Everything you need to know about migrating to AWS and how PrecisionTech delivers end-to-end migration services
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1
What are the 7 R's of AWS Cloud Migration?
The 7 R's are strategic approaches for migrating workloads to AWS: Rehost (lift-and-shift — move servers as-is to EC2 using AWS Application Migration Service); Replatform (lift-tinker-and-shift — move with minor optimizations, e.g., MySQL on EC2 to Amazon RDS); Repurchase (drop-and-shop — replace existing software with SaaS equivalents from AWS Marketplace); Refactor (re-architect — rebuild applications to use cloud-native services like Lambda, DynamoDB, and ECS); Retire (decommission — identify and shut down applications no longer needed); Retain (revisit later — keep applications on-premises that are not ready for migration); Relocate (hypervisor-level lift-and-shift — move VMware workloads to VMware Cloud on AWS without conversion). PrecisionTech evaluates every workload against these 7 strategies during our free Migration Readiness Assessment to determine the optimal path for each application.
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What is AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) and how does lift-and-shift work?
AWS Application Migration Service (AWS MGN) is the primary AWS tool for lift-and-shift migrations. It works by installing a lightweight replication agent on your source servers (physical, VMware, Hyper-V, or other cloud). The agent continuously replicates data at the block level to a staging area in your AWS account — with no performance impact on production. When ready to cut over, MGN launches fully provisioned EC2 instances from the replicated data. The process: (1) Install agent on source servers, (2) Continuous replication begins automatically, (3) Run test launches to validate in AWS, (4) Execute cutover during a maintenance window — typical downtime is under 30 minutes for most workloads. PrecisionTech has migrated hundreds of servers using MGN, including Windows Server, RHEL, Ubuntu, CentOS, and SUSE workloads, with zero data loss.
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How does AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) work for database migration?
AWS DMS migrates databases to AWS with minimal downtime using continuous data replication (Change Data Capture / CDC). It supports homogeneous migrations (e.g., Oracle to Oracle on RDS) and heterogeneous migrations (e.g., Oracle to PostgreSQL on Aurora) when paired with the AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT). The process: (1) Create a DMS replication instance in your VPC, (2) Define source and target endpoints, (3) Run a full load to copy all existing data, (4) Enable CDC to replicate ongoing changes in real time, (5) When source and target are in sync, cut over application connections to the new database. Supported engines: Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SAP ASE, IBM Db2, and Amazon-native databases (Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift). PrecisionTech handles schema conversion, data validation, and application connection string updates as part of every DMS engagement.
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What is AWS DataSync and when should I use it for migration?
AWS DataSync is a managed data transfer service that moves large volumes of data between on-premises storage and AWS at speeds up to 10 Gbps — up to 10x faster than open-source tools. Use DataSync when: you have NFS or SMB file shares to migrate to Amazon EFS, FSx, or S3; you need to transfer HDFS data from Hadoop clusters; or you need ongoing scheduled synchronization between on-premises and cloud storage. DataSync automatically handles encryption in transit (TLS), data integrity verification, and bandwidth throttling. It deploys as a VM agent on-premises (VMware ESXi, KVM, or Hyper-V) that connects to your storage systems. For a typical 10 TB NFS share migration over a 1 Gbps link, DataSync completes the transfer in approximately 24 hours with full verification.
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What is the AWS Snow Family and when is it needed for migration?
The AWS Snow Family consists of physical devices for offline data transfer when network-based migration is impractical due to data volume or bandwidth constraints. AWS Snowcone (8 TB / 14 TB SSD) — lightweight, portable device for edge computing and small data transfers. AWS Snowball Edge (80 TB Storage Optimized or 42 TB Compute Optimized) — ruggedized device for medium-scale transfers; includes onboard EC2 and Lambda compute capability. AWS Snowmobile (up to 100 PB) — a 45-foot shipping container for exabyte-scale migrations. Rule of thumb: if your data transfer over the network would take more than 1 week, consider Snow Family. For example, 100 TB over a 100 Mbps link would take ~120 days via network but only 1 week via Snowball Edge (including shipping). PrecisionTech coordinates the entire Snow Family logistics — ordering, loading, shipping, and ingestion into S3.
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What is AWS Migration Hub and how does it help track migrations?
