Moving towards cloud from On-premise is a current market demand where we have to utilise Migration, where one of the tool comes into picture is Microsoft Azure Migration tool.
Migrating to Microsoft’s Azure is the most sought option for many firms facing challenges with the on-premises infrastructure.
In this blog, you will see an overview of Azure Migrate, Here I have covered various important aspects of Azure Migrate Services that you should know before starting Azure. I also have covered Steps to Implement Virtual Machine replication via ASR which will help you to understand concepts of Azure Migrate in more detail.
Topics covered in this blog are below:
- What is Azure Migrate?
- 5R Cloud Rationalisation
- Benefits of Azure Migrate
- Options for VMware VM migration
- Azure Cloud Migration Strategy
- Azure Service for Migration
- Types of Migration
- Common Migration challenges
- Best practice for Migration
- Steps to Implement Virtual Machine replication via ASR
- FAQs
What is Azure Migrate?
Azure Migrate provides a centralized hub to assess and migrate to Azure on-premises servers, infrastructure, applications, and data. It provides the following:
- Unified migration platform: A single portal to start, run, and track your migration to Azure.
- Range of tools: A range of tools for assessment and migration. Azure Migrate tools include Azure Migrate: Server Assessment and Azure Migrate: Server Migration. Azure Migrate also integrates with other Azure services and tools, and with independent software vendor (ISV) offerings.
- Assessment and migration: In the Azure Migrate hub, you can assess and migrate:
- Servers: Assess on-premises servers and migrate them to Azure virtual machines or Azure VMware Solution (AVS) (Preview).
- Databases: Can Assess on-premises databases and migrate them to Azure SQL Database or to SQL Managed Instance.
- Web applications: Web applications can also be assessed and migrate them to Azure App Service by using the Azure App Service Migration Assistant.
- Virtual desktops: On-premises virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and migrate it to Windows Virtual Desktop in Azure.
- Data: Migrate large amounts of data to Azure quickly and cost-effectively using Azure Data Box products.
5R Cloud rationalization
The 5R rationalization in Azure is a framework for evaluating and planning the migration of applications to the cloud. Someone who is looking for migrating the applications to the Cloud would require the 5R strategy to do so.
The 5R migration strategy includes:
- Rehost (Lift-and-shift): This involves moving applications and data to the cloud without making any changes.
- Refactor: This involves making significant changes to applications to take full advantage of cloud-native features.
- Rearchitect: This involves rearchitecting the architecture of services before migration to make it compatible with Cloud.
- Rebuild: This involves ewriting an application from scratch to take advantage of the cloud-native features of Azure.
- Replace: This involves replacing an existing application with a cloud-native SaaS application as sometimes SaaS applications can provide all the necessary functionality for the hosted application
Benefits of Azure Migrate
- Enhanced scalability: Azure is inherently built to scale fast and handle varied workloads at high performance.
- Increased Availability: You can now achieve improved resiliency for critical application workloads that you are migrating by pinning individual virtual machines to different Availability Zones.
- Deployment Flexibility: Azure-based applications are well suited for businesses with growing or fluctuating needs.
- Effective backup storage: Azure provide cost-effective and efficient storage solutions for Backup.
- Reduced costs: There are significant savings in resource, maintenance and real estate costs.
Options for VMware VM migration
You can migrate VMware VMs to Azure using the Azure Migrate Server Migration tool. This tool offers a couple of options for VMware VM migration:
- Migration using agentless replication.
- Migration with an agent for replication.
Also Read: Our blog post on Azure Virtual Desktop.
Azure Agentless Migration
The agentless replication option works by using VMware snapshots and VMware changed block tracking (CBT) technology to replicate data from virtual machine disks. Check below points to Prepare for Agentless VMware Migration:
- Review VMware server requirements for agentless migration
- Setup an account to access the vCenter Server with the required permissions for agentless migration
- Note the requirements for VMware VMs that you want to migrate to Azure using agentless migration
- Review appliance requirements for agentless migration
- Note appliance URL access and port access requirement for agentless migration
Note: Check more about VMware requirements here
Azure Agent-Based Migration
To migrate on-premises VMware VMs to Azure, using the Azure Migrate: Server Migration tool, with agent-based migration. You can also migrate VMware VMs using agent-based migration. Check below points to Prepare Azure to work with Azure Migrate.
