Azure Migrate Physical Server: A Step-by-Step Guide

Azure Migrate Physical Server is a tool that helps you assess and migrate your on-premises physical servers to Azure with minimal downtime and effort.

First, you need to create an Azure Migrate project in the Azure portal, which involves selecting the subscription, resource group, and location for your project.

Next, you'll need to identify the servers you want to migrate, which can be done by adding servers to your project from the Azure Migrate portal or by using the Azure Migrate appliance.

The appliance is a virtual machine that you deploy in your on-premises environment to collect data about your servers, which is then sent to Azure for analysis.

To start the migration process, you'll need to create an Azure Migrate project and assign permissions to specific users to create virtual machines and write to an Azure managed disk. This is the first step in preparing both Azure and on-premises servers for migration.

On Azure, you'll need to set up an Azure virtual Network (Vnet) so that Azure VMs can be joined to it during the replication process. This will ensure a seamless migration experience.

In the on-premises infrastructure, you'll need to verify physical server requirements to ensure they comply with Azure VM requirements. This is a crucial step to avoid any compatibility issues during the migration process.

To assess your physical servers, you can follow these four simple steps:

By following these steps, you'll be able to get a clear picture of your physical servers' readiness for migration to Azure.

To start the discovery process, you'll need to kick off the discovery of the servers that have been successfully validated. Select Start discovery to initiate the process.

Once you've initiated the discovery, you can check the discovery status against each server in the table.

It takes approximately 2 minutes to complete the discovery of 100 servers, and their metadata will appear in the Azure portal.

To set up Azure Migrate, you'll need to create an Azure Migrate project and generate a project key. This involves providing an appliance name and generating a project key in the Azure portal. You can then download a zipped file with the Azure Migrate installer script and extract its contents to a folder on the server that will host the appliance.

To configure the appliance, you'll need to launch PowerShell with administrative privileges, change the PowerShell directory to the folder where the contents have been extracted, and run the script named AzureMigrateInstaller.ps1. This will allow you to select from various scenario, cloud, and connectivity options to deploy an appliance with the desired configuration.

Here are the steps to configure the appliance:

After the script has executed successfully, the appliance configuration manager will be launched automatically.

To create a user account for Azure Migrate, you'll need an account with Contributor or Owner permissions on an Azure subscription. This will give you the necessary access to register the appliance and manage your project.

If you're not the subscription owner, you'll need to work with the owner to assign the necessary permissions. This involves adding a role assignment to the Azure portal, specifically the Contributor or Owner role.

You can also add the user account to specific groups to enable remote management and performance monitoring. These groups include Remote Management Users, Performance Monitor Users, and Performance Log Users.

In some cases, you may need to add the account to the WinRMRemoteWMIUsers_ group if Remote Management Users isn't present. This will allow the appliance to create a CIM connection with the server and pull the required data.

To discover SQL Server databases on Windows Servers, you'll need a Windows user account that is a member of the sysadmin server role. This account can use both Windows and SQL Server authentication.

Cost Estimation and Sizing is a crucial step in the migration process. It helps you understand the costs associated with moving your servers to Azure.

The assessment provides detailed cost estimates, which can be used to optimize on cost. Performance-based rightsizing assessments can recommend a suitable Azure Virtual Machine and disk SKU based on your on-premises server performance data.

You can apply subscription offers and Reserved Instance pricing on the cost estimates to further reduce costs. This helps you avoid over-provisioning and right-size your servers as you migrate.

The assessment also checks Azure support for each server discovered, determining whether the server can be migrated as-is to Azure. If incompatibilities are found, remediation guidance is automatically provided.

Customizing the assessment is possible by changing its properties and recomputing the assessment. You can choose a virtual machine series of your choice and specify the uptime of the workloads you will run in Azure.

Dependency analysis is a crucial step in planning your migration phases. It helps you understand which workloads are interdependent and need to be migrated together.

You can visualize the dependencies in a map or extract the dependency data in a tabular format. This makes it easier to see how different workloads are connected.

Divide your servers into groups and refine the groups for migration by reviewing the dependencies. This ensures you don't leave critical elements behind on-premises.

To set up the Server Tool, you'll need to add the Azure Migrate: Server Migration tool to your Azure project. This involves setting up a machine for the replication appliance and registering it with Azure Migrate: Server Migration tool.

First, create an Azure Migrate project and add the Server Assessment solution to the project. This will allow you to assess your physical servers and identify potential issues.

You'll also need to set up the Azure Migrate appliance by downloading the Azure Migrate installer script from the Azure portal. Extract the contents of the zipped file and launch the PowerShell console with administrative privileges.

Run the script to launch the appliance configuration manager, and configure the appliance for the first time. Register it with the project using the project key, which you can generate in the Azure portal.

Here are the steps to generate the project key:

Remember to provide the project key when configuring the appliance to ensure a smooth setup process.

To set up and configure Azure for migration, you'll first need to create an Azure Migrate project and assign permissions to specific users to create virtual machines and write to an Azure managed disk.

This involves setting up an Azure virtual Network (Vnet), so that when Azure VMs can be joined to it during the process of replication while migrating.

