Migration Into The Cloud
Migrating an application to the cloud is not an easy task. It is important to strictly adhere to the seven step model to ensure that the process is robust and error free. The seven quick stages of migration into the cloud are outlined below.
1. Assessment
Migration starts with an assessment of the issues relating to migration, at the application, code, design, and architecture levels. Moreover, assessments are also required for tools being used, functionality, test cases, and configuration of the application. The proof of concepts for migration and the corresponding pricing details will help to assess these issues properly.
2. Isolate
The second step is the isolation of all the environmental and systemic dependencies of the enterprise application within the captive data center. These include library, application, and architectural dependencies. This step results in a better understanding of the complexity of the migration.
3. Map
A mapping construct is generated to separate the components that should reside in the captive data center from the ones that will go into the cloud.
4. Re-architect
It is likely that a substantial part of the application has to be re-architected and implemented in the cloud. This can affect the functionalities of the application and some of these might be lost. It is possible to approximate lost functionality using cloud runtime support API.
5. Augment
The features of cloud computing service are used to augment the application.
6. Test
Once the augmentation is done, the application needs to be validated and tested. This is to be done using a test suite for the applications on the cloud. New test cases due to augmentation and proof-of-concepts are also tested at this stage.
7. Optimise
The test results from the last step can be mixed and so require iteration and optimization. It may take several optimizing iterations for the migration to be successful. It is best to iterate through this seven step model as this will ensure the migration to be robust and comprehensive.
For a more thorough checklist please visit the article “Cloud Migration – 10 ‘Do It Right’ Tips” and you may contact CloudTweaks for more information on our migration services and training packages.
By John Rosenblum
