8.2 Requirements for Migrating Workloads to Amazon Web Services

Before you can migrate workloads to AWS with PlateSpin Migrate, you must set up your cloud environment. The PlateSpin Migrate server can be installed on-premise where the source workloads reside.

8.2.1 Minimum AWS Prerequisites

Before you use PlateSpin Migrate to migrate workloads to AWS, ensure that the following cloud access prerequisites are correctly configured and available:

Table 8-1 Minimum Required Configuration for Your AWS Account

AWS Configuration	Description
AWS Account	To create an AWS account, go to Amazon Web Services Console.
AWS EC2 Subscription	PlateSpin supports only Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).
Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)	Create an AWS VPC to launch AWS resources into your virtual network. See Amazon Virtual Private Cloud Documentation.
An AWS EC2 Key Pair	A Key pair to log in to your AWS instance. By default, Amazon generates the key pair in the .pem format.
AWS user credentials	You need an AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) user in your AWS account, with an appropriate IAM role to perform migrations into the VPC using the AWS APIs. Enable Programmatic Access for the user to generate an access key and a secret access key. AWS Management Console Access is optional, but it can be useful for troubleshooting. NOTE:We recommend that administrators regularly rotate access keys for IAM users. See Rotating Access Keys in the AWS Identity and Access Management User Guide. For information about setting up the migration user group, policy, and user, see Create an IAM User for Your Workload Migrations in the Best Practices for Migrating Servers to Amazon Web Services with PlateSpin Migrate white paper.
Amazon Machine Image (AMI) in your VPC for PlateSpin Migrate Replication Environment	PlateSpin Migrate provides the following AMIs in the Community AMI section of Amazon Web Services Console. For full replication, use one of the following AMIs depending on the source workload OS and your desired OS licensing model on the target workload. For Server Sync, create a private instance of any one of the following AMIs and use the snapshot of the created AMI. PlateSpin Replication Environment - Linux: Applicable for Linux workloads. AWS does not bill you for the OS license on the target workload. PlateSpin Replication Environment - Windows: Applicable for Windows workloads and is billable. AWS manages the Microsoft software licensing compliance on the target workload and bills you accordingly for the license. PlateSpin Replication Environment - Windows (BYOL): Applicable for Windows workloads and is non-billable. AWS allows you to bring your own licenses (BYOL), which you have already purchased from Microsoft. You are responsible for complying with Microsoft licensing and AWS does not bill you for the license. For information about using the PlateSpin Replication Environment AMIs, see Section 8.5, Using the PlateSpin Replication Environment AMIs.

For more information about setting up your AWS cloud account to work with PlateSpin Migrate, see the white paper Best Practices for Migrating Servers to Amazon Web Services with PlateSpin Migrate on the PlateSpin Migrate Resources web page.

8.2.2 AWS Prerequisites for Using an On Premise Migrate Server

A PlateSpin Migrate license.
PlateSpin Migrate server installed on premise in a network that can properly access the source workloads.
PlateSpin Migrate Client installed on the PlateSpin Migrate server or on another machine in the same network as the PlateSpin Migrate server. Migrate Client must be able to connect to the PlateSpin Migrate server and the AWS portal.
A site-to-site VPN connection connecting the AWS gateway to your on-premise gateway.

For information, see the following AWS resources:
- VPN Connections
- AWS-Managed VPN Connections
For a Windows workload migrated to AWS to be a part of domain, you must configure the DNS server details of the domain in the AWS subnet.
An AWS Security Group and the VPC gateway that provides the following inbound and outbound rules. For instructions, see “Create a Security Group” in the Best Practices white paper.
Inbound Rules
- TCP, port 3725, custom
  
  Provide an address range covering all source workloads.
- SSH, port 22
  
  Provide the IP address of the PlateSpin Migrate server.
- RDP, port 3389
  
  Provide the IP address of the machine you plan to use to launch an RDP connect to target workloads.
Outbound Rules
- TCP, port 3725, custom
  
  Provide an address range covering all source workloads.
- HTTPS, port 443
  
  Provide the IP address of the PlateSpin Migrate server.
Port 3725 is the default port number for data transfer. By default, the data transfer is initiated from the target workload to the source workload. The port number and direction for initiating the connection are configurable.
The minimum network-related prerequisites for a successful migration are:
- The source and the target workload must be able to communicate with the PlateSpin Migrate server on port 443. The target workload is the replica of the source workload that will reside in AWS.
- The PlateSpin Migrate server must be able to communicate with the AWS API endpoint on port 443.
- The PlateSpin Migrate server must be able to communicate with the source workloads on the ports that are used for discovery. See Requirements for Discovery and Section 20.6, Discovering Details for Source Workloads.
  
  You can alternatively use the Migrate Agent utility to register source workloads with the Migrate server using HTTPS (TCP/port 443). See Section 20.7, Registering Workloads and Discovering Details with Migrate Agent.
- The cloud-based target workload must be able to communicate (target to source) with the on-premise source workload on port 3725 (TCP) over the site-to-site VPN connection.
  
  The port number is configurable. See port 3725 in Section 2.6.2, Requirements for Migration.
  
  If you use Migrate Agent for registration and discovery, the default direction of the replication connection must be reversed (source to target) by changing advanced settings on the Migrate server. See Section 5.9, Configuring the Contact Direction for the Replication Port.
For detailed access and communication requirements across your migration network, See Access and Communication Requirements across your Migration Network.
The following Microsoft .NET Framework requirements for source workloads:
- Net Framework 4.5 or later is required for migrating Windows Server 2008 R2 workloads.
- Net Framework 3.5 or later is required for migrating Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, or Windows Server 2008 workloads.
The volume labels on the source workloads must not include any special characters.
On the Windows workloads that you want to migrate, you must set the SAN policy to OnlineAll in order to ensure that the volumes on the target workload are mounted same as on the source workload.