[SOLVED] Offline migration using a USB drive

[Mellowlynx]

Hi,

I need some help to be able to reuse an almost new 2TB SSD without losing the data on it.

Situation now:
I have an Intel NUC that runs my Nextcloud and a Windows VM.
The OS drives are not that big and are on the local-lvm.
They both have an extra drive (the container has a mount point), both are stored on a 2TB SSD, and about 500 GB is used.

I have a new NUC where both the VM and LXC need to move to.
But with just 1% wearout and current SSD pricing, I need to reuse the current SSD.

So I'm looking for a solution where I can move the data temporarily, move the SSD to the new NUC, and move the data back after I wiped and setup the SSD again.

I do have a 2TB USB drive I could use. But as I have not done something like this, I'd like to know what to set up/configure and the steps I'm looking at.

A guide or advice is very welcome so I can plan this move.

Big thanks in advance.

 

[d.oishi]

I think the simplest method is to use Proxmox VE’s built-in backup and restore functionality.

Connect the USB disk, add it as a storage of type “Directory”, and include “Backup” in the content types. After that, you can use it as a backup destination.

Since only about 500 GB of the 2 TB SSD is currently in use, you should also be able to test the restore before the actual migration. I would recommend verifying the restore process in advance.

 

[Mellowlynx]

Thank you, I will try it this weekend.

 

[Mellowlynx]

Well, that went differently than hoped.
I had some problems reconnecting the drive on the new host and later tested using my NAS.
It was slower but did work.

On the real move, I made a mistake and forgot to rename a raw file before the restore and lost that drive.
Luckily, all that data was also somewhere else, but I had to set up that drive again within the service before I could sync it back.

So it took me more time, and eventually everything was moved, and no data was lost.