AWS Migration Hub provides a single dashboard to track the progress of application migrations across multiple AWS tools (MGN, DMS, DataSync) and partner tools. Key capabilities: (1) Centralized progress tracking — see the status of every server and database migration in one view; (2) Application grouping — organize servers and databases by business application for logical tracking; (3) Discovery integration — connects with AWS Application Discovery Service to automatically discover on-premises servers, their configurations, and interdependencies; (4) Migration Evaluator integration — import TCO analysis results to prioritize which applications to migrate first. PrecisionTech uses Migration Hub as the command center for every enterprise migration, providing clients with real-time dashboards showing what has been migrated, what is in progress, and what is pending.
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What is AWS Control Tower and Landing Zone setup?
AWS Control Tower is a managed service that automates the setup of a secure, well-architected multi-account AWS environment following AWS best practices — known as a Landing Zone. A Landing Zone includes: (1) An AWS Organizations structure with Organizational Units (OUs) for production, staging, development, and shared services; (2) Centralized logging account with CloudTrail and AWS Config aggregation; (3) Security audit account with cross-account read access; (4) Guardrails — preventive (SCPs that block risky actions like disabling CloudTrail) and detective (AWS Config rules that alert on non-compliance); (5) AWS SSO for centralized user access management across all accounts; (6) Account Factory for automated new account provisioning with pre-configured VPC, IAM, and security baselines. PrecisionTech sets up Control Tower Landing Zones as the first step in every enterprise migration — ensuring governance, security, and compliance are built in from day one, not bolted on later.
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How does AWS Migration Evaluator help with TCO analysis?
AWS Migration Evaluator (formerly TSO Logic) is a free service that analyzes your on-premises infrastructure to build a business case for migration. It collects data from your servers — CPU, memory, storage utilization, operating systems, and software licenses — either via an agentless collector or by importing data from existing CMDB tools. Migration Evaluator produces: (1) Right-sized AWS instance recommendations based on actual utilization (not peak provisioning), (2) Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) comparison — on-premises vs AWS over 3–5 years including hardware refresh, power, cooling, data centre, and staffing costs, (3) License optimization opportunities — e.g., moving from commercial Oracle to open-source PostgreSQL on Aurora, (4) Quick Insights report — a directional estimate available in days, and a Full Business Case report — detailed analysis available in 2–3 weeks. PrecisionTech uses Migration Evaluator data to produce data-driven migration business cases for board-level approval.
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What is VMware Cloud on AWS and how does it help with migration?
VMware Cloud on AWS runs VMware's full SDDC stack (vSphere, vSAN, NSX, vCenter) on dedicated bare-metal AWS infrastructure. This enables seamless VMware-to-AWS migration without converting VMs or changing tools. Benefits: (1) vMotion live migration — move running VMs from on-premises vSphere to VMware Cloud on AWS with zero downtime; (2) Same VMware tools — your team uses the same vCenter, same networking (NSX), same storage (vSAN) they already know; (3) Native AWS service access — VMs on VMware Cloud on AWS can access S3, RDS, Lambda, and all AWS services via a high-bandwidth, low-latency connection; (4) Hybrid Cloud Interconnect — extend your on-premises network to AWS with L2 stretching. Ideal for: data centre evacuation, disaster recovery, and organizations with heavy VMware investments that want AWS benefits without re-platforming. PrecisionTech is both a VMware and AWS partner, making us uniquely positioned for these hybrid migrations.
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How does PrecisionTech handle mainframe modernization on AWS?
AWS offers two approaches for mainframe modernization: AWS Blu Age — automated refactoring that converts legacy mainframe code (COBOL, PL/I, JCL, CICS, IMS) into modern Java-based microservices that run on AWS cloud-native infrastructure (ECS, Lambda, Aurora). AWS Micro Focus — replatforming that runs existing mainframe applications on AWS with minimal code changes using the Micro Focus runtime environment on EC2. PrecisionTech's mainframe modernization methodology: (1) Assess — inventory applications, map dependencies, identify data stores; (2) Plan — determine which applications to refactor (Blu Age) vs replatform (Micro Focus) vs retire; (3) Convert — run automated code conversion with manual refinement for complex business logic; (4) Test — comprehensive functional and performance testing against mainframe baseline; (5) Deploy — phased migration with parallel running until validated. This approach has helped Indian BFSI and government organizations reduce mainframe costs by 60–80%.
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How long does a typical AWS cloud migration take?