- Prepare for agent-based migration. Set up a VMware account so that Azure Migrate can discover machines for migration. Set up an account so that the Mobility service agent can install on machines you want to migrate, and prepare a machine to act as the replication appliance.
- Add the Azure Migrate: Server Migration tool
- Set up the replication appliance.
- Replicate VMs.
- Run a test migration to make sure everything’s working as expected.
Azure Cloud Migration Strategy
The first and foremost thing for a successful Azure migration is developing your ‘Own Azure Migration Strategy’. Then comes the following:
1. Assess:
Step 1: Discovery & Assessment
Discovery and assessment are two important steps in any Azure migration project. Discovery involves identifying all of the on-premises resources that need to be migrated to Azure. Assessment involves evaluating the readiness of those resources for migration and estimating the cost and complexity of the migration.
The points to follow in this steps:
- Identify all on-premises resources
- Gather information about each resource
- Evaluate the readiness of each resource for migration
- Estimate the cost and complexity of the migration
- Document the findings
Step 2 : Planning
Planning is a critical step in any Azure migration project. A well-defined plan will help you to avoid problems and to ensure that the migration is successful.
Key consideration in planning
- Set goals and objectives
- Assess your current environment
- Choose the right migration strategy
- Develop a timeline and budget
- Identify and mitigate risks
Step 3: Preparation
Preparation involves making sure that your on-premises environment is ready for the migration and that you have all of the necessary resources in place.
This consists of :
- Check that your workloads are Azure-compatible.
- Configure Azure resources, networks, and security.
- Pre-migration testing should be performed to evaluate your migration plan and detect any potential concerns.
2. Migrate:
Step 4: Migration
Migration step in migrate is moving your on-premises workloads to Azure. After all the assessment and planning we have reached to finally migrating the resources from one environment to other.
Talking of which we have to keep these points into consideration while performing the migration:
- Execute your migration strategy using the migration method of choice.
- Closely monitor the migration process to identify and rectify any difficulties as soon as possible.
- Check to see if your applications are working properly in the Azure environment.
3. Optimize:
Step 5: Validation
Validation is testing your migration plan in a staging environment to ensure that it is working properly. You should also test your migrated workloads in a staging environment before deploying them to production.
Making it short and crisp to understand what validation includes:
- Conduct extensive testing to ensure that all components are working properly.
- Validate security measures and requirements for compliance.
- Examine and document your migration procedure and results.
Step 6: Optimization
After all deployment is migrated and validated for working its time for optimization of resources. This ensures whether any resources can further improved for better connectivity or cost can be reduced without any downgrade of performance.
The entire Optimization includes:
- Adjust your settings for maximum performance and scalability.
- Utilize Azure-native services to improve functionality and save money.
- Continuous optimization and monitoring should be implemented to preserve performance and fix any post-migration concerns.
4. Manage:
Step 7: Post Migration
Post migration its time for monitoring the workloads and check whether everything is working properly. Once everything is upto the mark then you can proceed with closure of old environment from where migration took place.
Also some key points to be notes in post migration are:
- Implement systems for continual management and monitoring.
- Your operations personnel should be trained on the new Azure environment.
- Keep track of your setups and best practices.
Azure Service for Migration
Azure offers different services for different types of Migrations. Here we will understand the services and its features that can be beneficial for our migration.
-
Azure Migrate:
Azure Migrate is a cloud migration solution that aids in the assessment, migration, and management of on-premises servers, virtual machines, and databases to Azure. It offers a centralized platform for discovery, evaluation, migration, and post-migration optimization.
Purpose: Azure Migrate is a central hub for discovering, assessing, and migrating on-premises servers, databases, and applications to Azure.
Usage: Assess existing infrastructure, applications, and data, discover dependencies, and plan migration with tools like Server Assessment and Server Migration in the Azure Migrate hub.
