AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)Cloud ConceptsMedium
A company has a legacy application that runs on specialized, unsupported hardware and cannot be modified. The application must remain on-premises for now, but the company plans to revisit a cloud migration for it in a future phase once compatible cloud options exist. Which of the 7 Rs migration strategy does this represent?
- ARetain
- BRetire
- CReplatform
- DRehost
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Retain
Retain means keeping an application in its current environment (usually on-premises) without migrating it now, often because it is not yet ready or worth the cost/effort to move, with a plan to reconsider later.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Retire means decommissioning the application entirely, but it is still in active use.
- C. Replatform involves some cloud optimization during migration, which is not happening here.
- D. Rehost means moving the app to the cloud with minimal changes, but this app is staying on-premises.
Retain (7 Rs)
A migration strategy where an application is kept in its current environment without migrating, often due to dependencies, compliance, or low priority.
- Also called 'revisit'
- Common for legacy or recently upgraded systems
- No migration effort spent now, but may be reconsidered later
Memory trick: Retain = 'Remain' where it is for now.