# Commvault HotAdd Transport Mode for Restores, Replications, and Conversions to Amazon EC2

The Commvault HotAdd transport mode uses an access node that runs on an Amazon EC2 instance to write directly to Amazon EBS and to inject the AWS drivers that are required for the restored, replicated, or converted Amazon EC2 instances. Use this mode when the Amazon EC2 instances need production-like performance immediately on first boot.

## Support

### Operating Systems

#### Windows

Windows instances with volumes that use Master Boot Record (MBR) and GUID Partition Table (GPT) partitioning are supported.

#### Linux

Linux instances that use one of the following root file systems are supported:

- ext2

- ext3

- ext4

- Btrfs

- JFS

- XFS

## Not Supported

The use of resources (such as access nodes) from another AWS account is not supported. For example, to replicate instances to Account1, you must use the resources in Account1. You cannot use the resources in Account2.

## Requirements

- When performing a full instance restore with the Commvault HotAdd transport mode, you must either enter the guest credentials or you must pre-install AWS drivers on the Amazon EC2 instances, or—for some Linux versions—automatically inject AWS drivers on the EC2 instances. For information about automatically injecting drivers, see Automatically Inject Xen and Nitro Drivers for Linux Guest VMs.

- You must have an Amazon EC2 access node in the Availability Zone (AZ) that you are restoring, replicating, or converting the VMs to.

## Process for Windows

1. Create empty EBS volumes.

2. Attach EBS volumes to the access node.

   For the m7a.48xlarge instance type, up to 128 EBS volumes can be attached to the access node. For most Nitro instances, up to 28 EBS volumes can be attached.

   The attached EBS volumes occupy the following device slots:

   - xvd[f-z]

   - xvda[b-z]

   - xvdb[a-z]

   - xvdd[a-x]

   - /dev/sd[f-z]

   - xvdc[a-z]

3. Restore data to the EBS volumes.

4. Take a snapshot of the EBS volumes.

   The snapshots are retained as integrity snapshots for reference during the next incremental replication.

5. Inject AWS components and drivers.

6. Detach the EBS volumes from the access node.

7. Create or reuse the Amazon EC2 instance as follows:

   - For a full restore/replication, create a new instance from the EBS volumes.

   - For an incremental restore/replication, attach the EBS volumes to the restored/replicated instance.

## Process for Linux

1. Create empty EBS volumes.

2. Attach EBS volumes to the access node.

   For the m7a.48xlarge instance type, up to 128 EBS volumes can be attached to the access node. For most Nitro instances, up to 28 EBS volumes can be attached.

   The attached EBS volumes occupy the following device slots:

   - /dev/sd[f-z]

   - /dev/xvda[a-z]

   - /dev/xvdb[a-z]

   - /dev/xvdc[a-z]

   - /dev/xvdd[a-x]

   - /dev/xvd[e-z]

3. Restore data to the EBS volumes.

4. Take a snapshot of the EBS volumes.

   The snapshots are retained as integrity snapshots for reference during the next incremental replication.

5. Detach the EBS volumes from the access node.

6. Create or reuse the Amazon EC2 instance as follows:

   - For a full restore/replication, create a new instance from the EBS volumes.

   - For an incremental restore/replication, attach the EBS volumes to the restored/replicated instance.

## Related Pages

- Amazon EBS specifications in the AWS documentation

- Amazon EBS volume limits for Amazon EC2 instances in the AWS documentation

- Device names for volumes on Amazon EC2 instances in the AWS documentation

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