Rapid Server Migration to the Cloud
If you have ever wanted to move your severs to the cloud for DR or BAU but haven’t due to complexity or cost then AWS has the service for your business.
CloudEndure is an AWS owned company that facilitates easy and reliable migration of server workloads of all sizes to AWS or configuration of a rapid DR solution.
CloudEndure will work with almost any server application or database (Cloud, 2020) and automatically replicate your servers to low-cost staging areas for easy migration or DR. The migration process is almost completely automated which cuts the risk of misconfiguration and reduces the level of training you need for your people to be able to perform migrations or ongoing DR tasks.
Process Overview
The process to migrate your workloads to AWS (or to stage for DR) is very simple and compatible with most servers and applications.
Install the CloudEndure agent on the server. This is non-disruptive. It requires no reboot and can be configured as an unattended install.
Initial replication. Once the agent is installed on the server it initiates a connection to the CloudEndure service and begins the initial replication of the servers and attached disks to the staging area. All disks attached to the server are copied at block level to ensure an exact copy.
Configure the server blueprint. The blueprint is the configuration parameters for the server including the subnets, security groups, etc. These parameters can be reconfigured later.
Continuous replication. Once the initial replication is complete CloudEndure automatically begins continuous block-level replication between the sources and the targets which means you don’t have to manage snapshots or be concerned with having the latest image for your migration.
Migrate. When you are ready to migrate all you have to do is click the launch button in the console to begin the automated process of converting the images to running VMs. No further user input required!
For disaster recovery purposes you can fail over and also fail back when your issues have been resolved.
Costs
In January 2019 AWS purchased Israeli-based CloudEndure for USD$250m (Times, 2019). In June that year AWS made licences for CloudEndure Migration freely available (AWS, 2019) and in January 2020 AWS moved to a consumption-based model for CloudEndure Disaster Recovery by cutting the cost of replica servers in the staging area by 80% or down to approximately USD$20 per month, per server (AWS, 2020).
So it costs almost nothing to use CloudEndure as your cloud migration strategy or longer-term DR strategy.
References
AWS, 2019 https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2019/06/cloudendure-migration-available-at-no-charge/
Times, 2019 https://www.timesofisrael.com/amazon-said-to-buy-israeli-cloud-computing-firm-for-250-million/
Dave Vane is not affiliated with AWS or CloudEndure in any way and the use of the CloudEndure logo is not meant to imply any connection.