For many organizations who traditionally had to adopt expensive and usually relatively inflexible on-site database solutions, the increasing adoption of database-as-a-service (DBaaS) providers is a welcome alternative, as DBaaS offers a flexible, cloud-based database option through subscription services.
Among DBaaS platforms, Microsoft Azure® SQL Database has become a go-to option for organizations hoping to move to the subscription model, likely because Azure’s solution is one of the most cost-effective while providing reliable security and disaster recovery.
One of the main factors still holding many businesses back is Azure Database Migration, which can be challenging for organizations worried about the cost and the time commitments necessary for successful cloud migration. However, Azure database migration doesn’t have to be daunting. The following tips can set you up for success. And remember, you can use an automated tool such as SolarWinds® SQL Sentry®, SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer (DPA), or SolarWinds Database Performance Monitor (DPM) to streamline the process.
Understand the Challenges
The cloud migration process begins with verifying if a cloud system is right for your business. Understanding the pitfalls and potential inconveniences of cloud migration can significantly reduce the pain points of the migration process. First and foremost, organizations need to be fully aware all migrations come with some amount of downtime—either all at once, as organizations switch all systems over to the cloud, or during phases. This downtime can be minimized if all of an organization’s data is copied to the cloud while teams are on-premises.
It’s also critical to understand precisely how the capabilities of a new cloud system differ from those of an on-premises system. Creating cloud-based code to account for these disparities might be necessary for transferring on-premises data into a cloud system. To understand both the cloud system and its differences from an on-premises system, work with a new cloud provider for a complete picture of what differences you may need to account for during the migration process.
Make a Plan
To further assist in planning to Migrate SQL Server to Azure, building an in-depth understanding of your primary data systems will help create a detailed migration plan. Here are a few essential items to keep in mind during the discovery process:
- Systems from which the migration target consumes data
- Systems for which the migration target produces data
- Current versions of software components
- Resource utilization (e.g., CPU, storage, memory)
- Performance baselines
- Sample workloads
- Recovery point objectives (RPO) and recovery time objectives (RTO)
- Application owners
Automated tools, such as monitoring or documentation software, can assist teams in collecting this information. However, some of this crucial information also requires IT professionals to engage the knowledge of business leaders. This collaboration comes with the added benefit of ensuring executive buy-in for the migration. Earning this buy-in is an essential step in the migration process, as it means leaders fully understand the process and can take measures to support the Azure database migration.
Clean Up
Azure database migration is much easier when organizations don’t bring extra baggage. Sorting through data to cull unused data sources ultimately saves time and reduces the amount of clutter to sort out later—before moving to the cloud, cull data taking up valuable space, offering no discernable value to your organization. Starting fresh with a well-organized cloud, free from extraneous data, cuts down on costs while saving storage space and could mean your system will work faster.
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