Tutorial / Cram Notes
Before migrating applications to AWS, a thorough assessment is essential to formulate a migration strategy that aligns with the organization’s goals. The assessment involves evaluating the existing on-premises environment, application architecture, and dependencies.
Step 1: Gather Application Portfolio Data
The first step is to collect detailed information regarding the current application portfolio. This includes:
- Application inventory
- Infrastructure details
- Performance metrics
- Security requirements
- Compliance constraints
Step 2: Evaluate the Six R’s of Migration
AWS outlines six common application migration strategies, commonly referred to as the “Six R’s”:
- Rehosting (Lift-and-Shift): Moving applications without changes.
- Replatforming: Making minimal changes to optimize for the cloud.
- Repurchasing: Moving to a different product, typically a SaaS solution.
- Refactoring / Rearchitecting: Altering the application’s design to better suit cloud-native capabilities.
- Retire: Identifying unused applications and decommissioning them.
- Retain: Keeping an application in the existing environment, at least for the time being.
These strategies guide decision-making and help identify which applications are ready for migration and which require more in-depth analysis or restructuring.
Step 3: Assess the Application Portfolio
Assessment tools such as AWS Migration Evaluator (formerly TSO Logic), AWS Migration Hub, or third-party solutions can help identify the readiness of applications for migration. These tools provide insights such as:
- Application dependencies
- Cost estimates for running on AWS
- Potential technical challenges
Step 4: Determine Application Migration Readiness
AWS’s Cloud Adoption Readiness Tool (CART) helps organizations understand their readiness for the cloud and identifies areas that require attention. It assesses perspectives including:
- Business
- People
- Process
- Platform
- Operations
- Security
The readiness assessment helps organizations develop a robust migration plan that addresses potential issues before they arise.
Step 5: Prioritize the Migration Wave
Once the assessment is complete, applications are prioritized based on various factors, such as business value, complexity, dependencies, and the urgency of migration. This can be depicted in a simple prioritization matrix:
| Priority | Business Value | Complexity | Migration Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | High | Low | Immediate |
| Medium | Medium | Medium | Mid-term |
| Low | Low | High | Long-term |
It’s important to start with less complex applications to gain experience and iterate the process effectively.
Step 6: Choose the Right Tools and Services
AWS provides several tools to assist in migration:
- AWS Application Discovery Service: Gathers information about on-premises data centers.
- AWS Database Migration Service (DMS): Migrates databases to AWS easily and securely.
- AWS Server Migration Service (SMS): An agentless service for migrating thousands of on-premises workloads to AWS.
- AWS Marketplace: Access to third-party migration tools and services.
Step 7: Create a Detailed Migration Plan
The migration plan includes:
- Roles and responsibilities
- Migration methodology (e.g., the Six R’s)
- Risk assessment and mitigation strategies
- Detailed timelines
- Cost analysis
Step 8: Execute, Monitor, and Validate the Migration
Once the plan is in place, the migration is executed, monitored, and validated to ensure the applications work as intended in the cloud environment. AWS CloudWatch can be used for monitoring and AWS CloudFormation for infrastructure as code to replicate the environment as needed.
Conclusion
An application migration assessment is a fundamental component for anyone studying for the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional exam. It ensures that the migration to AWS is well-planned, cost-effective, and successful. Through understanding the current portfolio, evaluating migration strategies, and employing AWS’s extensive set of tools, organizations can navigate the complexities of cloud migration confidently.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: When conducting an application migration assessment, you should only focus on the technical aspects, disregarding the business impact and goals.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: B) False
Explanation: A migration assessment should take into account not only the technical requirements but also the business impact and the alignment with business goals. A successful migration must support business objectives and outcomes.
Which AWS service is primarily used to assess the readiness of on-premises workloads for migration to AWS?
- A) AWS Migration Hub
- B) AWS Application Discovery Service
- C) AWS Trusted Advisor
- D) AWS X-Ray
Answer: B) AWS Application Discovery Service
Explanation: AWS Application Discovery Service helps enterprise customers plan migration projects by gathering information about on-premises data centers.
True or False: When completing a migration assessment, it’s not necessary to consider application dependencies.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: B) False
Explanation: Understanding application dependencies is crucial when planning a migration. Missed dependencies can lead to unexpected issues during and after the migration.
True or False: The “6 R’s” migration strategies include Rehosting, Replatforming, Repurchasing, Refactoring, Retiring, and Retaining.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: A) True
Explanation: These are the six common migration strategies recommended by AWS, which are collectively referred to as the “6 R’s”.
True or False: During an application migration assessment, security compliance is not a consideration since AWS cloud environments automatically comply with most industry regulations.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: B) False
Explanation: While AWS provides a secure cloud infrastructure, it’s the customer’s responsibility to ensure their specific applications are compliant with relevant industry regulations (shared responsibility model).
In the AWS Well-Architected Framework, which pillar should be carefully assessed before application migration?
- A) Operational Excellence
- B) Security
- C) Reliability
- D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: The AWS Well-Architected Framework consists of five pillars: Operational Excellence, Security, Reliability, Performance Efficiency, and Cost Optimization. All these pillars should be considered during a migration assessment.
True or False: Cost estimation is not part of the application migration assessment since prices are similar across different cloud service providers.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: B) False
Explanation: Part of the migration assessment is to estimate the cost and perform total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis. Pricing varies between providers and should be estimated beforehand for the target environment.
Which of the following should be identified during an application migration assessment?
- A) Application components
- B) Application data
- C) All the technologies involved
- D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: A complete assessment includes identification of all application components, data, and the technologies in use to ensure a smooth and compatible migration.
