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Migrate from NERC OpenStack

This guide covers migrating your workloads and data off the NERC OpenStack platform, including data migration, resource cleanup, and project decommissioning.

Overview

Migrating from NERC OpenStack involves two main phases:

  1. Data Migration — Transfer your data from NERC OpenStack resources (volumes, object storage, VM filesystems) to your target platform.

  2. Decommissioning — Clean up all OpenStack resources and archive your ColdFront project.

Data Migration

Before decommissioning your resources, ensure all critical data has been migrated to your target environment.

Data Transfer from VMs

To transfer data from your virtual machine's filesystem to an external location, use one of the following methods documented in the Data Transfer To/From NERC VM guide:

  • Globus — Preferred method for large datasets; handles retries, error recovery, and provides status updates. Set up a personal Globus endpoint on your VM.

  • SCP — Secure copy for smaller files (<~10 GB) using SSH.

  • tar+ssh — Stream a tar archive over SSH for efficient directory transfers.

  • rsync — Fast, delta-transfer synchronization; ideal for repeat or incremental transfers.

  • Rclone — Sync, copy, or mount the VM's filesystem via SFTP for transfer to any supported destination.

  • WinSCP (Windows) — GUI-based SFTP/SCP client for drag-and-drop transfers.

  • Cyberduck (macOS/Windows) — GUI-based SFTP/FTP client.

  • Filezilla (cross-platform) — Open-source SFTP/FTP client.

Data on Detached Volumes

If you have a detached volume with data to migrate, attach it to a running VM as described in the Attach a Volume to an Instance guide, then use any of the clients listed above to transfer the data from the VM to your target location.

Object Storage Data

Data stored in OpenStack Object Storage (Swift) containers can be migrated using any of the clients documented in the Object Storage guide:

  • Horizon Dashboard — Download files through the web interface.

  • OpenStack CLI — Use openstack object store commands to download objects.

  • Swift Interface — Use the swift command-line client (python-swiftclient) to download or sync data.

  • AWS CLI — Use S3-compatible aws s3 commands with the NERC endpoint.

  • s3cmd — Sync or copy data from containers to your local system or another S3 target.

  • Rclone — Sync, copy, or mount object storage for transfer to any supported destination.

  • Python libraries (Boto3, Minio) — Programmatically download objects using the S3 API.

  • GUI tools (WinSCP, Cyberduck) — Connect via S3 protocol for a file-browser experience.

Mount Object Storage to a VM

You can also mount your object storage container to a running instance as described in the Mount The Object Storage to an Instance guide, then use any of the clients listed in Data Transfer from VMs to download the data from the VM, just like a mounted volume.

Decommissioning

Once your data has been safely migrated, follow the Decommission Your NERC OpenStack Resources guide to:

  1. Delete all VMs

  2. Delete volumes and snapshots

  3. Delete custom images

  4. Delete private networks, routers, and interfaces

  5. Release floating IPs

  6. Clean up security groups

  7. Delete key pairs

  8. Delete buckets and objects

  9. Remove users from your ColdFront project (optional)

  10. Reduce storage quotas to zero

  11. Review project resource quotas

  12. Archive your ColdFront project