There is no "one right way" when it comes to a cloud migration or cloud transformation, and in this 2016 VTUG talk I explore some of the methods that have proven successful in my experience.

1. Planning for a (Mostly)
Hassle-Free Cloud Migration
Joe Conlin
Senior Solutions Engineer
VTUG 2016 Winter Warmer

2. Introduction
There is no
“one right way”
for cloud migration
…Let’s talk about proper planning
to significantly reduce your
migration headaches

3. Cloud Migration Steps
Step 1: Preparation
By far, the most successful migrations we see
have significant preparation and testing in
common.
Address key questions e.g.:
• Which applications will you migrate?
• Partial or complete migration?
• Do you need additional staff?
• How will security be addressed?
• What is acceptable downtime?
Preparation

4. Key Question: Do you need to redesign your apps
for the cloud?
Source: AkamaiSource: Akamai
Pros
• Apps are in load balanced
pools that increase agility
• Apps scale and cluster
easily for high availability
and flexibility
Cons
• Time & licensing costs
• Risk of change and
complexity
• Will it work?
• Possible vendor lock-in

5. Key Question: How quickly do you need the migration
to be done?
Time
• Do you run servers that have multiple roles?
This extends migration time.
• Many other factors influence how long it
takes; typical timeframe is a few weeks to
more than six months.

6. Cloud Migration Steps
Step 2: Workload Evaluation
Clearly identify the resource demands,
relationships and dependencies that exist
between your applications and workloads.
Preparation
Workload Eval
Prioritize your
applications and
workloads.

7. Which workloads/apps are best-suited for migration?
Good Fit
• Backup/storage/archive
• Apps w/traffic spikes
• Apps for Startups
• Micro-services
• Big data/analytics
• Low and mid-tier database
support
Less Fit Least Fit
• Health care apps
• Banking apps
• Geopolitical
constraints
• Micro-services
• Large scale
database support
• Legacy apps
• ERP systems
• Limited to no support
• Apps w/licensing issues

8. Additional Considerations
How much data do you need to migrate?
How much bandwidth do you have?
Do your apps contain cloud licensing restrictions?
How much staffing, support services will you need?

9. Cloud Migration Steps
Step 3: Determine the right
migration type
There are multiple ways you can actually move
data. Let’s look at some of the most common.
Preparation
Workload Eval
Migration Type

10. Migration Types
Replace – Coding a new application
Re-host – AKA lift and shift
Refactor – “Cloudifying” existing apps
Partial Migration – When you don’t
move an entire application stack

11. Lift & Shift vs. Greenfield Builds
Re-host or start from scratch? That is the
question.
Don’t assume that reusing what
you already have is the best
option!

12. Greenfield Builds vs. Lift & Shift
Starting with a fresh base OS offers benefits that
can make the effort worth it.
Legacy issues are of no concern
Access to latest OS & other technologies
Faster cutover, less maintenance times because you can work in
parallel with your steady-state production environment

13. Cloud Migration Steps
Step 4: Test
Invest in a small-scale “sandbox” test.
This is important to see how your applications
will work in a new environment.
You may learn information that leads you to
change the kind of migration you need.
Preparation
Workload Eval
Migration Type
Test

14. Cloud Migration Steps
Preparation
Workload Eval
Migration Type
Test
Execute
Step 5: Execute
Start with your tier four workloads – your
least strategic and mission critical then…
Test!Then repeat with the remaining workloads

15. Cloud Migration Steps
Preparation
Workload Eval
Migration Type
Test
Execute
Step 6: Validate, Maintain Train
Yes, more testing. Goal here is to replicate
standard activities to evaluate performance and
reliability.
Validate
Lesson Learned: Run both the new cloud and old
traditional environments in parallel to minimize any
risk of downtime or app failures. Use one for
production and the other for testing.
Evangelize and Educate: Once everything runs
well, be sure to conduct employee training to help
realize the benefits of your new cloud environment.

16. The Hypervisor
Hypervisor compatibility is important – whether a CSP uses
VMware, Xen or KVM, there are specific considerations for each.
Inspect your provider to understand how they back their
availability claims and SLAs – technologies, people, processes
Are they proficient at using cross-hypervisor and p2v migration
tools?
Evaluating Cloud Providers for Best Fit

17. The Network
What is the max throughput available?
Do they have layer 2 and layer 3 capabilities?
Can they integrate w/third-party carriers?
Do you pay on transferred data or on a commit rate?
Evaluating Cloud Providers for Best Fit

18. Services & Support
How can they seed your data to their platform?
Understand their migration service offerings; who performs them?
What is their typical installation and does it fit with your needs?
For more insights, tips from the cloud migration trenches, visit
TierPoint.com: Resources > Whitepapers > Simplify Cloud Migration.
Evaluating Cloud Providers for Best Fit

19. Entertainment Industry: Major Cable TV Network
Existing TierPoint DR client working with another vendor
for production when vendor’s building was sold.
Challenge: They needed to move their production data
with a live fail over to TierPoint, then a fail back to a new
production environment while reestablishing replication
with TierPoint.
Solution: A TierPoint Private Cloud using VMware Site Recovery Manager
Case Study

20. Entertainment Industry: Major Cable TV Network
Gathered extensive detailed information about the client’s production
environment including desired RTOs/RPOs.
Designed and built a private cloud environment based on the highly
scalable TierPoint FlexPod Cloud platform running Cisco UCS,
NetApp and VMware.
Leveraged Cisco UCS and NetApp for bare-metal SQL clusters
Implemented replication and failover using vSphere Replication over
existing 10G layer 2 network
Case Study

21. Entertainment Industry: Major Cable TV Network
Tested and validated cutover and failback procedures and worked
with client to determine ideal cutover time
Cutover production to TierPoint Hawthorne cloud environment in
waves
Client then moved their production environment back to another
location and re-established replication to insure a new functional
DR site
Case Study

23. Thank You
Joe Conlin
joe.conlin@tierpoint.com