Migration timelines depend on complexity and scope: Small business (5–20 servers, 1–3 databases) — 2 to 6 weeks for lift-and-shift using AWS MGN and DMS. Mid-market (20–100 servers, 5–15 databases, mixed workloads) — 2 to 4 months including discovery, Landing Zone setup, phased migration waves, and testing. Enterprise (100–1,000+ servers, multiple data centres, complex application interdependencies) — 6 to 18 months with multiple migration waves, typically 20–50 servers per wave, each wave taking 2–4 weeks. Mainframe modernization — 12 to 36 months depending on lines of code and application complexity. Key accelerators that reduce timelines: automated discovery tools (AWS Application Discovery Service), continuous replication (MGN — avoids big-bang cutover), and pre-built Landing Zone templates. PrecisionTech provides detailed timeline estimates during our free Migration Readiness Assessment.
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How does PrecisionTech minimize downtime during AWS migration?
PrecisionTech uses multiple strategies to minimize — and in many cases eliminate — unplanned downtime during migration: (1) Continuous replication — AWS MGN replicates server data in real time so source systems remain fully operational throughout; (2) CDC for databases — AWS DMS Change Data Capture keeps source and target databases synchronized until the moment of cutover; (3) Test migrations — we run full test launches in AWS before the production cutover to validate everything works; (4) Blue-green cutover — the new AWS environment runs in parallel with on-premises, and DNS/load balancer switch redirects traffic in seconds; (5) Maintenance window cutover — the final switchover happens during your agreed maintenance window, typically at night or on weekends; (6) Rollback plan — we keep the on-premises environment intact for 7–14 days post-cutover so we can revert instantly if needed. Typical cutover downtime for lift-and-shift: under 30 minutes per server. For database migrations with DMS: often under 5 minutes of write freeze.
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How is compliance maintained during AWS cloud migration?
PrecisionTech builds compliance into every phase of migration: Pre-migration — we map your regulatory requirements (DPDP Act 2023, RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001) to specific AWS services and configurations. During migration — all data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2/1.3) and at rest (AES-256 via AWS KMS); no data is stored outside approved India regions (ap-south-1, ap-south-2); CloudTrail audit logging is enabled from day one; VPC isolation with private subnets ensures no public exposure of sensitive workloads. Post-migration — AWS Config rules continuously monitor compliance posture; Security Hub aggregates findings from GuardDuty, Macie, and Inspector; automated remediation via Lambda for common violations (e.g., public S3 bucket detected → automatically blocked). We deliver a compliance verification report at migration completion, documenting every control implemented and its mapping to your regulatory framework.
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How does AWS cloud migration compare to Azure migration?
Both AWS and Azure offer robust migration toolsets, but differ in key areas: Server migration — AWS uses MGN (Application Migration Service) with continuous block-level replication; Azure uses Azure Migrate with agent-based or agentless VMware replication. Both achieve similar outcomes. Database migration — AWS DMS supports a wider range of source/target combinations and offers more mature CDC support; Azure Database Migration Service is strong for SQL Server workloads specifically. India regions — AWS has 2 India regions (Mumbai 2016, Hyderabad 2022) with 6 total Availability Zones; Azure has 3 India regions (Mumbai, Pune, Chennai). VMware integration — VMware Cloud on AWS offers native vMotion live migration; Azure VMware Solution offers similar but with different licensing models. Ecosystem — AWS has the broadest service catalogue and largest partner ecosystem; Azure excels for Microsoft-centric shops (Windows Server, SQL Server, Active Directory, M365). PrecisionTech recommends AWS for most Indian businesses due to the mature India region infrastructure, broader service coverage, and superior cost optimization tools.
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How is data secured during the migration process?
PrecisionTech implements defence-in-depth security throughout migration: Network security — dedicated VPN or AWS Direct Connect between on-premises and AWS; all replication traffic traverses encrypted tunnels, never the public internet. Data encryption — AWS MGN encrypts all replicated data in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256 via EBS encryption with KMS keys); DMS replication instances run in private subnets with encrypted connections to source and target databases. Access control — migration tools use least-privilege IAM roles; source system credentials are stored in AWS Secrets Manager, never in configuration files. Audit trail — every API call during migration is logged in CloudTrail; every data transfer via DataSync is verified with end-to-end integrity checks. Network isolation — staging and cutover environments are deployed in isolated VPCs with Security Groups restricting access to only the migration team. Post-migration cleanup — all temporary credentials, staging resources, and replication agents are decommissioned after migration is verified.
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Can I run a hybrid cloud architecture during and after migration?