You'll also need to verify physical server requirements and ensure that the on-premises machines comply with Azure VM requirements.

The Azure Migrate: Server Migration tool needs to be added to the Azure project, and a machine will have to be set up for the replication appliance that will be registered with Azure Migrate: Server Migration tool.

You'll also need to specify the Azure target region for migration, and an Azure Site Recovery vault will be created.

Up to 10 machines can be replicated simultaneously, so you'll need to create batches of 10 machines if there are more.

Once the replication is completed, delta changes to the on-premises disks are replicated in the corresponding Azure disks.

The Azure VM Agent needs to be installed, and acceptance tests need to be performed before the on-premises machine can be shut down and migrated to Azure.

To migrate your physical servers to Azure, you'll need to prepare both the Azure and on-premises environments for the migration. This involves creating an Azure Migrate project and assigning permissions to specific users to create virtual machines and write to an Azure managed disk.

On Azure, you'll also need to set up an Azure virtual Network (Vnet), so that Azure VMs can be joined to it during the replication process. This ensures a smooth transition for your on-premises machines.

In the on-premises environment, verify the physical server requirements and ensure they comply with Azure VM requirements. This is a crucial step to avoid any potential issues during the migration process.

Once delta replication is in operation, you can migrate your on-premises virtual machines to Azure. It's a good idea to run test migrations for each machine to confirm that other on-premises machines are not affected, and Azure VMs can successfully use the replicated data.

After the test is successful, clean up the test migration and select the option to shut down virtual machines and perform a planned migration with no data loss for the VM that's ready to be migrated in the Azure Migrate project.

To discover SQL Server databases on Windows Servers, you can use either Windows or SQL Server authentication. You'll need to provide credentials of both authentication types in the appliance configuration manager. Azure Migrate requires a Windows user account that is a member of the sysadmin server role.

To set up the user account, you'll need to add it to specific groups: Remote Management Users, Performance Monitor Users, and Performance Log Users. If the Remote Management Users group isn't present, you can add the user account to the group WinRMRemoteWMIUsers_ instead. This will ensure the account has the necessary permissions to create a CIM connection with the server.

Here are the groups and permissions you'll need to set up for the user account:

The Azure Migrate Server Migration tool is a game-changer for IT professionals. It's a feature that helps assess various factors for a smooth migration to Azure.

This tool can determine if a server is compatible with Azure for migration and identify any incompatibilities that can be remedied before the transition.

The Azure Migrate Server Migration tool can also help identify the right Azure resources for provisioning and estimate costs accurately.

You can visualize workload dependencies with this tool for better planning, which is crucial for a successful migration.

Here are the key features of the Azure Migrate Server Migration tool:

The tool can assess physical servers in as few as four steps to facilitate the migration to Azure.

If you're looking for help with migrating your physical servers to Azure, you're in luck. Apps4Rent is a Tier 1 Microsoft CSP with experienced Azure cloud architects available 24/7 to guide you through the process.

We have a team of experts who can help you migrate your on-premises servers to Azure, making the transition as smooth as possible. They're available via phone, chat, and email, so you can reach out whenever you need assistance.

The choice of resources available within Azure for migration can be overwhelming, even for businesses with a robust IT team. But don't worry, our team is here to help you navigate the process and choose the best option for your business.

Here are some specific resources that can help you get started:

After you've completed the discovery phase, you can verify that your servers appear in the Azure portal. To do this, open the Azure Migrate dashboard and navigate to the Servers, databases and web apps > Azure Migrate: Discovery and assessment page. Click the icon that displays the count for Discovered servers.

Next, you'll want to assess your physical servers for migration to Azure VMs. This is a crucial step in the migration process. You can do this by selecting the icon that displays the count for Discovered servers on the Azure Migrate - Servers > Azure Migrate: Discovery and assessment page.

To proceed, review the data that the appliance collects during discovery. This will give you a better understanding of your servers' compatibility with Azure. You can then move forward with assessing physical servers for migration to Azure VMs.

To verify that your servers appear in the portal, you'll want to check the Azure Migrate dashboard. Open it up and navigate to the Servers, databases and web apps > Azure Migrate: Discovery and assessment page.

Click on the icon that displays the count for Discovered servers to confirm that your servers are listed. This icon is a visual cue that lets you know how many servers have been discovered.

You can also verify that your servers are listed by selecting the icon that displays the count for Discovered servers on the Azure Migrate - Servers > Azure Migrate: Discovery and assessment page.

In both cases, you're essentially checking that your servers have been successfully discovered and are now visible in the portal.

Now that you've started the migration process, it's time to take the next steps. Try out assessment of physical servers with Azure Migrate: Discovery and assessment.

To assess physical servers for migration to Azure VMs, you'll need to review the data collected during discovery. This will give you a clear understanding of your server's compatibility and any potential issues that need to be addressed.

Assessing physical servers is a crucial step in the migration process. It helps you identify which servers are suitable for migration and which ones may require additional work.

The next steps are outlined below:

By following these next steps, you'll be well on your way to a successful migration to Azure. Remember to carefully review the data collected during discovery to ensure a smooth transition.