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External Storage

This feature is only available with Android 7.0 and above

It is possible to migrate an instance /data partition via external disks: 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 you with detailed guides for each Cloud provider.

Generate and attach an external disk

10.0.0 · 7.0+

  1. Create a new EBS volume from the EC2 console (Elastic Book Store > Volumes).
  2. Attach the volume to the desired instance.
  3. 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.

10.0.0 · 7.0+

  1. Create a new disk from the Disks section of the Compute Engine console
  2. Edit your instance details and add the new disk as an additional disk to your instance1
  3. Save the changes
  4. 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.

10.0.0 · 7.0+

  1. Create a new disk from Storage & Snapshots > Disks > Create Disk
  2. Create a Data Disk type disk
  3. Click on your instance and go to the Disks section
  4. Click Attach Disk and select the disk you created
  5. 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.

7.0+

  1. Go to Virtual Machines and click on your virtual machine (make sure it is Stopped)
  2. Go to Disks
  3. In the Data Disk section, click Create and attach a new disk
  4. Set the name, size and type to your needs and click
  5. Click Save
  6. When save is complete, start the virtual machine

It is also possible to create the external disk when creating the virtual machine.

From this point the external disk will be mounted on /data and will be seen as the instance internal storage by the Android OS.

Migrate the external disk to another instance

The original and target instances should have the same Android version. If versions are different, we cannot guarantee the result.

  1. Make sure that both the original and target instances are powered off
  2. Detach the external volume from the original instance
  3. From Elastic Book Store > Volumes, attach the volume to the target instance
  4. Start the target instance

The original instance internal storage /data will then replace the target instance one - all the applications and settings installed in the original instance will be available in the target instance.

The original and target instances should have the same Android version. If versions are different, we cannot guarantee the result.

  1. Edit your original instance details and remove the external disk from Additional disks
  2. Edit your target instance details and add the external disk in Additional disks > Attach existing disk

If the instances are running, they will reboot when the external disk is removed or attached.

The original instance internal storage /data will then replace the target instance one - all the applications and settings installed in the original instance will be available in the target instance.

The original and target instances should have the same Android version. If versions are different, we cannot guarantee the result.

  1. Make sure that both the original and target instances are powered off

  2. Detach the Data Disk from the original instance:

  3. Attach the Disk to the target instance:

  4. Start the target instance

The original instance internal storage /data will then replace the target instance one - all the applications and settings installed in the original instance will be available in the target instance.

The original and target instances should have the same Android version. If versions are different, we cannot guarantee the result.

  1. Make sure that both the original and target virtual machines are powered off
  2. Go to Virtual Machines and click on the original instance (make sure it is Stopped)
  3. Go to Disks
  4. In the Data Disk section, click next to the external disk you wish to detach
  5. Click Save
  6. Open the target virtual machine and go to Disks
  7. In the Data Disk section, click Attach existing disk
  8. In the Disk name drop down box, select the external disk
  9. Click Save
  10. Start the target virtual machine

The original instance internal storage /data will then replace the target instance one - all the applications and settings installed in the original instance will be available in the target instance.

  1. If your instance is already running, it will automatically reboot to mount the external disk. ↩