AWS Application Discovery Service is a powerful tool designed to help organizations plan their migration to AWS by collecting detailed information about their on-premises data centers. This service plays a crucial role in the workload migration and modernization journey by providing visibility into…AWS Application Discovery Service is a powerful tool designed to help organizations plan their migration to AWS by collecting detailed information about their on-premises data centers. This service plays a crucial role in the workload migration and modernization journey by providing visibility into existing IT infrastructure.
The service offers two discovery methods: Agentless Discovery and Agent-based Discovery. Agentless Discovery uses the AWS Agentless Discovery Connector, a VMware appliance that collects information about virtual machines running in VMware vCenter environments. It gathers data such as VM inventory, configuration, and performance history. Agent-based Discovery involves installing the AWS Discovery Agent on physical servers or VMs to collect more detailed information, including system configuration, system performance, running processes, and network connections between systems.
Key features include automatic data collection about servers, storage, and networking equipment. The service captures server specifications, hostnames, IP addresses, MAC addresses, CPU and memory utilization, disk I/O, and network traffic patterns. This comprehensive data helps architects understand application dependencies and relationships between servers.
The collected data is stored securely in the AWS Migration Hub, where it can be analyzed and used for migration planning. You can export this data to create detailed migration strategies and cost estimates. Integration with AWS Migration Hub allows you to track migration progress across multiple AWS and partner solutions.
For Solutions Architects, this service is essential when helping customers assess their current environment before migration. It reduces the time and effort required for discovery activities and provides accurate, data-driven insights for building migration business cases. The service supports grouping applications by their dependencies, making it easier to identify which workloads should migrate together.
AWS Application Discovery Service is particularly valuable for large-scale enterprise migrations where manual discovery would be time-consuming and error-prone, enabling accelerated and well-planned cloud adoption strategies.
AWS Application Discovery Service - Complete Guide
Why AWS Application Discovery Service is Important
AWS Application Discovery Service is a critical tool for organizations planning to migrate their on-premises infrastructure to AWS. Before any migration project, you need a comprehensive understanding of your existing environment. This service eliminates the guesswork by automatically collecting detailed information about your servers, applications, and their dependencies. For the AWS Solutions Architect Professional exam, understanding this service demonstrates your ability to plan and execute large-scale migration projects effectively.
What is AWS Application Discovery Service?
AWS Application Discovery Service is a migration planning tool that helps enterprises understand their on-premises data center inventory and interdependencies. It collects and presents configuration, usage, and behavior data from your servers to help you better understand your workloads.
The service provides: • Server specifications (CPU, memory, disk, network) • Running processes and network connections • Application dependencies and relationships • Historical performance data • Resource utilization patterns
How AWS Application Discovery Service Works
Discovery Methods:
1. Agentless Discovery (via AWS Agentless Discovery Connector) • Deployed as an OVA file in VMware vCenter • Collects VM inventory, configuration, and performance history • Best for initial, less intrusive discovery • Collects static configuration data and average utilization • Does not require installing anything on individual servers
2. Agent-based Discovery (via AWS Application Discovery Agent) • Installed on each physical or virtual server • Collects detailed information including network connections, processes, and system performance • Provides more granular data for dependency mapping • Works on Windows and Linux servers • Captures time-series data for more accurate sizing
Data Flow and Integration:
1. Discovery agents or connectors collect data from on-premises servers 2. Data is encrypted and sent to AWS Application Discovery Service 3. Data is stored in the AWS Migration Hub 4. You can export data to Amazon Athena and Amazon QuickSight for analysis 5. Integration with AWS Migration Hub provides a single location to track migration progress
Key Features: • Data Exploration: Query discovered data using Amazon Athena • Migration Hub Integration: Centralizes migration tracking • Data Export: Export to CSV for third-party tools • Grouping: Create application groups based on discovered dependencies
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on AWS Application Discovery Service
Scenario Recognition: • Questions about planning migrations or understanding on-premises environments point to this service • Look for keywords like: migration planning, dependency mapping, server inventory, workload discovery
Agentless vs Agent-based - Know When to Use Each: • Agentless: Choose when the scenario mentions VMware environments, initial discovery, minimal footprint requirements, or when installing software on servers is not feasible • Agent-based: Choose when detailed dependency mapping is needed, process-level information is required, or physical servers are involved
Common Exam Scenarios: • Company wants to understand application dependencies before migration → AWS Application Discovery Service with agent-based discovery • Need to inventory VMware environment with minimal impact → Agentless Discovery Connector • Requirement to visualize and analyze migration data → Integration with Amazon Athena and QuickSight • Track migration progress across multiple tools → AWS Migration Hub integration
Important Distinctions: • This service is for discovery and planning, not the actual migration • For actual migration, use AWS Server Migration Service (SMS) or AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) • AWS Migration Hub aggregates data from Application Discovery Service and migration tools
Remember These Key Points: • Data is stored encrypted in AWS • 90 days of data retention for continuous export • Works with both physical and virtual servers • Supports Windows and Linux operating systems • The Agentless Connector requires VMware vCenter 5.5 or higher
Pro Tip: When exam questions mention large-scale enterprise migrations with unknown dependencies or complex application landscapes, AWS Application Discovery Service is typically part of the correct answer for the assessment and planning phase.