WHITE PAPER

This white paper examines the cloud migration process and shares best practices to help minimize migration headaches.

Simplify Cloud Migration

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Stage 1: Prepare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Stage 2: Execute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Stage 3: Validate, Maintain and Train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Top Lessons from the Cloud Migration Trenches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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Are you ready to fly high with the cloud? First you have to get off the ground.

In 2012, Toyota stepped in to help transport the newly retired U.S. Space Shuttle Endeavor to a California museum. The towing machine NASA and its partners had pulling the Endeavor was too heavy to navigate a highway overpass. Toyota said it could take a standard Toyota Tundra and pull the nearly 150 ton ship across. They eventually were successful in part because of massive amounts of planning and testing.

Proper planning and testing are two of the most important elements of a cloud migration effort. Too often organizations push to complete a migration quickly, then have to deal with scores of users who can’t access their data and applications.

Beyond planning, we’ve learned a few other lessons along the way while helping clients realize cloud computing benefits. This paper will walk you through the cloud migration process, sharing best practices to help you minimize migration headaches.

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Stage 1: PrepareEvery migration is different with unique challenges and time tables. What is universal is that everyone wants it done right with few hassles.

Jeremy Pope, General Manager of TierPoint Texas, says:

“There is a natural inclination to want to get a migration completed as quickly as possible, but we have seen situations where a client was not truly ready for it. Moving swiftly with patience helps you avoid mistakes. It starts with proper planning and having the right game plan.” i

Just like with the Endeavor, proper planning includes answering the myriad of questions about what you are moving, where your data is going, and how it is going to get there. You need to know, for example:• Which applications will you migrate? • Will you perform a partial or complete migration? • Will you need extra staff help from your provider?• How will security be addressed? • What is acceptable downtime?

On average migrations end-to-end can take three to six months. Of course some variables can shrink or extend that timeline. The important thing is to manage expectations from beginning.

Also, your plan should include time for testing. Most problems associated with migration are not related to transmission. They generally occur post migration when end users run their applications and discover their experience is worse than before the move. Once again, prepare for the time to test, test and test.

Shea Long, SVP, Products at TierPoint says:

“Migrations are as much about services and experience as they are about technologies. Evaluate whether you have sufficient internal resources and whether your cloud provider can provide additional managed services if you need them. Some cloud providers have their own service offerings; with others, you will need to hire a separate MSP [Managed Service Provider].

Don’t underestimate how complicated this kind of project can be. When you select a migration partner, get an acceptable SLA [Service Level Agreement]. If they are unwilling to give that, you should rethink working with them.”

So you know planning is important, where do you start?

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Stage 1A: Inventory & Assess Workloads

InventoryAs your organization is developing its migration plan, you must also simultaneously complete a technical requirements analysis and feasibility review. The key is to clearly identify the resource demands, relationships and dependencies that exist between your applications and workloads.

Indeed, you must inventory your systems and workloads in order to understand the gap between your current operations and where the cloud can take you. You must understand the characteristics of how many resources are currently being used and the current performance metrics of CPU, RAM, storage and other aspects which may be important.

This process helps you confirm your requirements so that you can communicate them with your provider. It is also a good opportunity to see if any “housecleaning” is appropriate. Are there resources you can dedupe or delete?

One example would be to conduct a virtual machine audit to see if you have collected a significant number of VMs that do not get accessed or patched frequently. We find that many organizations have these because VMs are so easy to spin up. Do you have storage hardware that isn’t being utilized? Determine if you can just delete the VMs and repurpose or sell the hardware.

Assess WorkloadsBy assessing and classifying your workloads, you can prioritize them for migration. This helps you identify the specific requirements of each workload to run in the cloud. Or, you may find that you do not want to migrate some workloads.

If you do not migrate all of your workloads, one of the questions you will need to resolve is where will your production data that supports both migrated and non-migrated apps reside?

Understanding the technical requirements precedes identifying the proper cloud solution.

You can’t forget about security either.

