Migrate Azure to AWS using Application Migration Service

Cloud migration is the strategic process of moving an organization’s digital assets, including data, applications, and services, from on-premises infrastructure to cloud-based platforms.

This transition unlocks scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency by harnessing the resources and services offered by cloud providers.

Successful migration entails meticulous planning, seamless data transfer, meticulous application reconfiguration, and post-migration optimization. These steps collectively ensure a smooth transition, bolstering technological agility and enhancing overall operational efficiency.

In this blog post let us learn about migration process in detail:

What is AWS Application Migration Service?

AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) is an automated tool that simplifies and speeds up the process of migrating applications to AWS. It allows companies to migrate physical, virtual, or cloud servers to AWS without compatibility issues or downtime.

MGN replicates your servers to AWS and then automatically converts and launches them when you’re ready. This helps you save costs, improve productivity,enhance resilience, and take advantage of AWS services for modernization.

Cloud migration offers significant business value in several key areas

1. Cost Efficiency: Cut down on upfront investments and operational costs by paying for resources based on actual usage.

2. Scalability: Easily scale resources up or down to meet changing business needs, ensuring consistent performance and avoiding over-provisioning.

3. Innovation: Experiment with new technologies and services readily available in the cloud to foster innovation and drive business growth.

4. Security: Leverage robust security measures and compliance features offered by cloud providers to enhance data protection and meet regulatory requirements.

5. Business Continuity: Ensure uninterrupted operations and data availability with efficient disaster recovery solutions provided by cloud platforms.

6. Agile Deployment: Accelerate the deployment of new applications and services, reducing time-to-market and enabling rapid response to market demands.

Architecture Diagram for AWS Application Migration Service

Steps to be followed:

Step1: Go to your Azure account and create a Resource Group

Resource Group

Step 2: Create an Azure Virtual Machine (Windows VM)

1. Choose a name for your virtual machine.

2. Select the region that matches your specified default region for the resource group.

3. Optionally configure availability options.

4. Choose the standard security group.

5. Select Windows Server 2019 as the operating system image.

6. Set the size of the virtual machine to standard B2s.

Step 3: RDP into Windows VM

Go to the connect section in settings and Download the RDP file as shown below

After Authentication, you should see this kind of interface shown below

Goto local server and disable IE enhanced security configuration

Download Nginx for Windows from the provided link.

Once the download is complete, extract the zip file to your C drive.

Next, open your web browser and enter https://localhost:80 in the address bar. You should see the expected result displayed below.

Download Nginx for Windows, extract the zip file to your C drive, and then open your web browser. Enter https://localhost:80 in the address bar to view the expected result.

Disable Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended).

Copy the public IP of your VM and paste it into your browser’s address bar.

You should then see the image mentioned below

Step 4: in the AWS side search For Application migration service

We’ll discuss the settings involved, starting with configuring the launch template and replication template.

Replication Template: This template determines how data will be replicated from your source servers to AWS. It must be set up before adding source servers to the AWS Application Migration Service. You can adjust replication settings later as needed, and these settings will apply to newly added servers.

Launch Template: The Launch template controls how AWS Application Migration Service launches instances in AWS. The default settings in this template are automatically applied to each new server added. Changes to server launch settings are specific to each server and do not affect the launch template.

Post-launch Template: Post-launch settings automate actions after a server is launched in AWS. These settings are generated based on the Post-launch template and enable you to control post-launch actions efficiently.

This action will open the account template view. Click on “Edit” to update your launch template at the account level.

Step 5: After configuring your Replication and Launch templates, we will proceed to the source server where we will add our Azure

Windows VM as a new server.

Select the operating system as Windows.

Choose your replication preferences, including which disks to replicate.

Navigate to the AWS IAM section and create a new user with permissions added for AWS Application Migration Agent Installation Policy.

Create User

Generate the Access Key and Secret Key as shown in the screenshot below. Copy both keys and paste them into the Application Migration Server section.

Copy the link of the Installer agent and paste it into the browser of your Windows VM.

This action will download the agent. Next, open the Windows Command Prompt as an Administrator.

Copy the agent URL as shown below:

 cd Downloads

After completing the previous steps, navigate to the AWS Application Migration Service. You should notice that a server will be automatically created, as illustrated below:

Next, this will initiate the creation of a Replication server. The Replication server is responsible for generating snapshots and volumes of the source VM, as depicted below:

In this process, an instance of the Replication server will be automatically created, as demonstrated below

Following this, the Replication server will proceed to create a snapshot and replicate all your data into it, as demonstrated below.

Once the replication progress reaches 100%, proceed to the top right side of the console and click on the “Test and Cutover” option.

Within that section, click on “Launch Test Instance” as indicated below

It’s beneficial to test your data in a test VM while you work on the Production server.

Once your test VM is ready, mark it as “Ready for Cutover” as depicted below

Now, in the Test and Cutover section on the top right, click on the “Mark as Ready for Cutover” option, as illustrated below

You can view logs by clicking on “Event and Metrics”.

All events generated up to 90 days ago are visible.

You can download the events by selecting the “Download Events” option.

Now that the Cutover VM is ready for testing, attach an Elastic IP to this VM, as indicated below

Finalize Your Cutover

The cutover process has been completed, as demonstrated above.

Download the new RDP file using a different account and enter the credentials provided during the creation of your Azure VM.

Next, go to the AWS virtual machine and copy the public IP of your VM. Access your Nginx content by pasting the IP into your browser’s address bar.

Upon hitting the IP in the browser, you should see the “Welcome to nginx” page displayed, as shown below

The data migration from Azure to AWS has been completed successfully.

Conclusion

Migrating applications from Azure to AWS using Application Migration Service brings improved performance, cost savings, and strong security. AWS’s reliable network infrastructure ensures a smooth user experience and reduced downtime. Trusting AWS’s secure environment and support resources helps organizations succeed in the dynamic cloud computing world, providing great global customer experiences.