created volume in the target AZ.
- Regions: Snapshots are region-specific. If you need to migrate an encrypted volume to a different region, you'll need to copy the encrypted snapshot to the target region first.
- Default Encryption: If your account has default EBS encryption enabled, new snapshots and volumes created from them will be automatically encrypted.
Security Best Practices:
- KMS Key Management: Carefully manage the KMS key used for encryption. This key is critical for protecting your data.
- IAM: Implement proper IAM roles and policies to restrict access to the volume, snapshots, and the KMS key.
Example (Using AWS Console):
- Snapshots:
- Navigate to EC2 -> Snapshots.
- Select your encrypted volume's snapshot -> Actions -> Create Volume.
- Select the desired AZ and ensure the correct encryption settings are chosen.