The process of migrating applications, data, and other resources from on-premises or other cloud environments to Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing platform and service provided by Microsoft.
Azure migration can include moving virtual machines, databases, and storage to Azure, as well as re-architecting applications to take advantage of Azure services. Typically, the goal of Azure cloud migration is to take advantage of the Azure platform’s scalability, security, and cost advantages.
4 Azure Migration Tools
Here are a few tools provided by the Azure cloud that can assist you in migrating applications to the Microsoft cloud.
Azure Migrate
Azure Migrate is a service provided by Microsoft as part of Azure that assists customers in discovering, assessing, and migrating their on-premises workloads to Azure. It serves as a centralised hub for the discovery and assessment of on-premises workloads and assists customers in planning and executing their migration to Azure. Azure Migrate includes the following features:
- Discovery: Azure Migrate discovers and catalogues on-premises servers and their dependencies.
- Assessment: Azure Migrate evaluates on-premises servers’ readiness for migration to Azure and makes recommendations for target Azure resources.
- Migration: Azure Migrate assists customers in planning and carrying out their migration to Azure by utilising various migration tools such as Azure Site Recovery, Azure Database Migration Service, and Azure Data Box.
Customers can move their workloads to Azure with confidence by using Azure Migrate, knowing that they have a comprehensive plan and the necessary tools in place to ensure a successful migration.
Azure Database Migration Service
Azure Database Migration Service (DMS) is a fully managed service provided by Microsoft as part of Azure that simplifies and accelerates the process of migrating on-premises databases to Azure. The service supports a number of databases, including SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.
Depending on the requirements and availability of the source database, Azure DMS can perform both online and offline migrations. Online migrations are performed while the source database is still active, whereas offline migrations necessitate taking the source database offline during the migration process.
Several migration scenarios are supported by the service:
- One-time migration: Move a database to Azure once and leave it there.
- Lift and shift: Migrate an on-premises database to Azure while using the same database engine.
- Change the engine: Migrate an on-premises database to Azure, but switch the database engine running in Azure.
The Azure DMS is a simple and efficient way to migrate your on-premises databases to Azure with minimal downtime, and it’s integrated with Azure Migrate for a complete migration experience.
Azure Data Box
Azure Data Box is a service provided by Microsoft as part of Azure that allows customers to transfer large amounts of data to Azure for storage and processing. The service is intended for customers who have a large amount of data that needs to be transferred to Azure but have limited network bandwidth or other constraints that make it difficult to transfer the data over the Internet.
Azure Data Box provides customers with a physical device (called a “Azure Data Box”) that they can use to transfer data to Azure. The device is delivered to the customer, who can then copy data to the device and return it to Microsoft. Microsoft will then move the data to the customer’s Azure storage account.
There are several types of Azure Data Box, each with a different storage capacity and data transfer speed:
- Azure Data Box: 100TB storage capacity, 100Mbps data transfer speed
- Azure Data Box Disk: 40TB storage capacity, 40Mbps data transfer speed
- Azure Data Box Heavy: 1PB storage capacity, 100Mbps data transfer speed
- Azure Data Box Edge: 100TB storage capacity, 100Mbps data transfer speed and AI and IoT edge computing capabilities.
Azure Data Box is especially useful for customers who need to transfer large amounts of data but lack the network bandwidth or other resources to do so over the Internet.
Azure Synapse Pathway
Azure Synapse Pathway is a new feature of Azure Synapse, a fully managed cloud-based data integration and analytics platform. The Azure Synapse Pathway is intended to make it simple for customers to migrate their existing data integration and analytics workloads to Azure Synapse without requiring significant re-architecting or rewriting of their existing code.
Azure Synapse Pathway supports a variety of migration scenarios, including:
- On-site lifting and shifting Packages for SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) to Azure Data Factory.
- Migrating tabular models from on-premises SQL Server Analysis Services to Azure Analysis Services.
- Moving on-premises In Azure Synapse, Power BI reports to Power BI.
Azure Synapse Pathway also includes a migration tool that assists customers in migrating their existing data integration and analytics workloads to Azure Synapse with minimal code changes. This enables customers to reap the benefits of Azure Synapse without requiring significant re-architecting or rewriting of their existing code.
Azure Migration Strategy and Best Practices
Prepare an Inventory of Digital Assets
Understanding your digital estate is essential for developing an effective Azure migration strategy. A digital estate refers to the collection of digital assets and resources that an organisation uses to run its business, including applications, data, and infrastructure. To migrate your digital estate to Azure, you must first understand what you have and where it is located. This data can be used to develop a migration strategy tailored to your specific requirements.
To begin understanding your digital estate, make an inventory of your applications, data, and infrastructure. This inventory should include details like:
- The name and purpose of each application
- The technology stack used by each application
- The location of the application and its data
- The interdependence of applications and data
- The number of users and patterns of use for each application
- The storage and compute requirements for each application
Once you’ve created an inventory of your digital estate, you can use it to develop a migration strategy that takes into account the unique requirements of each application, as well as any dependencies or constraints that must be considered.
Best practises for digital asset inventorying:
- Begin by identifying the most critical applications and data to migrate first.
- Evaluate the readiness of your existing infrastructure and applications for Azure migration.
- Understand and plan for the dependencies between your applications and data.
- Identify any constraints or limitations that must be taken into account when planning your migration.
You can ensure the success of your Azure migration and the ability of your business to continue operating during and after the migration by understanding your digital estate and developing a migration plan that takes into account the specific needs of your applications and data.
