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.

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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

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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.

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Migration Checklist

• Inventory Azure Resources Use Azure CLI: az resource list --output json > azure-inventory.json

• Map Azure Services to AWS Equivalents Create a mapping table for all services in use.

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

• Plan Identity and Access Migration Prepare to migrate Azure AD users/groups to AWS IAM or federate with AWS SSO.

• Network Planning Design AWS VPCs to match or improve your Azure VNet topology.

• Translate Infrastructure as Code Convert ARM/Bicep templates to CloudFormation or Terraform.

• Migrate Data Use AWS CLI S3 sync or AWS DataSync for storage migration.

• Migrate Identity Set up AWS SSO or IAM, and test user access.

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

• Test and Validate Use CloudWatch and X-Ray for validation.

• Update DNS Point domains to AWS endpoints (Route 53).

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

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

• Update Documentation Revise runbooks and architecture diagrams.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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References

• AWS Service Comparison Table
• AWS Migration Hub
• Terraform AWS Provider Docs
• AWS CLI S3 Sync