Migrating Data to Amazon S3 Using Snowball

You can migrate large amounts of data to Amazon S3 using the AWS Snowball Edge device. This can be done by seeding an initial baseline directly in the device, and subsequently, once the data from the device is migrated to Amazon S3 cloud storage, backups or auxiliary copy operations can be run directly to the cloud storage.

Before You Begin

Configure the Snowball device using the following steps:

• Create an import job. For details, see Importing Data into Amazon S3 with Snowball.

  Tip

  Note down the bucket name used during the import. This will be needed to configure the device as a cloud storage library.

• Once you receive the Snowball device, connect the device to the appropriate network and unlock the device.

  For more information, see the following topics:

  https://docs.aws.amazon.com/snowball/latest/developer-guide/common-get-start.html

  https://docs.aws.amazon.com/snowball/latest/developer-guide/getting-started-connect.html

  https://docs.aws.amazon.com/snowball/latest/developer-guide/unlockappliance.html

Procedure

1. Configure the Snowball device as a cloud storage library with Amazon S3 vendor. For details, see Creating a Cloud Library from the CommCell Console.

   Provide the following details during the configuration:

   • From the Type list, select Amazon S3.

   • From the MediaAgent list, select the name of the MediaAgent in which the Snowball Adapter is installed.

   • In the Service Host Name box, enter the name of the adapter in the following format:

     http://<DeviceIPAddress>:8080 or https://<DeviceIPAddress>:8443

     For example: http://192.0.2.1:8080 or https://192.0.2.1:8443

   • In the Access Key and Secret Access Key box, specify the credentials associated with the Snowball device.

   • In the Bucket box, provide the name of the bucket that was created during the Import Job. (See Before You Begin.)

     Note

     If you have multiple Snowball devices for the bucket, make sure to create a mount path for each device in the library, using a different Service Host Name with the same Bucket.

2. For the initial seeding, depending on your data, run either a full backup, or an auxiliary copy operation.

   Note

   To avoid write failures, we recommend having a maximum of 5 to 10 streams for writing data from the library. See Establish the Mount Path Allocation Policy for the Library for additional information.

   Ensure that the job associated with the initial seeding (backup or auxiliary copy operation) completes successfully.

3. Disable the library until the time the data from the initial seeding is transferred to the cloud library.

   For more information on how to disable the library, see Enabling or Disabling a Cloud Library.

   The library has to be disabled so that no other backups are written to the library and no data is aged off from the library, until the data is transferred to the cloud library.

4. Ship the device to the cloud vendor.

5. Once the seeded data is transferred to the cloud library, edit the cloud storage library credentials to connect to the cloud server.

   For more information on editing the credentials, see Modify the Access Information.

6. Enable the cloud library.

   For more information on how to enable the library, see Enabling or Disabling a Cloud Library.

7. Run an incremental backup to back up the data that has changed since seeding.