Yes. Most enterprise migrations follow a hybrid approach — running some workloads on AWS and others on-premises simultaneously. AWS supports hybrid cloud natively through: AWS Direct Connect — dedicated private network connection between your data centre and AWS (available in Mumbai and Hyderabad) with 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps ports; AWS Site-to-Site VPN — encrypted IPsec tunnels over the internet for lower-cost hybrid connectivity; AWS Outposts — AWS infrastructure deployed in your own data centre for workloads with data sovereignty or ultra-low latency requirements; VMware Cloud on AWS — extends your VMware environment to AWS with unified management; AWS Storage Gateway — provides on-premises applications with cloud-backed storage (File Gateway for NFS/SMB, Volume Gateway for iSCSI, Tape Gateway for virtual tape). PrecisionTech designs hybrid architectures that allow gradual migration at your pace — no big-bang required. We set up Direct Connect or VPN connectivity as the first step, enabling your on-premises applications to communicate seamlessly with AWS services.
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What happens after migration? How does post-migration optimization work?
Post-migration optimization is critical — most organizations can reduce their initial AWS spend by 20–40% in the first 60 days after migration. PrecisionTech's post-migration optimization includes: (1) Right-sizing — analyze actual CPU, memory, and I/O utilization with AWS Compute Optimizer and downsize over-provisioned instances (common for lift-and-shift migrations that preserved on-premises sizing); (2) Reserved Instance and Savings Plans procurement — purchase 1-year or 3-year commitments for stable workloads after 2–4 weeks of usage data collection; (3) Storage optimization — implement S3 lifecycle policies, migrate EBS volumes from gp2 to gp3 (20% cheaper), and clean up unattached EBS volumes and unused snapshots; (4) Architecture optimization — migrate self-managed databases to RDS/Aurora, containerize monolithic applications, implement Auto Scaling for variable workloads; (5) Cost monitoring — set up AWS Budgets, Cost Anomaly Detection, and tag-based cost allocation for department-level chargeback; (6) Performance tuning — configure CloudFront CDN, enable RDS read replicas, and optimize application queries.
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What is PrecisionTech's AWS migration methodology?
PrecisionTech follows a structured 6-phase migration methodology aligned with AWS best practices: Phase 1 — Assess (1–2 weeks): Free Migration Readiness Assessment, application discovery, dependency mapping, TCO analysis with Migration Evaluator, and 7R strategy assignment for each workload. Phase 2 — Mobilize (1–2 weeks): Landing Zone setup with Control Tower, VPC design, IAM governance, Direct Connect or VPN provisioning, and migration tool deployment (MGN, DMS, DataSync). Phase 3 — Migrate (2–12 weeks per wave): Execute migration waves of 20–50 servers each, using continuous replication with MGN, database migration with DMS, and data transfer with DataSync or Snow Family. Phase 4 — Validate (1–2 weeks per wave): Functional testing, performance testing, security validation, compliance verification, and user acceptance testing. Phase 5 — Cutover (planned maintenance window): DNS switch, load balancer reconfiguration, application connection string updates, and production traffic shift to AWS. Phase 6 — Optimize (ongoing): Right-sizing, Reserved Instance procurement, architecture modernization, and 24×7 managed services activation.
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Is AWS cloud migration suitable for regulated industries like BFSI and healthcare in India?
Yes. AWS is widely used by India's most regulated industries: BFSI — Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allows banks and NBFCs to use public cloud for production workloads with appropriate controls. AWS ap-south-1 (Mumbai) satisfies RBI data localisation requirements. AWS holds PCI-DSS Level 1 certification for payment processing workloads. PrecisionTech architects BFSI migrations with encryption at rest and in transit, network isolation, GuardDuty threat detection, and CloudTrail audit logging — producing audit-ready compliance documentation. Healthcare — AWS offers HIPAA-eligible services (EC2, RDS, S3, Lambda, and 100+ others). PrecisionTech signs Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with healthcare clients and configures AWS environments with HIPAA controls — PHI encryption, access logging, audit trails, and minimum necessary access. Government — AWS is MEITY empanelled in India, eligible for Government of India workloads. Multiple state governments and PSUs run production systems on AWS Mumbai.
20
What is the AWS Well-Architected Migration Lens?
