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AWS transform for VMware to migrate to EC2

0

Can I use AWS transform to migrate the VMware VMs directly to AWS? I want to do a lift and shift from VMware to VMware migration using Transform.

  • Deepak Kumar
    2 months ago

    Yes, you can use AWS Transform for VMware to migrate VMware VMs to AWS — but it migrates them to Amazon EC2, not to VMware running on AWS.

    Here's what you need to know:

    What AWS Transform for VMware does:

    • It's an agentic AI service that automates migration of VMware VMs to Amazon EC2 instances
    • It handles discovery, dependency mapping, wave planning, and migration orchestration
    • It uses AWS Application Migration Service under the hood for block-level replication
    • Supports Windows and Linux x86 servers

    What it does NOT do:

    • It does not migrate VMware-to-VMware (i.e., keeping your VMs running on a VMware hypervisor in AWS)

    If you want VMware-to-VMware (lift and shift keeping VMware):

    You'd want Amazon Elastic VMware Service (EVS), which lets you run VMware workloads natively on AWS with the VMware hypervisor. For migrating VMs to EVS, you'd typically use VMware-native tools like HCX or vMotion, not AWS Transform

Topics
Migration & ModernizationMachine Learning & AI
Tags
AWS Transform for VMwareAWS Transform
Language
English

asked 6 months ago230 views

2 Answers
2
Accepted Answer

The AWS Transform VMWare support lift & shift migration to EC2 instance but not to VMWare farm on AWS. For that you can use AVS service to move the instance between cloud and on-premise VMware farm.

AWS

answered 6 months ago

AWS
EXPERT

reviewed 6 months ago

0

AWS Transform for VMware is specifically designed to migrate VMware workloads to Amazon EC2 instances, not to VMware on AWS. It's an agentic AI service that helps you rehost your VMware workloads to run natively on Amazon EC2, which allows you to save on VMware licensing costs.

The migration process involves several key steps:

  1. Installing ADS (Application Discovery Service) agents on source servers
  2. Setting up AWS MGN (Application Migration Service) connector (optional)
  3. Target VPC/Subnet setup
  4. Enabling AWS Transform
  5. Creating and running migration jobs
  6. Migrating, launching test and cutover instances

AWS Transform for VMware offers three discovery options:

  • Assisted discovery using collectors from AWS Application Discovery Service
  • Using the open-source Export for vCenter tool
  • Importing independently collected discovery data

The service uses AI to convert your VMware network configuration to Amazon VPC architecture, generate migration plans with application grouping and suggested migration waves, and rehost your servers on EC2.

If you're looking to migrate from VMware to VMware on AWS (rather than to native EC2), you would need to consider other AWS services designed for that purpose, such as Amazon Elastic VMware Service (Amazon EVS).
Sources
Simplify server migration to AWS with AWS Transform for VMware | Migration & Modernization
AWS for VMware | Services - Migrate & modernize VMware workloads - AWS
VMware migration - AWS Transform

answered 6 months ago

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