Migrate a legacy deployment to Standard ARM64

This is a migration planning and acceptance runbook, not an automated migration tool. Rehearse it on isolated test data before using it on a live library. Contact KohaSupport for a customer-specific procedure.

Inventory and compatibility

Record source Koha and database versions, Linux architecture, plugins, themes, integrations, scheduled jobs, domains, and storage paths. Distinguish direct EC2 launches from CloudFormation stacks and root-disk data from separate-volume data. Verify a supported target Koha/database version before restoring; do not assume a raw x86 database volume can be used unchanged on ARM64.

Backup and rehearsal

Take a consistent logical database export and copies of Koha configuration, uploaded files, cover images, and required customisations. Store recoverable backups outside the instance or volume being replaced. Validate backup readability and rehearse a restore onto a new Standard ARM64 target, rebuilding indexes and architecture-dependent components. Keep the source intact.

Acceptance checks

Reconcile bibliographic records, items, patrons, active loans, holds, permissions, settings, and uploaded files. Verify staff login, OPAC search, circulation, integrations, email, domains, HTTPS, scheduled jobs, backups, and an actual recovery test. Record discrepancies and resolve them before cutover.

Cutover and rollback

Agree downtime and a write freeze. Take and restore a final consistent export, rerun acceptance checks, then switch DNS and integrations. Prevent simultaneous writes to old and new systems. Keep the source and rollback backups through acceptance. If the target receives new transactions, reconcile them before any rollback; simply switching DNS back can lose those changes.

Subscription and cleanup

A Standard subscription, migration work, and operational support are separate commitments. Do not assume unused annual entitlements, discounts, trial eligibility, or refunds transfer. Cancel old subscriptions and remove old resources only after verified acceptance, backup retention decisions, and explicit owner approval. Ask about migration.