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Figure 1.

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Paul Mazzucco, Chief Security Officer at TierPoint says:

“Security needs to be baked into the process right from the beginning. Some considerations are obvious, such as making sure you have your data backed up. There are other decisions that require more thought, such as who maintains the encryption keys and how the data will be transported to the cloud provider. Furthermore, depending on the nature of your organization, you might have to explore whether there are any compliance considerations.”

Stage 1B: Match Workloads to Cloud TypeBecause cloud migration is fundamentally a business decision, it’s important to examine business strategies and processes and map them to the right cloud architecture and cloud strategies. Depending on the nature of your business and the applications you use to operate, cloud technologies provide different levels of availability, failover, security and other services.

This is one of the most important decisions you must make: which cloud type will you use to host your workloads?

The answer doesn’t have to be just one type. You can match specific workload tiers to different cloud type (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, Public, Private, Hybrid) in order to achieve greater efficiency.

For example, Tier 1 workloads are both strategically important and mission-critical to business continuity. As a result, these key applications require very high availability with 24/7 support. You will want to choose a cloud deployment that can meet these high-demand requirements.

A good cloud provider will guide the process and can assist with migration tools that can automate much of the experience.

Stage 1C: Match Apps and Services to Migration TypeNow that you’ve connected the dots between your applications/services and the appropriate cloud type(s), you have a new decision to make: what are you going to do with those workloads when you move them? You have several options.

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ReplaceInstead of moving the app to the cloud, strictly speaking, you might code a brand new cloud-native application to replace the legacy app, often with improved features. Replacement is a good option when launching a new application or service, or when starting or re-branding a business.

Re-hostAlso known as “lift and shift,” this scenario sees few changes as the entire application stack is simply moved into the cloud. This approach can be fast and inexpensive, but often bears a higher Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) that can arise from the unpredictable performance of apps designed for traditional systems now utilizing a kind of architecture for which they’re not optimized.

Joe Conlin, Senior Sales Engineer at TierPoint says:

“It feels like 90 percent of customers want to re-host because it is perceived as easier and less disruptive. However, our experience is that it is common to run into a problem stack in the import process. We find that in many circumstances, it is better to take the time to rebuild from scratch because in the long run, things will run smoother and be easier to support.” RefactorMany companies choose to “cloudify” their existing applications by re-coding or re-architecting the apps to fully leverage cloud architecture. These apps can thus take advantage of the scalability, automation and performance of the cloud, and frequently benefit from lower TCO than other migration types. One review of published studies on cloud migration found this approach was the single most common, with 43% of reviewed studies favoring refactoring; see Figure 2.ii However, this is also one of the slower and costlier forms of migration, often involving the procurement of new tools and skillsets along with substantial testing to verify the application retains full functionality. If you find that the migration is going to introduce new performance bottlenecks or affect the fit with existing tools, you might consider refactoring those workloads.

Partial Migration Of course, you don’t necessarily need to migrate the entire application stack. Some system components may be moved to the cloud while leaving other layers in a traditional environment. Partial migrations require very careful planning and extensive testing to ensure the migration doesn’t break or compromise application functionality.

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Figure 2.

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Colocation to CloudAnother popular option is moving a client’s infrastructure from their data center to a colocation facility with the plan to then move to a cloud. This is particularly attractive when the collocated servers are in the same facility as your eventual cloud. This allows you to take advantage of the data center’s networking connections eliminating a need for you to invest in WAN capacity to migrate workloads over the wire.

Which Migration Type Should You Choose?

Table 1 (below) identifies the technical suitability of your applications and services for migration. Table 1. Examples of “Good Fit”, “Less Fit”, “Least Fit” Appsiii

Good Fit Less Fit Least FitApps with Traffic Spikes Health Care Apps Legacy Apps

Startup Apps Banking Apps ERP Systems

Microservices Apps with Geopolitical Constraints

Limited-to-No Support

Big Data / Analytics Apps Licensing Issues

Backup/Storage/Archive Large Scale Database Support

Low and Mid-Tier Database Support

In general, the more dissimilar the architectures, the more difficult and involved the migration will be. Companies migrating to the cloud for the first time – and especially those not already making much use of virtualization and whose apps are fed by databases not supported by the cloud – will face some of the biggest challenges.

