Migrating from GitLab to Managed Service for GitLab

Before you begin, see how to run migration from a custom GitLab installation to Managed Service for GitLab.

To migrate data to your cloud:

1. Create a Managed Service for GitLab instance.

2. Apply the same configuration to your Managed Service for GitLab instance as in your custom installation, such as OmniAuth or group access restrictions. Entities such as users, groups, and pipelines are migrated later when using your custom installation backup.

3. Find out the GitLab version of your custom installation. For correct migration, the custom installation version must match the Managed Service for GitLab version.

   1. Open your custom GitLab installation.

   2. In the left-hand menu, click Help.

      A pop-up window will display the GitLab version.

4. Test the migration:

   1. Back up your custom installation and configuration files.

   2. Provide the support team with the backup and GitLab version of your custom installation. The support team will restore the instance from your backup in Managed Service for GitLab.

   3. Once support confirms the instance restoration in Managed Service for GitLab, open it and make sure:

      • It contains all settings, data, and projects you need.
      • You can push commits and update branches.

5. Perform the production migration:

   1. Notify support of your planned migration date.
   2. On the day before the migration, switch your custom GitLab installation to read-only mode.
   3. Back up your custom installation and configuration files.
   4. Provide this backup to the support team.
   5. On the specified migration date, the support team will restore your instance from the provided backup in Managed Service for GitLab.

6. Optionally, configure the instance domain name:

   1. If you used a custom domain name for your custom installation and want to keep it, provide that domain name to the support team. They will configure it for your Managed Service for GitLab instance.
   2. In your custom installation, configure a CNAME DNS record to forward users from the Managed Service for GitLab instance domain to your custom domain.