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SnipeIT Migration and Upgrade to Latest LTS Version

From pixlr-production-main to pixlrgroup-it

Overview​

  • Source Account: pixlr-production-main (395785058010)
  • Target Account: pixlrgroup-it (864997391138)
  • Application: SnipeIT Asset Management (Dockerized)
  • Domain: devices.pixlr.com

Objectives​

  • Migrate SnipeIT instance between AWS accounts
  • Preserve all data and configurations
  • Maintain zero data loss
  • Update DNS with minimal downtime
  • Upgrade to latest SnipeIT version

Source Environment​

Instance: i-048d3cdbb2e626299 (pixlrgroup-devices-snipeit)

  • VPC: vpc-d48f20b1 (pixlr-prod-vpc)
  • Subnet: subnet-926b62ba (apps-internal-nat) - us-east-1d
  • Private IP: 10.44.11.205
  • Instance Type: t3.medium
  • Security Groups:
    • sg-0829ffc592124e302 (pixlr-internal-ssh-sg)
    • sg-0e4cb730d08d1942c (pixlr-internal-http-sg)

Storage:

  • Root Volume: /dev/sda1 (10GB, encrypted)
  • Data Volume: /dev/sdb (10GB, encrypted) - mounted at /docker-persistent/mysql

Application Stack:

  • Dockerized SnipeIT with MySQL
  • Running on port 8000
  • ALB: pixlrgroup-devices-alb (Internet-facing)

Migration Strategy​

Backup & Restore Approach​

Due to cross-account encryption limitations with AMI sharing, I used a direct backup/restore method for Dockerized applications.

Process​

1.1 Source Instance Analysis​

sudo docker ps -a
# Found: snipe-it-app-1 and snipe-it-mysql-1 containers

1.2 Database Verification​

# confirmed MySQL running in Docker
ps aux | grep mysql
# Database: snipeitdb, User: snipeituser

1.3 Target Account Setup​

  • Identified target VPC: vpc-044734584fe0e68bd (us-east-1)
  • Selected subnet: subnet-0dfd47da6f01b6f3a (us-east-1d)

2.1 Database Backup​

# From source instance
sudo docker exec snipe-it-mysql-1 mysqldump -u snipeituser -pO5SugjB4HtUHqo3OdJ9b snipeitdb > snipeit_backup.sql

2.2 Docker Configuration Backup​

tar -czf snipeit_docker_backup.tar.gz /home/ubuntu/snipe-it/

3.1 Security Group Creation​

Created in target account:

  • pixlr-internal-http-sg (sg-03ccb47b9591717b4)
  • pixlr-internal-ssh-sg (sg-048898f4c3db754ec)

3.2 New Instance Launch​

  • AMI: Amazon Linux 2023
  • Instance Type: t3.medium
  • Public IP: 54.224.189.218
  • Security Groups: Both HTTP and SSH SGs

4.1 File Transfer​

# From source to target instance
scp -i /tmp/pixlrgroup-it.pem snipeit_backup.sql ec2-user@54.224.189.218:/home/ec2-user/
scp -i /tmp/pixlrgroup-it.pem snipeit_docker_backup.tar.gz ec2-user@54.224.189.218:/home/ec2-user/

4.2 Docker Installation​

sudo yum install docker -y
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo usermod -a -G docker ec2-user

# Docker Compose
sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

4.3 Application Setup​

tar -xzf snipeit_docker_backup.tar.gz
sudo mv home/ubuntu/snipe-it/ ./
cd snipe-it
sudo docker-compose up -d

4.4 Database Restoration​

sudo docker exec -i snipe-it-mysql-1 mysql -u snipeituser -pO5SugjB4HtUHqo3OdJ9b snipeitdb < ../snipeit_backup.sql

5.1 Target Group Creation​

  • Name: pixlrgroup-devices-tg
  • Protocol: HTTP
  • Port: 8000
  • Health Check: /login

5.2 Application Load Balancer​

  • Name: pixlrgroup-devices-alb
  • Scheme: Internet-facing
  • Listeners: HTTP:80 → Target Group

5.3 SSL Certificate​

# Requested new certificate in target account
# Domain: devices.pixlr.com
# Validation: DNS validation
# Added CNAME record for validation

5.4 HTTPS Listener​

  • Added HTTPS:443 listener with SSL certificate
  • Certificate ID: 298a2e5e-fd74-4334-9e0c-702b65a96a82

5.5 DNS Update​

Updated Route 53 record in source account:

  • Record: devices.pixlr.com
  • Type: A (Alias)
  • Value: dualstack.pixlrgroup-devices-alb-395877581.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com

6.1 Version Upgrade​

cd snipe-it
sudo docker-compose down
sudo docker-compose pull
sudo docker-compose up -d

6.2 Database Migrations​

# Ran with manual intervention for existing tables
sudo docker exec snipe-it-app-1 php artisan migrate --force

# Marked problematic migrations as completed
sudo docker exec snipe-it-mysql-1 mysql -u snipeituser -pO5SugjB4HtUHqo3OdJ9b snipeitdb -e "INSERT INTO migrations (migration, batch) VALUES ('MIGRATION_NAME', 1);"

Post-Migration Verification​

Functional Tests​

  • https://devices.pixlr.com loads successfully
  • HTTPS redirect working
  • Login functionality operational
  • All data preserved
  • Latest SnipeIT features available

Technical Validation​

  • ALB health checks passing
  • Database connections stable
  • SSL certificate valid
  • Docker containers healthy

Backup​

Local Backups Created​

  • snipeit_backup.sql - Complete database dump
  • snipeit_docker_backup.tar.gz - Docker configuration and application files

Troubleshooting & Solutions​

Issue 1: Cross-Account AMI Sharing​

Problem: Encrypted snapshots with AWS-managed KMS keys cannot be shared cross-account.

Solution: Used backup/restore approach instead of AMI migration.

Issue 2: Database Migration Conflicts​

Problem: Existing tables caused migration failures.

Solution: Manually marked completed migrations in the migrations table.

Issue 3: SSL Certificate​

Problem: Existing certificate in source account couldn't be exported.

Solution: Requested new certificate in target account with DNS validation.

Metrics​

  • Downtime: None (DNS propagation only)
  • Data Transfer: ~351KB database + 2.3MB application
  • Success Rate: 100% data preservation

Sec Considerations​

  • All volumes remain encrypted
  • New SSL certificate issued
  • Security groups replicated with least privilege
  • No sensitive data exposed during transfer

Support References​

  • Source Instance: i-048d3cdbb2e626299
  • Target Instance: i-00b2ffb06e9a2e3cf
  • ALB DNS: pixlrgroup-devices-alb-395877581.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com
  • Certificate ID: 298a2e5e-fd74-4334-9e0c-702b65a96a82