Migrating an EC2 Instance One Region to Another

Amazon EC2 instances run in specific AWS regions. Sometimes you may need to move an instance to another region for latency, compliance, or cost reasons. AWS does not allow direct instance migration across regions, but you can achieve this using Amazon Machine Images (AMI).

Step 1: Log in to AWS Console

1. Go to AWS Management Console.

2. Navigate to EC2 service.

3. Select the region where your EC2 instance currently resides (Source Region).

Step 2: Create an AMI of Your EC2 Instance

1. In the EC2 dashboard, click Instances.

2. Select the instance you want to migrate.

3. Click Actions → Image and templates → Create image.

4. Fill in the Image name and Description.

5. Click Create image.

Step 3: Copy AMI to Target Region

1. Go to AMIs in the EC2 dashboard.

2. Select your newly created AMI.

3. Click Actions → Copy AMI.

4. Select the Destination region.

5. Optionally, give a new name for the AMI in the new region.

6. Click Copy AMI.

Step 4: Launch EC2 Instance in Target Region

1. Switch to the Destination Region in AWS Console.

2. Go to AMIs → Owned by me, select the copied AMI.

3. Click Launch instance from AMI.

4. Configure: o Instance type o Network and subnet o Security groups o Key pair

5. Click Launch to start the instance in the new region.

Step 5: Update DNS / Applications

1. Update the DNS to point to the new public IP.

2. Update any scripts, applications, or configurations referring to the old instance’s IP.

Step 6: Verify & Test

1. Connect to the new EC2 instance via SSH.

2. Verify all applications, data, and services are working correctly.

3. Once confirmed, terminate the old instance if no longer needed. Optional

Step: Copy EBS Volumes

1. Go to EBS → Volumes → Create snapshot.

2.Copy snapshot to the target region.

3. Create a volume from snapshot in the new region and attach it to the instance.

Screenshots:

Migrating an EC2 instance to another region mainly involves creating an AMI, copying it to the new region, and launching a new instance. This method preserves the OS, applications, and data stored on the root volume.

Happy Learning…!