Each year, more and more companies are migrating to the cloud. The reasons are obvious: it allows for storing big data volumes without capital expenses on infrastructure, while having access to them from anywhere in the world and being confident of their safety. In this article, we will cover what cloud migration is, the ways of making it work, and why increasingly more companies trust their cloud providers.

What migration to the cloud means

Cloud migration is a process of transferring the companies’ physical or virtual IT-infrastructure to the provider’s cloud, into the virtual data center (VDC) infrastructure. Cloud migration usually describes the transfer from a local platform to the cloud environment. But migration can also take place from one cloud to another: public, private or hybrid.

The famous IT giants, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, were the first to provide business with their services, ensuring the reliable storage of unlimited amounts of critical data and scaling-up. The evidence suggests that data migration to the cloud eliminates the need for buying ‘gear’, allows for fast launch of the new projects and protection of business process even during the emergency.

Advantages of cloud migration

  • Scalability. Cloud makes it possible for the companies to scale the volume of computing resources up or down on demand, which is not the case with the local infrastructure, which requires purchase and set-up of extra physical servers, network equipment or software licenses.
  • Cost. Companies moving to the cloud significantly decrease IT operations expenses, as the cloud maintenance and update is handled by the provider. The freed up costs can be directed into launching a new product or solution, or into business development in general.
  • Efficiency. Moving to the cloud increases productivity and improves the end-user experience. This way, apps and programs could be easily upscaled for servicing more users or increasing bandwidth, as well as be launched in geographically close to end users places to reduce network delays.
  • Safety. Cloud providers invest lots of money into protecting their own infrastructure and client data. The suppliers comply with specific safety measures, including encryption, multifactor authentication and regular information security audits. Moreover, they use reserve copying and disaster recovery in case of emergencies.

For example, GigaCloud hosts its equipment in TIER III and TIER IV compliant data centers in Ukraine and the EU. And it also certified its cloud solutions with regard to information safety standards: PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 27701 (GDPR), CSA STAR.

Advantages of cloud migration

Methods of migration

At GigaCloud, we implement several ways of migration. To achieve this, we use:

  • Backup
  • HCX and CAD software solutions
  • RSync service

Backups

This way is suitable in two cases. First — for transferring data from physical server to the cloud on. Second — for moving data from virtualization platforms incompatible with the cloud provider’s platform, for example, from Hyper-V to VMware.

Migration involves Veeam Agent for Server licenses, which the client installs on one’s physical or virtual server. This software copies the data and sends it to the repository, a cloud backup storage. At the same time, we create a virtual server in our cloud with the same capacity as the client’s. Then, we launch this virtual machine and use the Veeam Recovery Media image to restore all the data from the backup stored in the repository. If there are multiple virtual machines, we repeat the same process with them. As a result, the client’s infrastructure is migrated to the cloud.

However, it’s worth mentioning that restoration from backup is a lengthy process, especially if the client’s infrastructure is extensive. It depends on several factors: disk speed, data transmission channel speed, and the volume of data. Until the backup process is fully completed, we recommend shutting down the client’s IT infrastructure. For example, databases are constantly updated, but the backup service may not synchronize the updated data to the cloud.

HCX and CAD

The HCX (Hybrid Cloud Extension) software solution by VMware allows for migrating services and apps across on-prem data centers and clouds. The unique feature of this solution is that it enables the transfer of workloads from both vSphere and non-vSphere environments (KVM, Hyper-V, etc.) in data centers and clouds, as well as between them to the latest versions of vSphere.

HCX supports both hot migration (all virtual machines are active, and all services and applications hosted on them are running) and cold migration (at the time of “switching” between sites, the VMs are turned off, though during the initial replication, they can remain active). This solution is only applicable for migration to a private cloud.

The CAD (VMware Cloud Director Availability) software solution is designed exclusively for working with virtual infrastructures built on the VMware platform. It allows for migrating services and data from the customer’s private cloud to the provider’s public or private cloud and vice versa, as well as between multiple clouds of one provider. The only requirement is that the client must have a VMware vSphere virtualization environment. In this case, VM replicas are created from one site to another, after which the workload is switched between the sites.

RSync Service

The third migration option is suitable exclusively for Unix and Linux-like operating systems. We create a virtual machine with the required capacity in our cloud. On the client’s side, we configure the RSync daemon and begin synchronization. Once synchronization is complete, the receiving machine will be an exact copy of the source machine. All that remains is to configure network connectivity, and the server is ready to handle the load.

Steps of Cloud Migration

  • Audit and planning. We conduct an audit and work closely with the client to analyze their current infrastructure and determine the best cloud strategy tailored to the specific business needs. For example, sometimes the best option is a partial or hybrid cloud migration, while some services should remain in-house. Therefore, it’s essential to discuss the current state and future development of the IT infrastructure at this stage.
  • Environment preparation. Setting up and configuring the cloud environment to ensure compatibility and optimize performance for workloads.
  • Migration execution. Utilizing advanced tools and methodologies to migrate workloads to the cloud with minimal impact on current systems.
  • Optimization and support. Providing post-migration support to fine-tune performance, optimize costs, and consistently manage the cloud environment.

Avoiding Mistakes During Migration

The following rules should be applied:

  • Create a dependency map. All applications and services that use the same database must be migrated to the cloud together. Otherwise, there is a risk of disrupting the task execution plan.
  • Create a migration plan (Roadmap). It’s crucial to clearly outline which IT services will migrate, when, and to what extent. Failure to do so could result in data loss and long-term disruption of all business processes.
  • Schedule downtime appropriately. The key is to choose a time when business activity is at its lowest. It’s best to do this during holidays or long weekends.
  • Don’t migrate without prior testing. Initially, it’s necessary to verify whether the cloud operator meets the specific company’s requirements.

GigaCloud specialists transfer the client’s data to the cloud for free and provide a free trial. During the trial period, we assist in fine-tuning the infrastructure to ensure that it operates smoothly.

Earlier, we explained why the cloud is more cost-efficient than having your own servers.