If you are a business invested with VMware on-premises, you might be running into costly licensing and support issues. Naturally you would want to move to a better scenery, one with the future possibilities to leverage newer, better platforms. But how do you do it without the need to overhaul everything on day one? It's a question many companies grapple with—how do you square your existing infrastructure with the appealing advantages of cloud like Azure? This is where Azure VMware Solution enters the picture as a game changer. This isn’t just a simple lift-and-shift to the cloud. This is about extending or migrating your VMware workloads into the Azure environment.

That means you don’t have to choose between the tools and systems you are familiar with and the flexibility of the cloud – with Azure VMware Solution, you get the best of both worlds. Let's look into VMware migration to Azure VMware Solution in detail.

Why Migrate to Azure VMware Solution?

You might be asking, "Why go through this migration of VMware to Azure VMware solution at all?". The short answer – because it offers a blend of flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and familiarity that's hard to ignore.

Streamline Your Cloud Journey

A cloud migration is rarely just about moving data – it’s about finding ways to innovate and work smarter. By shifting your VMware workloads to Azure, you can leverage a consistent platform that eliminates the need for massive application re-architecting, effectively saving you time, effort, and the cost of potential headaches. You can focus on your business objectives instead of getting bogged down in technical complexities.

This means more agility for your IT team and a quicker path to achieving your business goals. This also lowers complexity and helps minimize negative impacts on business continuity. For a simple migration plan framework, look into the Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure.

Cost Optimization for Cloud

Did you know that depending on your current set-up, Microsoft offers Azure Hybrid Benefit and Extended Security Updates for several versions of Windows and SQL Server? These cost-saving benefits extend to your Azure VMware solution, too, giving you a financial cushion during your cloud adoption process.

No Need to Reinvent the Wheel

Retraining your entire IT team to navigate an entirely new cloud landscape can eat into your time and resources. Since Azure VMware Solution runs on familiar tools like vSphere, vSAN, NSX-T, and HCX, your team can work within a familiar environment, minimizing the learning curve.

It's like bringing your trusted IT toolkit with you to the cloud. Plus, since Azure VMware Solution is a fully managed service by Microsoft, your IT team can spend less time on management services, and more time on what matters most.

Migration Process – Breaking it Down

Alright, so migrating to Azure VMware Solution is worth it, but how does it actually happen? Let's get into the steps of an example migration project:

Evaluate your Current Setup

The first order of business is to get an accurate read on your current VMware vSphere landscape. Running an Azure Migrate assessment on your on-premises environment for a set period, say 30 days (or even longer for more data), gives you an opportunity to not only right-size your future Azure VMware solution deployment but also helps you identify the proper migration approach—whether it’s live, cold, or bulk—that aligns with your operational needs.

While the assessment usually does a great job providing a framework for migration, remember that there are details outside the scope of Azure Migrate that are important to account for before you initiate the move. You can’t forget about networking configurations. For a smooth migration, use compatible IP address spaces across your on-premises vSphere setup and your Azure VMware solution instance.

Before going live with Azure VMware Solution, it is essential to address specific configurations. First and foremost, pinpointing the correct Azure subscription, resource group, region, and resource name will be crucial for your cloud setup. Secondly, evaluate your host requirements and plan for the number needed for your Azure deployment. Ensure a seamless migration process by outlining and verifying firewall rules to guarantee open communication between your existing on-premises VMware vSphere environment and the Azure VMware solution. Finally, dedicate time to defining the appropriate VMware NSX-T Data Center network segments to allow seamless transfer and operations within the Azure VMware Solution ecosystem.

Build Your Cloud Foundation: The Landing Zone

Think of the Landing Zone in Azure as the bedrock for all your migrated workloads – a secure, scalable foundation ready to accommodate whatever applications and data you decide to move over. Ensure the network infrastructure within this zone aligns with the requirements of Azure VMware solution and make necessary provisions to seamlessly incorporate any other Azure services you plan on utilizing, both now and in the future.

Deploying Your Azure VMware Solution

The beauty of Azure lies in its deployment flexibility. When it's time to bring your VMware environment to life on Azure, you're spoiled for choice. The traditional route is via the intuitive Azure portal. For the command-line aficionados, Azure offers the versatility of the CLI.

