Azure Migration Pre‐Migration Checklist - vespertron/AzureDataFactory_Migration GitHub Wiki
Azure Migration Pre-Migration Checklist
1. Infrastructure & Inventory
- Inventory all on-prem servers, VMs, databases, and apps
- Map all interdependencies (e.g., app servers tied to databases)
- Assess OS compatibility with Azure
- Identify legacy components (e.g., 32-bit apps, outdated drivers)
Tools: Azure Migrate, Microsoft Assessment Toolkit, MAP Toolkit
2. Data & Storage
- Identify all structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data
- Classify data by sensitivity (PII, financial, IP, etc.)
- Estimate data volume and transfer timelines
- Determine storage tiering (hot, cool, archive)
- Plan for schema conversion or transformation (if needed)
Suggested Tools: Azure Data Factory, Azure Database Migration Service (DMS)
3. Security & Compliance
- Review RBAC and IAM models — map to Azure AD
- Assess network security (VPN, firewall, NSGs)
- Encrypt data at rest and in transit
- Review compliance needs (HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2, etc.)
- Enable logging & auditing (Azure Monitor, Log Analytics)
4. Architecture & Design
- Define landing zone (resource groups, regions, subscriptions)
- Choose appropriate services (VMs, PaaS, containers, serverless)
- Design for scalability (auto-scaling, load balancing)
- Plan for high availability & disaster recovery
- Decide on hybrid connectivity (VPN, ExpressRoute)
5. Cost Estimation & Optimization
- Use Azure Pricing Calculator and TCO Calculator
- Evaluate reserved instances vs pay-as-you-go
- Right-size VMs and services
- Set budgets and configure cost alerts
6. Business Alignment & Stakeholders
- Define business goals for the migration (cost, performance, flexibility)
- Identify and involve stakeholders (IT, Finance, Legal)
- Confirm SLAs, KPIs, and success metrics
- Plan staff training on Azure services
7. Migration Strategy
- Choose migration approach:
- Rehost (lift & shift)
- Refactor (minor changes)
- Rearchitect (significant redesign)
- Rebuild (cloud-native redesign)
- Create phased migration plan (by workload priority)
- Build rollback and contingency plans
8. Testing & Validation
- Create Azure test environments
- Conduct functional and performance testing
- Validate data integrity and system behavior
- Monitor for failures or latency
9. Cutover & Post-Migration
- Schedule cutover window and downtime (if any)
- Notify all impacted teams
- Switch DNS/routing and validate system access
- Monitor post-migration behavior
- Decommission old systems and update documentation