AWS Certified Solutions Architect – ProfessionalContinuously Improve Existing SolutionsEasy
A global manufacturing company operates a critical enterprise resource planning (ERP) application on-premises. The application is a monolithic C#/.NET application running on Windows Server with a Microsoft SQL Server database. The company wants to migrate this application to AWS quickly, with minimal changes to the application code or architecture, to reduce operational overhead and improve infrastructure scalability. Which migration strategy and AWS services should a Solutions Architect recommend?
- AMigrate the application to AWS Elastic Beanstalk and convert the SQL Server database to Amazon S3 for archival storage, using a new database for active data.
- BContainerize the application using Docker, deploy it on Amazon ECS, and migrate the SQL Server database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL-compatible.
- CRe-architect the application into microservices using AWS Lambda and Amazon DynamoDB, and migrate data using AWS DMS.
- DPerform a 'lift and shift' migration by migrating the Windows Server instances to Amazon EC2 and the SQL Server database to Amazon RDS for SQL Server.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Perform a 'lift and shift' migration by migrating the Windows Server instances to Amazon EC2 and the SQL Server database to Amazon RDS for SQL Server.
The 'lift and shift' (re-host) strategy is ideal for quick migrations with minimal changes. Migrating Windows Server to Amazon EC2 and SQL Server to Amazon RDS for SQL Server allows the application to run on AWS with almost no code changes, meeting the requirements for speed and minimal modification.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Migrating to Elastic Beanstalk would likely require some application refactoring, and converting SQL Server data to S3 for active data storage is not a viable database migration strategy for an active ERP system.
- B. Containerization and migrating to a different database engine (PostgreSQL-compatible) would require significant application changes and is not a 'minimal change' approach.
- C. Re-architecting to microservices is a significant undertaking that involves substantial code changes and is not a 'minimal change' strategy.
Re-host (Lift and Shift) Migration
Re-hosting, or 'lift and shift,' is a migration strategy where applications and databases are moved from an on-premises environment to AWS with minimal or no changes to their architecture or code.
- Fastest migration strategy for existing applications.
- Reduces immediate operational overhead by moving to cloud infrastructure.
- Often a first step before further modernization.
Memory trick: Move Monoliths Minimally.