Application migration assessment is a critical phase in AWS workload migration that involves systematically evaluating existing applications to determine the most appropriate migration strategy and identify potential challenges before moving to the cloud. This process helps organizations make infor…Application migration assessment is a critical phase in AWS workload migration that involves systematically evaluating existing applications to determine the most appropriate migration strategy and identify potential challenges before moving to the cloud. This process helps organizations make informed decisions about their cloud journey while minimizing risks and optimizing costs.
The assessment typically begins with portfolio discovery, where teams catalog all applications, their dependencies, and underlying infrastructure components. AWS provides tools like AWS Application Discovery Service and AWS Migration Hub to automate this discovery process, collecting configuration data, performance metrics, and dependency mappings.
During assessment, each application is evaluated against the 7 Rs migration strategies: Rehost (lift-and-shift), Replatform (lift-tinker-and-shift), Repurchase (move to SaaS), Refactor (re-architect), Retire, Retain, or Relocate. The selection depends on factors such as business criticality, technical complexity, compliance requirements, and modernization goals.
Key evaluation criteria include application architecture analysis, database dependencies, network requirements, security considerations, and performance baselines. Teams assess whether applications are suitable for containerization, serverless deployment, or require specific AWS services. Cost analysis compares current operational expenses against projected AWS spending using tools like AWS Pricing Calculator and Migration Evaluator.
Risk assessment identifies potential migration blockers such as legacy system dependencies, licensing constraints, data sovereignty requirements, and compliance obligations. Organizations also evaluate team readiness and skill gaps that might impact migration success.
The assessment output includes a prioritized migration roadmap, resource requirements, timeline estimates, and recommended AWS architectures for each application. This documentation guides subsequent planning and execution phases, ensuring stakeholders understand the scope, complexity, and expected outcomes of the migration initiative. Proper assessment significantly reduces migration failures and helps achieve business objectives efficiently.
Application Migration Assessment
What is Application Migration Assessment?
Application Migration Assessment is the systematic process of evaluating applications within an organization's portfolio to determine the most appropriate migration strategy, timeline, and resources required for moving workloads to AWS. This critical phase involves analyzing application dependencies, technical complexity, business criticality, and organizational readiness to create a comprehensive migration plan.
Why is Application Migration Assessment Important?
Understanding application migration assessment is crucial for several reasons:
• Risk Mitigation: Proper assessment identifies potential issues before migration begins, reducing the likelihood of failures and downtime • Cost Optimization: Helps organizations choose the right migration strategy to optimize costs and avoid unnecessary spending • Resource Planning: Enables accurate estimation of time, personnel, and budget requirements • Business Continuity: Ensures critical applications are prioritized and migrated with minimal business disruption • Stakeholder Alignment: Creates a shared understanding of migration scope and expectations across teams
How Application Migration Assessment Works
1. Discovery Phase: AWS provides tools like AWS Application Discovery Service to automatically collect configuration, usage, and behavior data from on-premises servers. This includes: • Server specifications (CPU, memory, disk) • Network dependencies and communication patterns • Application performance metrics • Software inventory
2. Portfolio Analysis: Applications are categorized using the 7 Rs migration strategies: • Rehost (Lift and Shift) - Move as-is to AWS • Replatform - Make minor optimizations during migration • Repurchase - Move to a SaaS solution • Refactor - Re-architect using cloud-native features • Retire - Decommission applications no longer needed • Retain - Keep on-premises temporarily • Relocate - Move to AWS using VMware Cloud on AWS
3. AWS Migration Hub: This service provides a single location to track migration progress across multiple AWS and partner tools. It aggregates data from: • AWS Application Discovery Service • AWS Server Migration Service • AWS Database Migration Service • Partner migration tools
4. Assessment Tools: • AWS Migration Evaluator: Provides business case analysis and right-sizing recommendations • AWS Migration Hub Strategy Recommendations: Uses machine learning to recommend migration strategies • TSO Logic (now part of Migration Evaluator): Offers detailed cost projections and optimization insights
Key Assessment Criteria
• Technical Complexity: Architecture dependencies, custom integrations, legacy systems • Business Criticality: Revenue impact, customer-facing importance, compliance requirements • Migration Difficulty: Licensing constraints, data volume, required downtime • Cloud Readiness: Application compatibility with cloud services and patterns
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Application Migration Assessment
Key Concepts to Remember:
• When questions mention discovering on-premises applications and their dependencies, think AWS Application Discovery Service • For tracking migration progress across multiple tools, the answer is typically AWS Migration Hub • Questions about building a business case or TCO analysis point to AWS Migration Evaluator • For strategy recommendations based on application analysis, consider Migration Hub Strategy Recommendations
Common Exam Scenarios:
• A company needs to understand server dependencies before migration → Application Discovery Service with agentless or agent-based discovery • Organization requires cost projections for migration planning → AWS Migration Evaluator • Need to track migrations from multiple sources in one dashboard → AWS Migration Hub • Large-scale assessment of thousands of applications → Use automated discovery tools combined with Migration Hub
Remember: The exam often tests your ability to select the appropriate assessment tool for specific use cases. Focus on understanding when to use each tool rather than memorizing detailed features. Assessment questions frequently combine multiple services, so understand how they integrate together for a complete migration assessment solution.