Some often overlooked factors can also influence this decision. Consider connections and latency, for example. It’s usually best to move the entire application stack, especially if the workload is sensitive to latency issues. “Make sure you pay a lot of attention to that networking component,” advises Eric Geiger, vice president of IT operations at Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, a $70 billion wholesale bank that lends money to other financial institutions.iv Otherwise “that latency can become obnoxious.”

Ultimately, the best practice is to consult with a cloud provider with experience performing migrations. They can evaluate the ecosystem of apps and work with clients to determine which apps are good candidates for the cloud; and if so, can they be moved directly or will they need to be refactored.

Once you’ve made these decisions, it’s time to test the waters.

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Stage 1D: Perform Pilot Test(s)

The planning phase frequently incorporates a small-scale pilot. Sometimes you must perform some kind of live pilot in order to answer questions like those listed above. It’s often wise to start small, before you invest too heavily, in order to evaluate the experience and identify any issues that arise. From there, you can scale up your efforts to migrate your apps and services.

Shea Long, SVP, Products at TierPoint says:

“One of the key things you should look for in testing is application performance. There are many tools available to automate this process. You want to give your users a good experience from the start, but you also do not want to go back and have to make tuning and tweaking a regular activity.”

Stage 2: ExecuteWith a plan in hand, and hopefully some preliminary testing and evaluation of the experience, you can move forward confidently into the actual migration. It’s during this step that you can truly refactor or redesign your apps.

A common migration strategy is to first move Tier 4 workloads – lower priority apps and services that are not as strategic or mission critical – to the cloud type you feel is best suited for them (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS/Public/Private/Hybrid). Then you can move the Tier 3 workloads, and so on. If you use virtual machines, migrate them first, followed by data and applications.

Actual migrations can vary tremendously on a technical level. Your cloud provider should assist greatly with the actual migration.

And continue your testing during the migration. InfoWorld makes an excellent point in its tips for avoiding cloud migration disaster:

“To find performance problems before you go live, make sure to test as you go. You’ll have to refactor the application to fix the issues. Refactoring per se is not a problem, but you have to set aside the time to do it before the migration, not after.” v

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Stage 3: Validate, Maintain and Train

By this point, you’re in the cloud. Congratulations! But even though you should be flying high in the cloud, you’re not officially done with the migration yet.

Stage 3A: Validate the MigrationMore testing! Before anything else, ensure everything is running as it should be. The Journal of Computer Engineering recommends that cloud testing include:

“Cloud-specific test cases, written in such a manner that they replicate the day-to-day activities of the process. Errors related to the application, integration and the functionalities are captured in the testing phase, and they are carefully reported to make necessary changes.” vi

During this period of evaluation, you might wish to run both the new cloud and old traditional environments in parallel to minimize any risk of downtime or app failures. Use one for production and the other for testing. The extent of this validation process depends on the complexity of the migration: simple environments can typically be validated quite quickly.

Stage 3B: Engage and Train EmployeesThe complexities of a cloud migration can overwhelm. In some ways, migrating to the cloud is similar to rolling out a big enterprise application. There can be lots of change involved. IT roles within your team may change. Some of the best migrations we have seen have little to do with technology and more about helping internal IT team members adapt to a new way of delivering IT services.

Invest in your employees by helping them identify new ways to add value. A definite need for storage managers still exist, but they may be able to devote more energy to security, networking, application support or other areas that remain vital the organization. Consider these ideas as part of the upfront process and seek out enthusiastic evangelists on your team to build support for the move to cloud computing.

Further, leverage this opportunity to make sure your users are primed to take advantage of the new deployment. Include managers and executives as well as end-users in this training, so that they understand the new operations and can incorporate that understanding into their decision-making and strategizing.

