InfluxDB - Migrate data from version 1 to version 2 using local Docker containers

Dec 11, 2023

Export Data from InfluxDB Version 1.x
Import Data into InfluxV2

The scope of this document is to provide a possibility to transfer data from Influx DB Version 1 to InfluxDB Version 2.

Export Data from InfluxDB Version 1.x

Download Influx data from original storage location (typically /var/lib/influxdb and /etc/influxdb), to your local machine. Why? Azure Filestorage, or other remote sources, might not work with the backup mechanisms of Influx, so we need a unrestricted file-system for these operations. If you are running Influx in docker, copy these files from their respective volume mounts.
Start an instance of Influx V1 locally using the following docker-compose file

version: '3'
services:
  influxdb:
    image: influxdb:1.8.4-alpine
    container_name: influxdbv1
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "8086:8086"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/var/lib/influxdb
      - ./config:/etc/influxdb

In a new terminal window, start a bash CLI within the running InfluxV1 container

# find ID of influxV1 container
docker ps
# execute bash in the container
docker exec -it  bash

export the database to be migrated using `influx_inspect’, like so

influx_inspect export -database "dbname" -datadir "/var/lib/influxdb/data" -waldir "/var/lib/influxdb/wal" -out "/var/lib/influxdb/backup.lp" -compress -lponly

Import Data into InfluxV2

Start InfluxV2 using the following docker-compose file

version: '3'
services:
  influxdb:
    image: influxdb:latest
    container_name: influxdb
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "8086:8086"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/var/lib/influxdb2
      - ./config:/etc/influxdb2
      - ../influxv1/data/:/etc/influxbu # <-- this is the folder where the previously created backup is located
    environment:
      - INFLUXDB_ADMIN_USER=user
      - INFLUXDB_ADMIN_PASSWORD=1234

open http://localhost:8086 and finish the initial setup (bucket + org + initial token setup)
In a new terminal window, start a bash CLI within the running InfluxV1 container

# find ID of influxV1 container
docker ps
# execute bash in the container
docker exec -it  bash

Import the backup into the new influxv2

influx write --org  --bucket  --token  --file /etc/influxbu/backup.lp --compression gzip