Question #831
A company is migrating its on-premises VMware cluster of 150 VMs to AWS. The VMs run diverse operating systems and host numerous custom applications. Additionally, the company has an on-premises NFS server with 12 TB of data. A 10 Gbps AWS Direct Connect connection is already established for the migration. Which solution will complete the migration to AWS in the LEAST amount of time?
Use AWS Snowball Edge devices to transfer VM images and NFS data. Import VMs via VM Import/Export from Amazon S3. Restore the NFS data to an Amazon EC2 instance with NFS configured. Create an Amazon EFS file system and migrate the NFS data from the EC2 instance.
Deploy AWS Application Migration Service to replicate the VMware VMs. Use AWS DataSync to transfer the NFS server data directly to an Amazon EFS file system over the Direct Connect connection.
Manually recreate all VMs as Amazon EC2 instances and reinstall software. Use AWS DataSync to migrate the NFS server data to an Amazon FSx for Windows File Server file system over the Direct Connect connection.
Transfer VM images and NFS data to AWS Snowball Edge devices. Use VM Import/Export after uploading data to Amazon S3. Restore NFS data to an Amazon EFS file system via an EC2 instance.
Explanation
The correct answer is B. Here's why:
- AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) automates the replication of VMware VMs to AWS, converting them into native EC2 instances without manual intervention. This is faster than manual recreation (Option C) or Snowball-based transfers (Options A/D).
- AWS DataSync efficiently transfers the 12 TB NFS data directly to Amazon EFS over the high-speed Direct Connect connection, avoiding delays from physical device shipping (Snowball) or intermediate steps (EC2 instance).
Why other options are slower:
- A/D: Snowball Edge requires physical shipping, adding days to the timeline. Restoring NFS data via EC2 adds unnecessary steps.
- C: Manually recreating 150 VMs and reinstalling software is time-consuming and error-prone.
Key Points:
- Use MGN for automated VM migration.
- Use DataSync for large-scale data transfers over existing high-speed connections.
- Avoid physical devices (Snowball) unless network bandwidth is insufficient.
Answer
The correct answer is: B