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Top Lessons from the Cloud Migration TrenchesA group of TierPoint cloud migration experts were asked about their top pieces of advice beyond doing due diligence in finding the right migration partner. Below are their top 10 insider tips:

1. Test, Test, Test – Too often clients do not allocate enough time for testing. And you must test with actual end users. Don’t fall into the trap of testing with just your own technical team. You can miss real-world scenarios that impact the user experience.

2. Utilize tools to help test application performance in addition to human user testing. This can reduce the amount of changes that need to be made once the applications are live.

3. Get an SLA – Service level agreements are common within many areas of IT services. A cloud migration is a major product. SLAs can provide you with a measure of peace of mind.

4. Colocation to cloud – Cloud providers that also offer colocation services can help you use colocation as a bridge to cloud as described above. When cloud is the goal, you can often get discounts on the colocation costs.

5. Requirements for production workloads can differ from those for disaster recovery. You don’t want your backup data located in the same place as your cloud data. Ask if your cloud provider can help you with both workloads.

6. A full-scale audit of your infrastructure to reduce the volume of data to be migrated may not be viable. That can be a big project in and of itself. Instead check on your virtual machines to see if there are ones that are not used and have not been patched in a long time. These VMs can be security threats. Consider which VMs can be deleted.

7. If your data is being transported to your cloud provider, make sure it is encrypted and backed up prior to transmission.

8. Be realistic about your internal team’s capabilities and time. Remember you are dealing with some of your organization’s prized assets. Get consulting or managed services to support the effort. This type of project is not one where you can afford to scrimp.

9. If you are a multinational organization, you have to determine whether you are impacted by the Safe Harbor laws that were struck down recently.

10. If you are impacted by compliance issues, it is your responsibility to not fall out of compliance. Make sure your provider can assure you that they can keep you in compliance.

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Referencesi. Pope, J. (2015, Apr 3). Message from the Pope of TierPoint: Plan and Prepare for the Cloud.

TierPoint Blog. Retrieved October 2015 from http://blog.tierpoint.com/2015/04/03/message-from-the-pope-of-tierpoint-plan-and-prepare-for-the-cloud/

ii. Rai, R., Sahoo, G., & Mehfuz, S. (2015, Apr 25). Exploring the factors influencing the cloud computing adoption: a systematic study on cloud migration. SpringerPlus 4:197. Retrieved October 2015 from http://www.springerplus.com/content/4/1/197

iii. Singh, B. (2015, Jun 24). Why You Should Definitely Migrate Existing Apps to the Cloud. InfoQ. Retrieved October 2015 from http://www.infoq.com/articles/why-migrate-to-cloud [Adapted from]

iv. Gaudin, S. (2015, Oct 8). How to avoid minefields and even improve your network. Network World. Retrieved October 2015 from http://www.networkworld.com/article/2990530/cloud-computing/5-tips-on-cloud-migration-from-those-who-know-with-video.html

v. Linthicum, D. (2015, Aug 14). 3 tips to avoid disaster in your cloud migration. InfoWorld. Retrieved October 2015 from http://www.infoworld.com/article/2969703/cloud-computing/3-tips-to-avoid-disaster-in-your-cloud-migration.html

vi. Bhopale, S. (2012). Cloud migration benefits and its challenges. IOSR Journal of Computer Engineering. Retrieved October 2015 from http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jce/papers/sicete-volume1/8.pdf

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About TierPointTierPoint is a leading national provider of cloud, colocation, managed services and disaster recovery solutions designed to help organizations improve business performance and manage risk. With corporate headquarters in St. Louis, MO, TierPoint operates 14 highly-redundant, Tier III plus data centers located in Washington state, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Florida.

To learn how TierPoint can help with your cloud, colocation, managed services and disaster recovery initiatives - call 877.859.TIER (8437), email sales@tierpoint.com, or visit us at www.tierpoint.com.

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