Converting from Amazon to Azure

When restoring an Amazon EC2 instance from backup, you can choose to convert the EC2 instance to a virtual machine and deploy it in Microsoft Azure. You can convert Windows and Linux instances.

You can perform VM conversions from streaming backups, from secondary copies, or from IntelliSnap backup copies. You cannot perform a conversion from a Snap copy.

Azure VM Considerations

• For Linux, note the following:

  • Before you convert a VM from a non-Azure hypervisor using a "restore as" operation, verify that the source VM meets the requirements for non-endorsed distributions. This verification is important because Linux VMs that are based on an endorsed distribution of Azure have the prerequisites that enable them to run on Azure, but VMs that originate from other hypervisors might not. For more information, see Information for Non-Endorsed Distributions.

  • If, after you convert Linux instances to Azure, the virtual machines are not bootable or are not network accessible, you may need to troubleshoot. For more information, see Linux VMs do not boot or are unreachable after conversion or replication to Azure.

• For Windows, note the following:

  • All necessary Windows drivers are pre-installed. For more information about preparing a Windows virtual hard disk, see Prepare a Windows VM to upload to Azure.

  • For Windows VMs, to enable disks to be brought online as part of the conversion, enable SAN policy for the source VM. For more information, see Enabling Disks to Be Brought Online as Part of a Conversion.

• Private IP addresses are not retained. Network settings are created based on the destination virtual network in Azure.

• The operating system for the destination VM must be an operating system that is supported for Azure.

Before You Begin

• Create a virtualization client for Azure Resource Manager.

• Perform a backup of the Amazon EC2 instance.

  Important

  You can only convert an instance if the OS disk is included in the backup.

• Azure Standard or Premium general-purpose storage accounts are required for VM conversion to Azure.

• For faster conversions, use the following approach:

  1. Create a virtual machine in Azure and install the MediaAgent package on the VM.

  2. Use the Azure MediaAgent to create a secondary copy of the backup data in the Azure cloud.

  3. Create a virtual machine in Azure and install the Virtual Server Agent package on the VM.

  4. Use the Azure VSA proxy to perform the conversion.

  This approach improves data transfer speeds to the destination storage account. A Premium storage account provides the best performance.

• Static network connections are not configured as part of conversion. If a virtual machine is configured to use a static IP address, change the network configuration to use DHCP before performing the backup.

• To access the Serial Console in the Azure portal on Linux, perform the steps found on the page How to set up serial console boot for headless boot on the source VM prior to backup.

Procedure

1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > virtualization_client > Virtual Server > Amazon > backup_set.

2. Initiate the restore from a subclient or backup set:

   • From a subclient: Right-click the subclient and select Browse and Restore.

   • From a backup set: Right-click the backup set, point to All Tasks, and click Browse and Restore.

3. In the Browse and Restore Options dialog box, ensure that Full Virtual Machine is selected.

4. From the Restore as list beside Full Virtual Machine, select Azure.

5. Click View Content.

6. From the list of backed up instances in the Client tab, select one or more instances to be converted and click Recover All Selected.

7. In the Restore Options for All Selected Items dialog box, set the conversion settings:

   Options	Descriptions
   Azure Subscription	Displays the virtualization client for the Azure subscription. Select the Azure subscription client for the restore operation. The subscription type of the virtualization client (Azure Resource Manager) must match the type of the client for the source VM.
   Proxy Client	By default, the preferred VSA proxy for the virtualization client is used for the restore. You can select any VSA proxy for Azure Resource Manager VMs.
   Destination Information	Provide the following information to restore the converted instance into Azure: In the VM and Disk column, expand each instance to view the volumes in that instance. In the Change VM display name to column, enter the new display name for the Azure virtual machine. Select one of the following: For Azure Resource Manager, click in the Resource Group column and click ... to specify the Resource Group for the restored VM. In the Region/Storage Account column, select the region for the restored VM. Then select an Azure Standard or Premium general-purpose storage account. You can select a different storage account for each virtual machine and disk. The storage accounts listed are only those associated with the selected region for the restored VM. To specify other options, select one or more virtual machines, then click Configure under the Settings column. The Azure Virtual Machine Configuration dialog box appears. As needed, specify other values: VM Display Name: Displays the name of the virtual machine. Resource Group: For Azure Resource Manager, click ... to specify the Resource Group for the restored VM. Region/Storage Account: Select the region for the restored VM. Then select an Azure Standard or Premium general-purpose storage account. You can select a different storage account for each virtual machine and disk. The storage accounts listed are only those associated with the selected region for the restored VM. VM size: Select a size specification for the restored virtual machine. If you choose Auto Select, the conversion operation automatically chooses a configuration that is similar to the source instance. Restore as Managed VM: To restore virtual machines as managed virtual machines, select this check box. When you select this option, the restore operation creates virtual machine disks in the specified storage account, and then converts them to managed disks and attaches the disks to the restored virtual machine. Operating System: Select an operating system to match the source instance. If you choose Auto Select, the conversion operation automatically chooses an operating system that matches the source instance. The operating system for the destination VM must be an operating system that is supported for Azure. Azure Virtual Network Options: Create Public IP: If a public IP address is not required on restored VMs, clear this selection. By default, a public IP address is assigned to Azure Resource Manager virtual machines during restores. Network Interface: Click ... to specify a network connection for the restored VM. For Azure Resource Manager, you can specify any subnet in the same region as the selected resource group. Network Security Group: Click ... to specify a network security group for the restored VM.
   Power ON Virtual Machine after restore	Select this check box to power on the virtual machine automatically after the restore is complete.
   Unconditionally overwrite VM with the same name	Select this check box to replace a virtual machine with the same name at the specified destination.

8. Click OK to initiate the restore job.