True or False: Stakeholder engagement is an unnecessary step in application migration assessment.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: B) False
Explanation: Engaging stakeholders is important in migration assessments to ensure alignment with business objectives and to address any concerns or requirements stakeholders may have.
When using AWS services for a migration assessment, which of the following factors should be considered for data residency and compliance?
- A) AWS region selection
- B) AWS service availability
- C) AWS compliance programs
- D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: Data residency and compliance can be affected by the AWS region chosen, services available in those regions, and the specific compliance programs that AWS adheres to in each region.
True or False: Legacy applications can always be moved to the cloud without any modifications.
- A) True
- B) False
Answer: B) False
Explanation: Legacy applications may require refactoring or re-architecting before they can be effectively moved to the cloud to leverage cloud-native features and scale appropriately.
When assessing an application for migration, what role does AWS Marketplace play?
- A) It provides a catalog of migration tools and services.
- B) It recommends migration partners.
- C) It offers a platform for selling your migration services.
- D) A and B
Answer: D) A and B
Explanation: AWS Marketplace provides a catalog of third-party software and services, including migration tools, and it can recommend partners who specialize in migration services.
Interview Questions
Q: What are the key factors to consider when performing an application migration assessment for AWS?
Answer: The key factors to consider include the application’s architecture, dependencies, data gravity, licensing constraints, compliance requirements, scalability needs, and performance considerations. Understanding these factors helps in determining the suitability of moving the application to AWS and selecting the right services and architecture.
Q: How does AWS’s “6 R’s” migration strategy help in application migration assessment?
Answer: The AWS “6 R’s” (Rehost, Refactor, Replatform, Repurchase, Retire, and Retain) provide a framework for decision-making during migration. Assessing each application against the 6 R’s helps determine the best migration strategy, balancing the trade-offs between the complexity, cost, and benefits of each approach.
Q: What role does the AWS Migration Hub play in the application migration assessment process?
Answer: AWS Migration Hub offers a central location to track the progress of application migrations across multiple AWS and partner solutions. It assists in planning, tracking, and managing migration projects, which can streamline the assessment process and provide insights into the interdependencies of applications.
Q: How can the AWS Well-Architected Framework influence your migration assessment strategy?
Answer: The AWS Well-Architected Framework outlines best practices for designing and operating reliable, secure, efficient, and cost-effective systems in the cloud. It can guide the assessment process by identifying areas of the existing application architecture that need improvement to meet these best practices when migrating to AWS.
Q: When assessing an application for migration, what considerations should be made regarding its database?
Answer: Considerations should include the type of database, its size, the complexity of the schema, data consistency requirements, licensing, and whether the database can be migrated as-is or needs to be converted to a different type or to a managed service such as Amazon RDS or Amazon DynamoDB.
Q: Describe how you would assess the network requirements for an application migration to AWS.
Answer: The assessment should include requirements for bandwidth, latency, data transfer rates, VPN connectivity or Direct Connect, security (like IDS/IPS, firewalls, and NACLs), and any specific protocols or services the application relies on.
Q: What role do cost assessments play in the application migration assessment to AWS, and how would you conduct one?
Answer: Cost assessments identify the potential cost savings or implications of migrating to AWS. They involve examining existing infrastructure costs, estimating AWS service costs using services like the AWS Pricing Calculator, and considering long-term cost optimizations, such as reserved instances or savings plans.
Q: How important is it to assess an application’s security and compliance requirements before migrating to AWS, and what are the key areas to consider?
Answer: Security and compliance assessments are critical to ensure that the application meets regulatory requirements and protects sensitive data after migration. Key areas include data encryption, identity and access management, network security, logging, monitoring, and ensuring adherence to necessary compliance standards such as HIPAA, GDPR, or PCI-DSS.
Q: Explain the significance of assessing application performance and how AWS tools assist in this process.
Answer: Performance assessment ensures that the application will meet the required response times and load levels in the cloud. AWS tools such as AWS Application Discovery Service can collect performance data on the current environment to make informed decisions on target resource sizing and architecture on AWS.
Q: Can you discuss the importance of identifying application dependencies during a migration assessment and how you would map these dependencies in AWS?
Answer: Identifying application dependencies is crucial to avoid service disruptions during migration. AWS Application Discovery Service helps in gathering information on interdependent systems, services, and communication protocols, which can then be mapped to corresponding AWS services to ensure seamless operations post-migration.
Q: Once an application migration assessment is complete, how should you prioritize the actual migration of applications to AWS?
Answer: Prioritization should be based on the assessed migration strategies, the criticality of applications, their readiness for migration, and the business impact. Low-risk, high-reward applications are typically migrated first, followed by more complex or critical applications that may require additional planning and refactoring.
Q: What metrics or success criteria would you establish to evaluate the success of an application migration to AWS after the assessment is completed?
Answer: Metrics may include cost savings, performance improvement, operational resilience, reduced maintenance overhead, enhanced security posture, and meeting compliance standards. Success criteria should align with the business objectives initially set out in the migration assessment.
Thanks for the detailed post. It helped me a lot in understanding the application migration assessment!
Great blog post! But can anyone explain how do you handle dependencies between applications during migration?
This blog is an excellent resource. It simplified some of the complex concepts related to the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional exam.
I have a question about data migration. What’s the best practice to move large databases with minimal downtime?
Appreciate the post! It helped clear up my doubts regarding the migration strategies.
The section on migration readiness assessment was particularly useful. Thanks a lot!
I noticed the blog didn’t detail much about the cost management aspect during migration. Any thoughts?
This blog post was a lifesaver. Thanks!