Amazon DataSync agent requirements
An agent is a virtual machine (VM) appliance that Amazon DataSync uses for storage discovery and data transfers. For example, you need a DataSync agent to transfer files from an on-premises storage system to Amazon.
Use this information to understand what you need to deploy an agent in your storage environment.
Getting an agent
You can download an agent from the DataSync
console
Hypervisor requirements
You can run a DataSync agent on the following hypervisors:
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VMware ESXi (version 6.5, 6.7, 7.0, or 8.0) – VMware ESXi is available on the VMware website
. You also need a VMware vSphere client to connect to the host. For information about VMware's supported hypervisor versions, see VMware lifecycle policy
on the VMware website. -
Microsoft Hyper-V (version 2012 R2, 2016, or 2019) – For this setup, you need a Microsoft Hyper-V Manager on a Microsoft Windows client computer to connect to the host.
The DataSync agent virtual machine (VM) is a generation 1 virtual machine. For more information about the differences between generation 1 and generation 2 VMs, see Should I create a generation 1 or 2 virtual machine in Hyper-V?
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Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) – A free, open-source virtualization technology. KVM is included in Linux versions 2.6.20 and newer. DataSync is tested and supported for the CentOS/RHEL 7 and 8, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS distributions. Other modern Linux distribution might work, but function or performance is not guaranteed. We recommend this option if you already have a KVM environment up and running and you're already familiar with how KVM works.
Running KVM on Amazon EC2 isn't supported, and cannot be used for DataSync agents. To run the agent on Amazon EC2, deploy an agent Amazon Machine Image (AMI). For more information about deploying an agent AMI on Amazon EC2, see Deploy your agent on Amazon EC2.
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Amazon EC2 – DataSync provides an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) that contains the DataSync VM image. For the recommended instance types, see Amazon EC2 instance requirements.
Agent requirements for DataSync transfers
For DataSync transfers, your agent must meet the following resource requirements.
Important
Keep in mind that the agent requirements for working with up to 20 million files, objects, or directories are general guidelines. Your agent may need more resources because of other factors, such as how many directories you have and object metadata size. For example, a 2xlarge instance for an Amazon EC2 agent still might not be enough for a transfer of less than 20 million files.
Virtual machine requirements
When deploying a DataSync agent that isn't on an Amazon EC2 instance, the agent VM requires the following resources:
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Virtual processors – Four virtual processors assigned to the VM.
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Disk space – 80 GB of disk space for installing the VM image and system data.
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RAM – Depending on your transfer scenario, you need the following amount of memory:
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32 GB of RAM assigned to the VM for task executions working with up to 20 million files, objects, or directories.
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64 GB of RAM assigned to the VM for task executions working with more than 20 million files, objects, or directories.
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Amazon EC2 instance requirements
When deploying a DataSync agent on an Amazon EC2 instance, we recommend the following:
An M5, M6i, or M7i instance type that's at least 2xlarge – For task executions working with up to 20 million files, objects, or directories.
An M5, M6i, or M7i instance type that's at least 4xlarge – For task executions working with more than 20 million files, objects, or directories.
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snc1.medium – For agents running on an Amazon Snowcone device. This instance provides two CPU cores and 4 GiB of memory.
Agent requirements for DataSync Discovery
Whether it's a VM or Amazon EC2 instance, the agent that you use with DataSync Discovery must have 80 GB of disk space and 16 GB of RAM.
Agent management requirements
Once you activate your DataSync agent, Amazon manages the agent for you. For more information, see Managing your Amazon DataSync agent.