For some projects, it is not an option to spend 3-6 months planning for AWS migration. A looming deadline means you have to put aside the “normal” steps for AWS migration, like conducting an extensive TCO analysis or rearchitecting applications.
This was certainly the case with PartyLite, a global eCommerce platform with a 30 day deadline to get out of their colocated VMware environment and onto Amazon Web Services. They also needed to meet PCI compliance standards on AWS — a new challenge for their IT team.
A few weeks ago, Logicworks did a joint webinar with Amazon Web Services on PartyLite’s story. You can watch the webinar below or download a PDF of the case study here.
Some highlights from the webinar:
- PartyLite had 30 days to complete their AWS migration
- As a commerce company, PartyLite needed to meet PCI-DSS on AWS
- In order to deal with imperfect migration conditions, we recommend:
- Clearly define roles, responsibilities, milestones and timelines
- Dedicate resources
- Find an AWS partner with existing expertise and migration framework
- Design with an eye towards future growth or changes, where possible
- Even if you’re in a hurry, it’s important to avoid building custom, “snowflake” servers, especially if you are working in a compliant environment. As much as possible, try to build environments with consistent configurations.
- Using a tool like AWS CloudFormation ensures that every environment is built with similar characteristics (especially network configurations).
- A template helps you make fewer manual configurations, which could result in error or a “missed” configuration necessary for compliance.
- Automate where possible. If your team is already familiar with a configuration management tool like Puppet or Chef, consider using this or working with a partner that uses these tools. This ensures that your configurations are consistently enforced.
- The actual migration stage includes a number of steps:
- Image creation (if you’re coming from VMware, this is relatively simple – use AWS VM Import/Export service)
- 3rd party tool installation
- Environment build-out
- Instance fine-tuning
- Data importing (you can go over the internet or for a large project, use something like AWS Snowball)
- Testing
- Post-migration, Logicworks works with PartyLite to manage cloud operations.
Got questions about migrating from VMware to AWS? Contact us.
Logicworks is an enterprise cloud automation and managed services provider with 23 years of experience transforming enterprise IT. Contact us to learn more about our managed cloud solutions.
