External Storage

Migration of the /data partition via external disks is supported. Any attached external disk will be used as internal storage by the Android OS (the /data partition). In that case, the /data partition that belongs to the primary disk won't be used. This disk can then be migrated to another instance if it runs with the same Android version.

This section provides detailed guides for each Cloud provider.

Generate and attach an external disk

AWS

Create a new EBS volume from the EC2 console (Elastic Book Store > Volumes).
Attach the volume to the desired instance.
Start the instance.
It is also possible to create the external EBS volume when creating an instance.
From this point the external disk will be mounted on /data and will be seen as the instance internal storage by the Android OS.

GCP

Create a new disk from Storage & Snapshots > Disks > Create Disk.
Create a Data Disk type disk.
Click on your instance and go to the Disks section.
Click Attach Disk and select the disk you created.
Start the instance.
It is also possible to create the external disk when creating the instance.
From this point the external disk will be mounted on /data and will be seen as the instance internal storage by the Android OS.

Alibaba

Create a new disk from the appropriate console section (the page provides steps analogous to the cloud provider instructions).
Attach the disk to the desired instance.
Start the instance.
It is also possible to create the external disk when creating the instance.
From this point the external disk will be mounted on /data and will be seen as the instance internal storage by the Android OS.

Azure

Create a new disk following the provider’s disk creation flow.
Attach the disk to the desired instance.
Start the instance.
It is also possible to create the external disk when creating the instance.
From this point the external disk will be mounted on /data and will be seen as the instance internal storage by the Android OS.

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Migrate the external disk to another instance

AWS

The original and target instances should have the same Android version. If versions are different, results are not guaranteed.
Make sure that both the original and target instances are powered off.
Detach the external volume from the original instance.
From Elastic Book Store > Volumes, attach the volume to the target instance.
Start the target instance.
The original instance internal storage /data will then replace the target instance one. All applications and settings installed in the original instance will be available in the target instance.
If your instance is running, it will reboot to mount the external disk.

GCP

The original and target instances should have the same Android version. If versions are different, results are not guaranteed.
Make sure that both the original and target instances are powered off.
Detach the external volume from the original instance.
From Elastic Book Store > Volumes, attach the volume to the target instance.
Start the target instance.
The original instance internal storage /data will then replace the target instance one. All applications and settings installed in the original instance will be available in the target instance.
If your instance is running, it will automatically reboot to mount the external disk.

Alibaba

The original and target instances should have the same Android version. If versions are different, results are not guaranteed.
Make sure that both the original and target instances are powered off.
Detach the external volume from the original instance.
From Elastic Book Store > Volumes, attach the volume to the target instance.
Start the target instance.
The original instance internal storage /data will then replace the target instance one. All applications and settings installed in the original instance will be available in the target instance.
If your instance is running, it will reboot to mount the external disk.

Azure

The original and target instances should have the same Android version. If versions are different, results are not guaranteed.
Make sure that both the original and target virtual machines are powered off.
Go to Virtual Machines and click on the original instance (make sure it is Stopped).
Go to Disks. In the Data Disk section, click next to the external disk you wish to detach.
Click Save.
Open the target virtual machine and go to Disks. In the Data Disk section, click Attach existing disk.
In the Disk name dropdown, select the external disk.
Click Save.
Start the target virtual machine.
The original instance internal storage /data will then replace the target instance one. All applications and settings installed in the original instance will be available in the target instance.
If your instance is running, it will reboot to mount the external disk.

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