If you crave Infrastructure-as-code, explore the world of Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, delve into Bicep templates, or embrace the industry-leading prowess of Terraform. As your Azure VMware solution instance takes shape, you gain the full might of a software-defined data center complete with a pre-deployed stack encompassing vCenter server, the formidable ESXi hypervisor, reliable vSAN storage, and the robust NSX-T data center for a streamlined network management. This empowers you to seamlessly migrate virtual machines from your on-premises infrastructure while concurrently having the freedom to deploy fresh virtual machines directly onto your Azure VMware solution private cloud.

Move Your Virtual Machines Over

Azure offers VMware HCX for easy migrations between on-premises vSphere environments and the Azure VMware Solution platform. Since the environment operates on dedicated bare-metal servers, seamless connectivity hinges on integrating your Azure VMware Solution deployment with your Azure virtual network.

After establishing this connection, establish global reach between Azure and your local environment by linking their respective ExpressRoute circuits – this handles the intricate task of east-west traffic routing between these networks leveraging the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), laying a sturdy foundation for seamless workload transfer. Within this infrastructure, you have the flexibility to deploy a "jump host" either securely residing behind the robust fortifications of Azure Bastion—providing on-demand access to virtual machines without exposing their ports—or provisioned with a public IP address using the Just-in-Time (JIT) access feature to further enhance the security posture by granting temporary access to resources.

Enjoy the Benefits

By this point, managing your VMware resources on Azure feels no different from managing them on-premises thanks to the power and familiarity of vCenter Server. Plus, you gain closer proximity to Azure’s treasure trove of APIs for simpler integration with native services and tools – take building content libraries directly on scalable, reliable, cost-effective Azure Blob Storage for instance. This streamlines template deployment so spinning up a fresh batch of VMs, whether they are for new projects or for scaling up your existing applications, happens in a flash. Your existing on-premises data can also easily be moved to Azure Storage.

Continuous Refinement

Migration isn’t a one-time event. You've planted a seed. Now, cultivate it. Explore advanced features within Azure, fine-tune configurations to ensure they align perfectly with your evolving needs and embrace automation whenever possible. Your goal? Make the solution your own.

Navigating Security, Governance, and Compliance

Migrating mission-critical workloads demands a meticulous approach to maintaining security, compliance, and robust governance. This section focuses on best practices to help make your migrating VMware workloads data secure.

Implementing Best Practices for Security

Security in the cloud should always be paramount in our thinking, but luckily, when transitioning your VMware workloads, it is crucial to prioritize the implementation of security measures directly onto Azure VMware solution . Extending those best practices and safeguards already in place from your on-premises infrastructure onto your Azure VMware environment is a great starting point. This process entails employing features such as network security groups (NSGs), firewalls, and robust intrusion detection systems. Consider a robust strategy around privileged access management to limit access to the essential Azure resources.

Maintaining rigorous compliance during and after the cloud journey with Azure VMware Solution means understanding that migrating your workloads involves adhering to numerous security and privacy standards relevant to your specific industry and geographical location. For extra support, find a partner in the Microsoft Partner Network that specializes in cloud VMware, and cloud migrations.

Extend Your Governance

Your governance approach must extend to Azure VMware solution. By mapping your on-premises policies and controls to Azure’s native services, you create a comprehensive governance structure that covers the full spectrum, from data residency and disaster recovery, to compliance with data sovereignty regulations, ensuring a consistent approach to how you manage, protect, and use data throughout your hybrid cloud environment.

Conclusion

With VMware migration to Azure VMware Solution, provides numerous benefits for organizations. These benefits include the accelerated cloud journey, seamless transition, optimal costs, no retraining needed, operational continuity, boosted agility, amplified scalability, minimized disruption, and increased access to new technologies. By thoughtfully mapping out your path through discovery, preparation, migration, and beyond, your company sets the stage for growth within the boundless potential that is the cloud—and with your trusted VMware toolkit firmly by your side, it promises to be an exciting journey.

FAQs about Azure VMware Solution

Refer to this article from Microsoft for the most frequently asked questions about Azure VMware Solution:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-vmware/faq