-
Azure Site Recovery (ASR):
Azure Site Recovery (ASR) is a disaster recovery (DR) service that assists you in keeping your applications and data operational during planned and unforeseen outages. ASR replicates your on-premises workloads to Azure, allowing you to fail over to Azure fast and efficiently in the case of an outage.Purpose: Azure Site Recovery facilitates disaster recovery and migration of on-premises virtual machines to Azure.
Usage: Replicate on-premises virtual machines to Azure, enabling failover for disaster recovery or seamless migration with minimal downtime.
-
Azure Database Migration Service:
Azure Database Migration solution (DMS) is a fully managed solution that allows you to migrate databases to Azure with minimum downtime as possible. It works with a variety of database platforms, including SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and MongoDB.
Purpose: Simplifies database migration to Azure by providing a managed service for online and offline migrations.
Usage: Easily migrate on-premises databases to Azure SQL Database or other Azure database services using the Azure Database Migration Service, which supports
various source databases.
-
Azure Resource Mover:
Azure Resource Mover is a utility for moving resources across Azure regions. It can be used to move individual or groups of resources. Resource Mover also offers cross-subscription migration, that enables you to move resources from one subscription to another.
Purpose: It is designed to make it simple to move Azure resources from one area to another. Organisations can use this capability to optimise resource placement based on performance, compliance, or disaster recovery requirements.
Usage: Using Azure Resource Mover, you can easily move resources between Azure regions. This solution ensures that the procedure is simple and fast, allowing organizations to adapt to changing needs while ensuring operational continuity.
Types of Migration
- Azure Regional Migration
The process of shifting Azure resources from one region to a different region is known as regional migration. This can be done for a variety of purposes, including improving performance, lowering expenses, and complying with regulations.There are a number of different ways to migrate Azure resources between regions. One option is to use Azure Resource Mover. Azure Resource Mover is a tool that helps you to migrate resources between Azure regions. It can be used to migrate individual resources or groups of resources. Resource Mover also supports cross-subscription migration, which allows you to migrate resources to a different subscription.
Another option for migrating Azure resources between regions is to use Azure Site Recovery. Azure Site Recovery is a disaster recovery service that can also be used for migration
- Migration from other cloud to AzureThrough services such as Azure Migrate, Azure makes it easier for organisations to migrate from other cloud providers.This comprehensive toolkit enables businesses to examine, plan, and move workloads from other clouds to Azure with minimal impact.
- Migration from On-Premises to AzureAzure offers a comprehensive set of services for moving on-premises applications to the cloud.Organisations may examine, plan, and execute the migration of servers, databases, and applications to Azure using solutions such as Azure Migrate and Azure Site Recovery, using the cloud’s scale and flexibility.
- On premise Database Migration to AzureThe Azure Database Migration Service makes it easy to migrate on-premises databases to Azure.This specialised solution simplifies and optimises the migration process, ensuring a smooth transition of various on-premises databases to Azure SQL Database or other Azure database services.
ASR in Azure
Azure Site Recovery (ASR) is a DRaaS offered by Azure for use in cloud and hybrid cloud architectures. A near-constant data replication process makes sure copies are in sync. The service enables customers to use Azure as a disaster recovery site on a pay-as-you-go model without having to invest in additional infrastructure.
Steps to Implement Virtual Machine replication via ASR
Step 1) Log in to Azure Portal (Please make sure you have a subscription before doing all this. If you created a free account for the first time, you’ll already have a FREE TRIAL subscription for 1 month).
Note: If you don’t know how to get a free Azure account then click on Azure Free Trial Account to know more
Step 2) On the Azure portal, from the Home > Virtual machines menu, select a VM to replicate
Note: If you don’t know how to create a Virtual Machine then click on Step By Step Guide To Deploy Virtual Machine
Step 3) Now In Operations select Disaster recovery
Step 4) Now after that From Basics > Target region, select the target region.
Step 5) Clicking Review + Start replication will show us the preview. If you need to change any defaults, select Advanced settings.
Step 6) To start the job that enables VM replication select Start replication.
Step 7) You have now successfully enabled the VM Replication. After the replication job finishes, you can check the replication status, modify replication settings, and test the deployment.
