Installing a separate Redis server (GCP)

This guide explains how to set up a separate Redis server on a Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Linux VM and connect CloudM Migrate to it. A separate Redis server is not required for every migration, but it is recommended for large migrations (25,000+ users or 10 million+ objects). It takes the migration cache off the primary server, which improves performance and stability.

1. Prerequisites and VM setup

This guide assumes you are familiar with GCP and can create a virtual machine.

• Platform: Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• Operating system: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (not a Pro version)
• Disk type: Standard or Balanced
• VM specification: size the CPUs, memory and disk to the scale of your migration

To create the VM:

1. Sign in to the Google Cloud Console.
2. Create a VM instance running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS in the same subnet as your CloudM Migrate servers. The servers must be able to reach each other directly.
3. Choose a machine type and disk size that can handle the expected load.
4. Connect to the VM over SSH, from a terminal or the GCP console.

2. Install and configure Redis

Install Redis

Run the following commands on the VM:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install redis-server
sudo systemctl enable redis-server.service

Check that Redis is running. A successful response is PONG.

redis-cli ping

Allow connections and set a password

By default, Redis only accepts connections from the machine it runs on. To let your CloudM Migrate servers connect, you need to change the bind address and set a password.

1. Open the Redis configuration file:

   sudo nano /etc/redis/redis.conf

2. Find the bind line and change it from bind 127.0.0.1 to bind 0.0.0.0 so Redis accepts connections from other machines.
3. Find the requirepass line, uncomment it and set a strong password:

   requirepass your_strong_password

4. Save and close the file (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter).
5. Restart Redis to apply the changes:

   sudo systemctl restart redis-server

If Redis does not start, check the log:

sudo tail -f /var/log/redis/redis-server.log

3. Configure CloudM Migrate

Point your CloudM Migrate installation at the new Redis server.

1. On your primary migration server, disable the local Redis service to prevent conflicts.
2. Open the CloudM Migrate Service Manager.
3. In the Redis Server Location field, enter the internal IP address or hostname of the Redis server.
4. Enter the password you set in the Redis Password field.
5. Click Update Configuration.
6. Restart the CloudM Migrate service to apply the new configuration.