AppZero focuses on enabling application migration between cloud providers through its zapp migration technique, which migrates applications at the process layer rather than the virtual machine layer. AppZero's technology can migrate applications between cloud environments and help enterprises move applications to public clouds. However, migration currently requires shutting down the application, limiting its use for live migrations or cloud bursting architectures. Overall, AppZero provides a unique approach to application migration compared to other solutions focused on virtual machine migration.

1. AppZero
A
Briefing
Note
By
Lori
Macvittie
AppZero
A
Briefing
Note
by
Lori
Macvittie
Company:
AppZero
(www.appzero.com)
Market:
Application
Migration
Products:
AppZero
Cloud
Summary:
AppZero
focuses
on
enabling
application
migration
in
inter-­‐IaaS
scenarios.
Its
zapp
migration
technique
focuses
on
m igration
at
the
application
layer
rather
than
at
the
virtual
m achine
layer
as
per
most
alternative
solutions.
AppZero
technology
is
designed
to
manage
migration
of
applications
in
federated
cloud
environments
as
well
as
on-­‐boarding
enterprise
applications
to
public
cloud
computing
environments

2. AppZero
A
Briefing
Note
By
Lori
Macvittie
Market
Overview
The
market
for
Application
Migration
is
just
beginning
to
emerge
into
an
evolving
state
as
cloud
adoption
of
packaged
applications
becomes
a
key
focus
for
enterprise
customers.
There
are
two
primary
approaches
to
migration
of
existing
applications
with
varying
technology
approaches
to
achieving
migration:
1. Virtual
Machine
migration
a. Wholesale
VM
migration
b. Shim-­‐based
migration
2. Application
migration
a. SI
/
manual
migration
b. Toolsets
c. Standards
The
market
is
dominated
by
wholesale
VM
migration
methods
as
it
remains
the
least
complex.
Application
migration
via
toolsets
is
gaining
mindshare
due
to
its
ability
to
transcend
not
only
cloud
environments
but
hypervisor
dependencies,
allowing
a
wider
selection
of
and
greater
mobility
between
providers.
SI
and
manual
migration
has
been
the
primary
mechanism
through
which
non-­‐native,
existing
applications
are
moved
from
enterprise
to
cloud
due
to
incompatible
hypervisor
foundations
as
well
as
requirements
in
some
cases
to
adapt
existing
applications
to
a
cloud
environment.
Standards
are,
at
this
juncture,
non-­‐existent
with
the
exception
of
OASIS
CAMP
(Cloud
Application
Management
for
Platforms)
which
has
only
recently
been
proposed
for
consideration.
Though
its
supporters
are
non-­‐trivial,
it
remains
to
be
seen
whether
the
specification
will
survive
the
standards
process
or
whether
a
niche-­‐filling
technology
will
fill
the
hole
it
is
designed
to
address
in
the
interim.
AppZero
Overview
AppZero
has
chosen
to
focus
on
migration
of
applications
irrespective
of
hypervisor
foundations.
Its
technology
is
able
to
selectively
migrate
processes
and
daemons
for
an
application
from
one
IaaS
environment
to
another.
This
process
is
manual
and
requires
knowledge
specific
to
the
application
to
ensure
all
dependent
processes
are
included.
Migration
is
currently
limited
to
migration
between
similar
operating
systems
and
specifically
excludes
support
for
Microsoft
SharePoint
and
Exchange.
Migration
further
requires
shutdown
of
the
application
which
disallows
live
migration,
eliminating
the
possibility
of
leveraging
the
tool
for
just-­‐in-­‐time
cloud
bursting
architectures.
The
wrapper
used
by
AppZero
to
migrate
the
application
can
be
dissolved
upon
successful
migration,
ensuring
no
reliance
on
shims
or
agents
post-­‐migration.

3. AppZero
A
Briefing
Note
By
Lori
Macvittie
Advantages
-­‐ Requires
less
bandwidth
than
inter-­‐environment
virtual
machine
migration
-­‐ Immune
to
latency-­‐based
restrictions
on
virtual
machine
migration
-­‐ Non-­‐disruptive
to
existing
architecture
-­‐ Time
to
migrate
reduce
to
minutes
instead
of
hours
or
days
Disadvantages
-­‐ Potential
for
boomeranging
infected
/
hijacked
processes
-­‐ Restriction
on
inter-­‐OS
migration
eliminates
ability
to
migrate
aging
OS-­‐dependent
applications
off-­‐premise
-­‐ Reliance
on
manual
selection
of
appropriate
processes
/
daemons
introduces
potential
for
mistakes
Summary
AppZero’s
approach
is
relatively
unique
within
the
broader
Application
Migration
market
and
brings
with
it
promising
opportunities
for
customers
to
realize
a
federated
cloud
ecosystem
as
well
as
enabling
pre-­‐positioning
of
applications
in
public
cloud
environments
in
support
of
seasonable
elasticity
requirements.