Prerequisites Getting an activation key Activating your agent Next steps

Activating your AWS DataSync agent

To finish creating your AWS DataSync agent, you must activate it. This step associates the agent with your AWS account.

Note

You can't activate an agent in more than one AWS account and AWS Region at a time.

Prerequisites

To activate your DataSync agent, make sure that you have the following information:

The DataSync service endpoint that you're activating your agent with.

If you're using a VPC service endpoint, you need these details:
- The VPC service endpoint ID.
- The subnet where your VPC service endpoint is located.
- The security group that allows the traffic required for using DataSync VPC service endpoints.
Your agent's IP address or domain name.

How you find this depends on the type of agent that you deploy. For example, if your agent is an Amazon EC2 instance, you can find its IP address by going to the instance's page on the Amazon EC2 console.

Getting an activation key

You can obtain an activation key for your deployed DataSync agent a few different ways. Some options require access to your agent on port 80 (HTTP). If you use one of these options, DataSync closes the port once you activate the agent.

Note

Agent activation keys expire in 30 minutes if unused.

DataSync console

When activating your agent in the DataSync console, DataSync can get the activation key for you by using the Automatically get the activation key from your agent option.

To use this option, your browser must be able to reach your agent on port 80.

Agent local console

Unlike the other options for getting an activation key, this option doesn't require your agent to be accessible on port 80.

Log in to the local console of your agent virtual machine (VM) or Amazon EC2 instance.
On the AWS DataSync Activation - Configuration main menu, enter 0 to get an activation key.
Enter the AWS Region that you're activating your agent in.
Enter the type of service endpoint type that your agent is using.
Copy the activation key that displays.

For example: F0EFT-7FPPR-GG7MC-3I9R3-27DOH

You specify this key when activating your agent.

CLI

With standard Unix tools, you can run a curl request to your agent's IP address to get its activation key.

To use this option, your client must be able to reach your agent on port 80. You can run the following command to check:


nc -vz agent-ip-address 80

Once you confirm you can reach the agent, run one of the following commands depending on the type of service endpoint that you're using:

Public service endpoints:


curl "http://agent-ip-address/?gatewayType=SYNC&activationRegion=your-region&no_redirect"

FIPS service endpoints:


curl "http://agent-ip-address/?gatewayType=SYNC&activationRegion=your-region&endpointType=FIPS&no_redirect"

VPC service endpoints:
```
curl "http://agent-ip-address/?gatewayType=SYNC&activationRegion=your-region&privateLinkEndpoint=vpc-endpoint-ip-address&endpointType=PRIVATE_LINK&no_redirect"
```
To find the vpc-endpoint-ip-address, open the Amazon VPC console, choose Endpoints, and select your DataSync VPC service endpoint. On the Subnets tab, locate the IP address for your VPC service endpoint's subnet. This is the endpoint's IP address.

This command returns an activation key. For example:

F0EFT-7FPPR-GG7MC-3I9R3-27DOH

You specify this key when activating your agent.

Activating your agent

You have several options for activating your DataSync agent. Once activated, AWS manages the agent for you.

DataSync console

Open the AWS DataSync console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/datasync/.
In the left navigation pane, choose Agents, and then choose Create agent.
In the Service endpoint section, do the following to specify the service endpoint for your agent:
- For a public service endpoint, choose Public service endpoints in your current AWS Region.
- For a FIPS service endpoint, choose FIPS service endpoints in your current AWS Region.
- For a VPC service endpoint, do the following:
  - Choose VPC endpoints using AWS PrivateLink.
  - For VPC endpoint, choose the VPC service endpoint that you want your agent to use.
  - For Subnet, choose the subnet where your VPC service endpoint is located.
  - For Security group, choose the security group that allows the traffic required for using DataSync VPC service endpoints.
In the Activation key section, do one of the following to specify your agent's activation key:
- Choose Automatically get the activation key from your agent for DataSync to get the key for you.
  - For Agent address, enter your agent's IP address or domain name.
  - Choose Get key.
    
    If activation fails, check your network configuration based on the type of service endpoint you're using.
- Choose Manually enter your agent's activation key if you don't want a connection between your browser and agent.
  - Get the key from the agent local console or by using a curl command.
  - Back in the DataSync console, enter the key in the Activation key field.
(Recommended) For Agent name, give your agent a name that you can remember.
(Optional) For Tags, enter values for the Key and Value fields to tag your agent.

Tags help you manage, filter, and search for your AWS resources.
Choose Create agent.
On the Agents page, verify that your agent is using the correct service endpoint type.

Note
At this point, you might notice that your agent is offline. This happens briefly after activating an agent.

AWS CLI

Once you get your activation key, copy one of the following create-agent commands depending on the type of service endpoint that you're using:
- Public or FIPS service endpoint:
```
aws datasync create-agent \
  --activation-key activation-key \
  --agent-name name-for-agent
```
- VPC service endpoint:
```
aws datasync create-agent \
  --activation-key activation-key \
  --agent-name name-for-agent \
  --vpc-endpoint-id vpc-endpoint-id \
  --subnet-arns subnet-arn \
  --security-group-arns security-group-arn
```
For --activation-key, specify your agent activation key.
(Recommended) For --agent-name, specify a name for your agent that you can remember.
If you're using a VPC service endpoint, specify the following options:
- For --vpc-endpoint-id, specify the ID of the VPC service endpoint that you're using.
- For --subnet-arns, specify the ARN of the subnet where your VPC service endpoint is located.
- For --security-group-arns, specify the ARN of the security group that allows the traffic required for using DataSync VPC service endpoints.
Run the create-agent command.

You get a response with the ARN of the agent that you just activated. For example:
```
{
    "AgentArn": "arn:aws:datasync:us-east-1:111222333444:agent/agent-0b0addbeef44baca3”
}
```
Verify that your agent is activated by running the list-agents command:
```
aws datasync list-agents
```
Note
At this point, you might notice that your agent Status is OFFLINE. This happens briefly after activating an agent.

DataSync API

Once you get your activation key, activate your agent by using the CreateAgent operation.

Note

When you're done, you might notice that your agent is offline. This happens briefly after activating an agent.

Next steps

If you run into issues trying to activate your agent, get help with troubleshooting.
Create the DataSync location that you want to use with your agent. This might be an on-premises or other cloud location.

Document Conventions

Choosing a service endpoint for your agent

Connecting your network