Azure to AWS

Migrating from Azure to AWS requires careful planning, understanding service equivalencies, and adapting your infrastructure and processes. This guide provides step-by-step instructions, real-life examples, and best practices for a successful migration.


Quick Comparison: Azure vs AWS Services

Azure Service
AWS Equivalent
Notes

Virtual Machines (VMs)

EC2

VM types and images differ

Blob Storage

S3

APIs and access models vary

Azure Active Directory

IAM

RBAC and identity federation differ

Azure SQL Database

RDS

Migration tools available

Azure Functions

Lambda

Triggers and bindings differ

ARM Templates/Bicep

CloudFormation

Syntax and capabilities differ

Azure Monitor

CloudWatch

Metrics and logging integration varies

Virtual Network (VNet)

VPC

Subnet and peering models differ

AKS (Azure Kubernetes)

EKS

Cluster management differs

Azure DNS

Route 53

Record types and automation differ

Tip: AWS Service Comparison Table


Pre-Migration Checklist

  1. Inventory Your Azure Resources

    • Use Azure CLI or Azure Resource Graph to export resources:

      az resource list --output json > azure-inventory.json
  2. Map Services to AWS Equivalents

    • Document each Azure service and its AWS counterpart.

  3. Assess Application Dependencies

    • Identify hardcoded endpoints, region-specific services, and OS dependencies.

  4. Plan Identity and Access Migration

    • Prepare to migrate Azure AD users/groups to AWS IAM or federate with AWS SSO.

  5. Network Planning

    • Design AWS VPCs to match (or improve) your Azure VNet topology.


Migration Checklist


Migration Steps (with Examples)

1. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Translation

  • Example: Convert ARM/Bicep templates to AWS CloudFormation or Terraform.

    • Use Azure Resource Manager Template Converter or manually map resources.

    • Example Terraform snippet for AWS EC2:

      resource "aws_instance" "example" {
        ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0"
        instance_type = "t2.micro"
        # ...
      }

2. Data Migration

  • Example: Migrate Azure Blob Storage to S3 using AWS CLI S3 sync:

    aws s3 sync "https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net/<container>" s3://mybucket --recursive

3. Identity Migration

  • Example: Sync Azure AD users to AWS IAM using AWS SSO or SAML federation.

4. Application Refactoring

  • Update code/configs to use AWS SDKs and endpoints.

  • Replace Azure Function triggers with Lambda event sources.

5. Testing and Validation

  • Use CloudWatch and X-Ray for post-migration validation.


Post-Migration Tasks

  • Update DNS: Point domains to AWS endpoints (e.g., Route 53).

  • Monitor and Optimize: Use AWS Cost Explorer and Trusted Advisor.

  • Decommission Azure Resources: Ensure all data is migrated and backups are complete before deleting.

  • Documentation: Update runbooks and architecture diagrams.


Best Practices & Common Pitfalls

  • Start with Non-Production Workloads: Validate migration steps before moving critical systems.

  • Automate Everything: Use Terraform/Ansible for repeatable deployments.

  • Watch for Service Limits: AWS and Azure have different quotas.

  • Security Review: Reassess security groups, NACLs, and IAM/RBAC policies.


Cloud Hopping Humor

Why did the cloud architect take a compass on their Azure to AWS migration?

To make sure they didn’t get lost in the clouds!


References

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