Estimate Monthly Workload Costs
Estimating the monthly costs of your workloads is an important part of developing an Azure migration strategy. Understanding the costs associated with running your workloads in Azure allows you to make informed decisions about how to migrate your workloads and how to optimise your cloud costs after migration.
You can use the Azure pricing calculator to estimate the monthly costs of your Azure workloads. The pricing calculator estimates the costs of running various Azure services, such as virtual machines, storage, and networking, based on the specifications of your workloads. You can also use the Azure TCO calculator to estimate the total cost of ownership of your workloads in Azure, taking into account costs such as data transfer, management, and support. There are numerous other Azure calculators you can use to estimate storage costs, networking costs, and more.
When estimating the costs of your workloads in Azure, keep the following factors in mind:
- The number and size of virtual machines needed to run your workloads.
- Workload storage and network requirements
- The number of users and workload usage patterns
- Services and features needed to run your workloads, such as Azure Backup and Azure Security Center
It’s also important to think about how the costs of your workloads might change over time, such as how the number of users and usage patterns might change, or how the costs of Azure migration services might change.
Best practises for calculating the monthly costs of your Azure workloads:
- Estimate the costs of running your workloads in Azure using the Azure pricing calculator and TCO calculator.
- Understand how the costs of your workloads may change over time and plan accordingly.
- Utilize Azure cost management and Azure reservations to reduce your costs after migration.
- Monitor your costs and usage on a regular basis to ensure you’re getting the most out of your Azure investment.
- Understanding the costs associated with running your workloads in Azure allows you to develop a migration strategy that is cost-effective and allows you to get the most out of your Azure investment.
Migrate Workloads and Optimize
Migrating your workloads to Azure and optimising them for the cloud environment is an important step in developing an Azure migration strategy. Once you have a clear understanding of your digital estate and have estimated the costs of running your workloads in Azure, you can begin migrating and optimising your workloads for the cloud.
Depending on the type of workload and the migration requirements, there are several ways to migrate workloads to Azure. Some common migration methods are as follows:
- Lift and shift: This method involves migrating an existing workload to Azure without making any changes to the workload. This is typically used for simple workloads that do not require significant changes to run in the cloud.
- Re-architecting: This method entails making changes to the workload to take advantage of Azure’s features and capabilities. This may entail re-architecting the application to fit the target Azure service, such as Azure SQL Database or Azure Storage.
- Refactoring: This method entails modifying the workload to optimise it for the cloud environment. Refactoring the application using cloud-native patterns and practises such as microservices or containerization may be part of this.
Once your workloads are migrated to Azure, you can optimize them for the cloud environment by:
- Adapting your workloads to meet demand.
- Using Azure services and features to improve workload performance and security.
- Monitoring and managing your workloads to ensure that they are running efficiently.
- Using Azure cost management and Azure reservations to reduce costs.
Best practises for migrating workloads and optimising them for the cloud:
- First, migrate your most critical workloads.
- Determine the best migration method for your workloads and plan accordingly.
- Improve the performance and security of your workloads by utilising Azure services and features.
- Monitor and manage your workloads on a continuous basis to ensure that they are running efficiently.
- Utilize Azure cost management and Azure reservations to cut costs.
By following these best practises, you can ensure that your workloads are migrated to Azure and optimised for the cloud environment, allowing you to get the most out of your Azure investment.
Monitoring
Monitoring is an important part of developing an Azure cloud migration strategy and ensuring that your workloads run efficiently in the cloud. Monitoring your workloads allows you to identify and address issues that may arise during or after migration, as well as ensure that your workloads are meeting the needs of your business.
Azure offers a number of tools and services for monitoring your workloads, such as:
- Azure Monitor: A service that offers unified monitoring for Azure resources such as virtual machines, storage, and networking.
- Azure Log Analytics: A service that collects and analyses log data from your workloads.
- Azure Application Insights: A service for monitoring the performance and availability of your applications.
- Azure Security Center: A service that monitors and manages your workload’s security.
When monitoring your workloads in Azure, keep the following factors in mind:
- The performance and availability of your workloads
- The utilisation and costs of your workloads
- Workload security and compliance
It’s also important to think about how your monitoring requirements may change over time as your workloads and usage patterns change.
Best practises for monitoring your workloads in Azure:
- To monitor your workloads, use Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, and Security Center.
- Monitor your workloads on a regular basis to ensure that they are running smoothly.
- Use Azure alerts to be notified of potential problems.
- Create customised views of your monitoring data using Azure dashboards.
- Assess and monitor your digital estate on a regular basis to ensure that it is up to date and that your migration plan is still valid.
By monitoring your workloads in Azure, you can identify and address issues that may arise during or after migration, and ensure that your workloads are meeting the needs of your business. This will help you get the most out of your Azure investment and ensure a smooth migration.
Conclusion
Finally, migrating to Azure is an excellent way to take advantage of the cloud’s scalability, security, and cost advantages. However, migrating your workloads to Azure necessitates a well-planned strategy that takes into account the specific needs of your business and digital estate.
To develop an effective Azure migration strategy, you must first understand your digital estate, estimate the costs of running your workloads in Azure, select the best strategy, and optimise them for the cloud environment.
Furthermore, monitoring your workloads in Azure is critical to ensure that they are running efficiently and to address any issues that may arise during or after migration. By following best practices and using the tools and services provided by Azure, you can ensure a successful migration and get the most value from your investment in Azure. Get a dedicated team for this.