The AWS Well-Architected Migration Lens is a specialized framework that extends the standard Well-Architected Framework with migration-specific best practices across all six pillars. It evaluates: Operational Excellence — migration runbooks, rollback procedures, and post-migration operational readiness; Security — data protection during transfer, IAM for migration tools, and compliance verification; Reliability — continuous replication verification, failover testing, and data integrity validation; Performance Efficiency — right-sizing target instances based on actual utilization (not source sizing), and network bandwidth planning for replication; Cost Optimization — avoiding over-provisioning during migration, planning for Reserved Instances post-migration, and eliminating unnecessary data transfer charges; Sustainability — consolidating workloads to reduce the number of servers, and using Graviton instances for better energy efficiency. PrecisionTech conducts a Migration Lens review as part of every enterprise migration engagement.
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How does PrecisionTech handle SAP migration to AWS?
SAP on AWS is a specialized migration requiring deep SAP and AWS expertise. PrecisionTech's SAP migration approach: (1) Assessment — SAP EarlyWatch report analysis, current landscape sizing (ECC, S/4HANA, BW, PI/PO, Solution Manager), database sizing (HANA, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2), and AWS instance family selection (x2idn or u-series for HANA, r7i for application servers). (2) Architecture design — High Availability setup with SAP-certified EC2 instances, HANA System Replication (HSR) across Availability Zones, NFS via EFS or FSx for ONTAP for shared file systems, and AWS Backint agent for HANA backup to S3. (3) Migration execution — classical SAP migration (export/import using SAPinst R3load), or heterogeneous system copy for database changes (e.g., Oracle to HANA). For SAP on Oracle/SQL Server (without database change), we use AWS MGN for the application servers and DMS or native database tools for the database. (4) Validation — SAP performance benchmarks, SAPS rating verification, and SAP Early Watch report on AWS.
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What AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) does and when is it needed?
AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) automates the conversion of database schemas and application code from one database engine to another — essential for heterogeneous database migrations. Common scenarios: Oracle to PostgreSQL (Aurora), SQL Server to PostgreSQL (Aurora), Oracle to MySQL (Aurora), and Db2 to PostgreSQL. SCT handles: (1) Schema conversion — tables, views, indexes, stored procedures, functions, triggers, and sequences; (2) SQL code conversion — embedded SQL in application code (Java, C#, C++); (3) Assessment report — identifies objects that can be automatically converted vs those requiring manual intervention (with complexity ratings); (4) Data type mapping — converts vendor-specific data types to target equivalents. SCT typically auto-converts 80–95% of schema objects; the remaining 5–20% require manual review — usually complex stored procedures with vendor-specific syntax. PrecisionTech uses SCT in conjunction with DMS for every heterogeneous database migration, handling the manual conversion of complex objects that SCT flags.
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What are the costs involved in AWS cloud migration?
AWS cloud migration costs fall into three categories: Migration tooling costs — AWS MGN is free for the first 90 days per source server (then a small hourly charge for the replication instance); AWS DMS replication instances are charged by the hour (similar to EC2); DataSync charges per GB transferred (approximately $0.0125/GB); Snow Family devices have per-device charges. Professional services — PrecisionTech provides a free Migration Readiness Assessment; migration execution is scoped and quoted based on the number of servers, databases, data volume, and complexity. Contact us for a custom quote. Post-migration AWS running costs — these replace (and typically reduce) your existing on-premises infrastructure costs; estimated during the assessment phase using AWS Pricing Calculator and Migration Evaluator. Most SMBs see a 20–40% reduction in total IT infrastructure costs after migrating to AWS, factoring in eliminated hardware refresh, data centre, power, and staffing costs.
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Can PrecisionTech migrate workloads from Azure or Google Cloud to AWS?
Yes. Cloud-to-cloud migration (Azure to AWS or GCP to AWS) follows a similar methodology to on-premises migration: (1) Server migration — install AWS MGN agent on Azure VMs or GCE instances; MGN replicates data to AWS exactly as it does from physical or VMware servers. (2) Database migration — AWS DMS connects to Azure SQL Database, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Cloud SQL, or any accessible database endpoint, replicating data with CDC for near-zero downtime. (3) Storage migration — use AWS DataSync or S3 Transfer Acceleration to move data from Azure Blob Storage or Google Cloud Storage to Amazon S3. (4) Application migration — containerized applications on AKS or GKE can be migrated to Amazon EKS with Kubernetes manifest adjustments. PrecisionTech has executed Azure-to-AWS migrations for Indian enterprises seeking AWS's broader service catalogue, superior India-region infrastructure, or better cost optimization tools.