Common Migration challenges
- Compatibility Issues: Ensuring that applications, databases, and services are compatible with Azure can be a significant challenge. This may require code refactoring or adjustments to make them work seamlessly in the cloud.
- Data Migration: Moving large volumes of data to Azure can be complex and time-consuming. Ensuring data integrity, minimal downtime, and efficient transfer is a challenge.
- Downtime Minimization: Reducing downtime during migration is critical for business continuity. Achieving zero or minimal downtime can be a challenge, especially for complex applications.
- Security and Compliance: Maintaining security and compliance standards during migration is vital. Ensuring data protection, identity management, and compliance with regulations can be challenging.
- Cost Management: Azure costs can escalate if not properly managed. Controlling and optimizing costs during and after migration is a challenge.
- Skill Gaps: Organizations may lack the necessary Azure expertise. Training or hiring skilled professionals is often required.
- Legacy Systems: Migrating legacy systems can be challenging due to their outdated architecture and dependencies.
- Testing and Validation: Comprehensive testing to ensure that applications work correctly in Azure is crucial. Validation and troubleshooting can be time-consuming.
- Change Management: Preparing teams and stakeholders for the changes that come with cloud migration is essential. Resistance to change can be a challenge.
- Resource Scaling: Determining the right amount of resources to allocate in Azure can be tricky. Overprovisioning or underprovisioning can lead to performance issues or unnecessary costs.
Best practice for Migration
- Plan carefully:Before you begin migrating applications or data, be sure to develop a detailed migration plan. This plan will identify the applications and data you need to migrate, the migration strategy for each application and data set, and the migration timeline.
- Choose the right migration strategy:There are several different migration strategies, such as lift and shift, restructuring, restructuring, and acquisitions. Choose the migration strategy that best suits your specific needs and requirements.
- Use Azure tools and services:Azure offers several tools and services to help you migrate, such as Azure Migrate, Azure Site Recovery, and Azure ExpressRoute. Use these tools and services to make your move easier and more efficient.
- Check your migration:Before moving to Azure, be sure to test your migrated applications and data in a staging environment. This will help you identify any potential problems and make any necessary adjustments to your travel plans.
- Monitor your migration:Monitor the move closely to ensure it goes smoothly. Monitoring should be done constantly to avoid any mishap.
Conclusion:
Here we learned Azure Migration can be a complex job but carefully planning and performing with all the considerations and best practices can be a successful migration. We tried to provide you more idea on various tools available and step by step method to successfully execute the process. We also implemented the Virtual replication via ASR(Azure Site Recovery).
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main stages to migrate into the Azure cloud?
Discover, assess, right-size, and migrate your on-premises virtual machines (VMs) to Azure. Data Box. Appliances and solutions for data transfer to Azure and edge compute.
What are the six common strategies for migrating to the cloud?
The 6 Rs of cloud migration—re-host, re-platform, repurchase, retain, retire, and re-factor—can help you to determine clear paths for your migration.
What are the size limitations for migrate in Azure?
Machines can be migrated only to managed disks (standard HDD, standard SSD, premium SSD) in Azure. up to 2-TB OS disk for gen 1 VM; up to 4-TB OS disk for gen 2 VM; 32 TB for data disks. Up to 63 disks per machine. Machines with encrypted disks/volumes aren't
What is a common Azure customer cloud migration strategy?
Azure provides a powerful cloud platform that is highly suitable for large enterprise IT environments with stringent compliance and data protection requirements. When planning your migration, it is worth considering the pros and cons of the four key migration strategies: Rehost, Refactor, Rearchitect and Rebuild.
References/Related
- Microsoft Azure Architect Design Step By Step Activity Guides (Hands-On Labs)
- Case Study: Deploy A Container Instance In Azure Using The Azure Portal
- Azure Migrate Step-By-Step Server Setup
- AZ-104 Exam & AZ-104 Certification Overview
- [AZ-104] Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Exam: Everything You Need To Know
- Core Cloud Service: Azure Compute Options
- Exam AZ-305: Azure Solutions Architect Expert Certification
Next Task For You
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