Migrate VMware SDDC to VMware Cloud on AWS using VMware HCX
Created by Deepak Kumar (AWS)
Environment: PoC or pilot | Source: Networking | Target: VMware Cloud on AWS |
R Type: Relocate | Technologies: Migration; Infrastructure |
Summary
Notice: As of April 30, 2024, VMware Cloud on AWS is no longer resold by AWS or its channel partners. The service will continue to be available through Broadcom. We encourage you to reach out to your AWS representative for details. |
This pattern describes the use of VMware Hybrid Cloud Extension (HCX) to migrate your on-premises virtual machines (VMs) and applications to VMware Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The migration uses VMware enterprise-class software-defined data center (SDDC) software on the AWS Cloud to provide optimized access to AWS services.
VMware Cloud on AWS integrates compute, storage, and network virtualization products (vSphere, vSAN, and VMware NSX) with VMware vCenter server management, which is optimized to run on dedicated, elastic, bare-metal AWS infrastructure. The resulting infrastructure is low-maintenance, simplified, and hyper-converged.
With this service, IT teams can manage their cloud-based resources with familiar VMware tools. For more information, see VMware Cloud on AWS
VMware HCX supports three types of cloud migrations:
Hybridity (data center extension): Extending an existing, on-premises VMware SDDC to AWS to provide footprint expansion, on-demand capacity, a testing/development environment, and virtual desktops.
Cloud evacuation (data center-wide infrastructure refresh): Consolidating data centers and moving completely to the AWS Cloud (including handling data center co-location or end of lease).
Application-specific migration: Moving individual applications to the AWS Cloud to meet specific business needs.
Prerequisites and limitations
Prerequisites
Sign up for an AWS account (required for VMware Cloud SDDC creation).
Sign up for a My VMware account. Register at https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/
and fill out all fields. Check the version of vCenter and hosts, and collect the number of VMs. If possible, ask for an RVTools
export to display information about your virtual environments. We recommend vCenter version 6.0 or later. You must deploy distributed virtual switches if you want to extend data center networks (L2), test vMotion by using HCX, or analyze application dependency by using vRealize Network Insight.
Pick a non-conflicting on-premises current management subnet network to create the SDDC on VMware Cloud on AWS.
Validate HCX requirements by reviewing the prerequisites provided in the VMware HCX User Guide
. Identify and group VMs for waves of migration. Check for VMs that you can use for testing.
Collect any data about relative bandwidth consumption, WAN compression, and data transfer speed.
Notes
No need for VMware NSX-V or NSX-T on premises.
No additional costs for HCX (it's included in VMware Cloud on AWS).
Architecture
The following diagram shows the HCX solution built on multiple component services. Each component supports a specific function in the HCX solution. For more information about each HCX component, see the blog post Migrating Workloads to VMware Cloud on AWS with Hybrid Cloud Extension (HCX)
Source technology stack
On-premises VMs and applications managed by VMware vSphere
Target technology stack
VMware Cloud on AWS
Tools
VMware HCX
– VMware HCX is a tool that you can use to migrate your applications and workloads across data centers and cloud environments. It is included with VMware Cloud on AWS.
Epics
| Task | Description | Skills required |
|---|---|---|
Choose a migration strategy. | Decide whether you want to extend your data center (hybridity), move all your data centers (cloud evacuation), or move specific applications to AWS. | SysAdmin, App owner |
Validate HCX requirements. | For migration information, review the VMware HCX User Guide | SysAdmin, App owner |
| Task | Description | Skills required |
|---|---|---|
Migrate your VMs or applications. | For more information, see Hybrid Migration with VMware HCX | SysAdmin, App owner |
Related resources
