Updated on 2026-07-13 GMT+08:00

Starting a Full Replication

A full replication replicates all data from the source server to the target server. The replication speed depends on the outbound bandwidth of the source server or the inbound bandwidth of the target server, whichever is smaller.

Constraints

  • Before a migration is complete, do not perform operations on the OS or disks of the target server, including but not limited to changing or reinstalling the OS.
  • Do not change the billing mode of the target server or its disks to Yearly/Monthly during a migration.
  • Make sure you have backed up any data on the target server that you need to save and ensure that the disks can be formatted. Disks on the target server will be formatted and re-partitioned based on the source disk settings during the migration.
  • During the migration of a Windows source server, do not restart the source server. The restart will disconnect the source server from the SMS console. To retry the migration, you need to delete the migration task and create a new one.
  • Do not restart the SMS-Agent during a Windows migration or a Linux block-level migration.
  • You are advised not to start the SMS-Agent during a Linux file-level migration unless necessary, even though resumable data transfer is supported.
  • During the migration, a temporary pay-per-use disk is created and attached to the target server to ensure that the migration runs normally. Once the migration is complete, the disk is automatically detached and deleted. If you manually delete the migration task before it completes, you need to manually delete the temporary disk to avoid extra expenses.
  • If an error occurs during the migration, you are advised to provide migration logs to technical support engineers so that the fault can be resolved quickly.

    For details about how to get migration logs, see Where Can I Find the Agent Run Logs?

Prerequisites

  • The target server has been configured. For details, see Configuring a Target Server.
  • The source server status meets the following requirements: Migration Stage is Full Replication, and Migration Status is Ready.

Starting Full Replication

  1. Sign in to the SMS console.
  2. In the navigation pane, click Servers.
  3. In the server list, locate the server to be migrated and start the migration in either of the following ways:

    • Click Start in the Migration Stage/Status or Operation column. In the displayed Start Migration dialog box, click OK to start full replication.
    • Select the source server and click Start above the server list. In the displayed Start Migration dialog box, click OK to start full replication.
      Figure 1 Starting a full replication

      During the full replication, the target server stays locked to prevent any operations. After the migration is complete, it will be automatically unlocked.

  4. In the server list, click the name of the source server to view the migration progress.
  5. Wait for the full replication to complete.

    • If you set Enable Continuous Synchronization to No when you defined the migration settings, after the full replication is complete, the system puts the migration to a Target Launch stage and launches the target server to complete the migration automatically.
    • If you set Enable Continuous Synchronization to Yes when you defined the migration settings, after the full replication is complete, the migration will move on to a Continuous sync status, and any new or modified data will be automatically synchronized from the source server to the target server. You will need to manually launch the target server to complete the migration. For details, see Launching a Target Server.

Related Operations

  • After the migration and service cutover are complete, you need to adjust the configurations of the target server based on service requirements. For details, see What Configuration Items Need to Be Manually Modified After a Server Is Migrated?
  • After the migration is complete, if you confirm that no additional incremental synchronizations are required, you can delete the snapshots generated for cutover and synchronization during the migration. For details, see Deleting Resources. If you do not delete the resources, the system will retain the snapshots generated for cutover and synchronization for an extended period of time. The retained snapshots will continue to incur charges in certain regions.