All users of the IONOS cloud server solution have the option to migrate data to the new server via the IONOS Cloud panel. To do this, an image/ISO image of the original server can be created and used to set up the new server. Image files like these are created automatically for your project (even in regular intervals), if you have created a corresponding backup plan in the panel. In both automatic and manual creation, the underlying server can’t be edited during the process. In addition, a size limit of 500 GB applies to each server image. The possible formats of the images are:
- .vdi
- .qcow
- .qcow2
- .vhd
- .vhdx
- .vmdk
- .iso
Creating images/ISO images
If you aren’t using an automatically created backup image, you first need to create the server image for the planned data migration. There are two options for this step: you can either use a separate software or use the integrated copy function in the Cloud panel.
First, you need a program that enables you to make a copy of the current server. The Disk2vhd tool and QEMU are recommended for this task. The former was developed specifically for Windows operating systems and enables image files to be created in Microsoft’s format for virtual machines VHD (Virtual Hard Disk). The latter is part of most Linux repositories and is also available for macOS and Windows. QEMU is compatible with these image formats: .vmdk, .vhdx, .qcow, .qcow2, and .vdi.
Alternatively, you can also access the built-in function in the Cloud panel for image creation. Simply go to 'Images' under the 'Infrastructure' tab, then click on the 'Create image' button and select the server that is to be copied. A final click on 'Create' will start the process.