A Case Study of Cloud Migration

Proposal Overview

Problem Summary

A fictitious company, Funtimes Gaming, has seen substantial growth recently due to a board game they released being very popular. Because of this, their web site has seen drops in performance and unavailability. Funtimes Gaming needs to migrate their servers to a cloud environment in order to handle the rapid growth and high demand of the company websites. With a cloud-based environment, Funtimes Gaming would be able to add additional web servers quickly as needed to keep up with the high demand.

IT Solution

Funtimes Gaming has grown faster than the company website can keep up with. This is due to the lack of server capability and expandability. Cloud migration of the web servers would help to overcome this problem.

With the servers in the cloud, Funtimes Gaming could easily add servers to keep up with the demand. This would help to reduce costs and increase uptime. When demand is high on the server, automation could deploy a new server to spread the load across another server. Cloud computing has a pay-as-you-grow model meaning that you only pay for the resources you use.

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The proposed solution would be to migrate Funtimes Gaming current web servers to Amazon Web Services (AWS). To do this, the AWS Server Migration Service would be utilized. First, the servers would be replicated with the AWS Server Migration Service. Once replicated, the service will transfer the servers to AWS to be converted for use. After the servers are setup on AWS, testing will be done to verify that everything is functioning.

Implementation Plan

Phase 1: The first phase will be to understand the current environment. An inventory of the current servers with what they are running will need to be established. First, we will need to complete an inventory of the servers by using AWS Application Discovery Service. This will include all physical and virtual servers. Data collected will include operating system, services running, ram, CPU, and storage. Next, we will analyze data collected and verify nothing was missed. The data collected will be compared to the inventory Funtimes Gaming has documented.

Phase 2: The next phase is to design the migration strategy. A plan will be created to decide the order of migration as well as the best way to migrate the data. First, we will prioritize servers to be migrated. The servers that will have the best outcomes will be migrated first. Next, we will determine how the data will be migrated. The data can be migrated by direct connection to AWS. It can be backed up and sent to them to be uploaded. Also, it may be best to build a new server and transfer the settings in.

Phase 3: The third phase will be to perform the migration. The migration strategy will be followed during the migration. AWS Server Migration Service will be used to migrate servers. This service helps to transfer the servers to Amazon Web Services. It will provide automation, scheduling and tracking of progress. After the AWS Server Migration Service is finished, we will install, deploy and configure new servers. These will be the servers that were determined it would be best to build a new one instead of transferring it.

Phase 4: The next phase will be to validate and test the migration. Testing of applications will be performed to verify functionality. The new servers and applications will be tested to verify they are performing as expected. This will include stress tests to confirm stability and performance. A checklist from the migration strategy will be used to validate all applications were migrated and are functioning.

Phase 5: The last phase is to switch production over to the new system. First, we will make the cut over to the new system. Production will be switched over and the old system will be turned off. After the cut over, we will monitor the new system and make necessary changes. The new system will need to be monitored to make sure the correct computing power and capacity is being used. Once a baseline has been established, the new system can be adjusted as needed.

Review of Other Work

The first case study is from 2nd Watch and involves Coca-Cola North America. During a Super Bowl campaign, they found they were unable to handle the increased traffic. Coca-Cola decided then that they needed to expand to Amazon Web Services to help with future campaigns. One of their goals was to use auto-scaling to handle the peaks in traffic they could not predict. After migrating to AWS, they were able to handle similar campaigns without any problems. (2nd Watch, 2018)

The next case study is from Amazon Web Services and is about Intuit migrating to AWS. Intuit looked into moving their servers to AWS when the lease for their site that hosted an application was up. They decided to move migrate to AWS so they would not have to manage idle servers outside of tax season. As a result, they reduced costs significantly and moved the rest of their applications to the cloud. (Amazon Web Service, 2018)

In another case study, CloudEndure helped Clark Construction move from their data center to AWS. Clark Construction was a growing company with ten regional offices around the United States. They wanted to move their applications to simplify data center management. They chose AWS because of its reputation of being one of the best cloud services. They were running on VMware and physical servers before the migration. After the successful cut over, they were able to resume normal operations within minutes without having a lengthy downtime. This was vital to company operations. (CloudEndure, 2019)

The last case study is from Netflix on their migration to cloud services. In 2008, Netflix experienced a major database failure that caused them to not be able to ship to customers for three days. Because of this, Netflix decided to move their servers to Amazon Web Services. Since moving to the cloud, Netflix has greatly increased service availability and reliability. Netflix now adds more servers and storage as needed to keep up with demand. (Yury Izrailevsky, 2016)

Relation of Artifacts to Project Development

The 2^nd Watch Case study relates to the proposed project of migrating to AWS because it shows that AWS can be used for to handle increased traffic. Coca-Cola experienced higher traffic demand on their websites because of a Super Bowl campaign. They turned to AWS to help with the poor performance of their previous configuration. Funtimes Gaming will use AWS to help their website performance during high demand times as well.

The Intuit case study shows how AWS can be used to use only the servers you need. Intuit migrated to AWS so they would not have to have extra servers sitting idle in their data centers. When tax season comes around and they have increased traffic, they easily add more servers to handle the load. Funtimes Gaming will use a similar strategy. When they release new games and have increased web traffic, they will be able to easily deploy new servers to handle the demand. After they see that traffic has normalized, they will be able to remove the additional servers to save money.

The CloudEndure case study shows how AWS can be used for a growing company. Clark construction was a fast growing construction company with offices around the United States. This made it difficult to manage the IT infrastructure. With the help of CloudEndure, they were able to migrate their servers and applications to Amazon Web Services quickly and seamlessly. Funtimes Gaming will migrate to the cloud because of their rapid growth making it easier to manage their IT infrastructure like Clark Construction.

The case study about Netflix shows the expandability as well as disaster recovery that AWS can offer. Netflix had a major database failure and were unable to recover the database completely. This caused problems with their service. Because of this, they migrated their information to the cloud for disaster recovery. Once established in the cloud, they expanded to help with streaming demands. This helped them with reliability and stability for Netflix. Funtimes gaming will use AWS to improve their performance and stability as well.

Project Rationale

Funtimes Gaming started out as a small board game company. Over time they have created several board games that have been mildly successful. Recently, they released a game that was extremely popular and won many awards. Due to this, Funtimes Gaming has experienced rapid growth and unpredictable web traffic. This project will migrate Funtimes Gaming servers to Amazon Web Services in order to increase uptime of the website and keep up with the growth. Funtimes Gaming will be able to more easily respond to increased traffic or poor performance with this transition. This will improve the customer web experience as well as make the managing of servers easier. If Funtimes Gaming does not commit to this project, they may have poor customer experiences and in turn lose those customers. This would cause them to lose revenue. Also, they would need to purchase additional servers and bandwidth to keep up with the increased traffic. If they do go through with the project, they will see increase in sales, easier management of their IT infrastructure, and they will see their website be more stable and reliable.

Current Project Environment

Funtimes Gaming is a small company that is in a small office with very little space to expand. In this office, they design and test their games. They only have ten employees and contract out some work as well. After their first few games were released, they realized they needed to have a web site as well as some servers for other things such as Microsoft exchange for email and file storage. When they made this decision, they did not have money for the equipment they needed. Because of this, they decided to purchase a cheap, refurbished server to help save on cost. The server is used to run VMware to host their virtual servers. Due to the space limitations, the server is located on a shelf in a storage closet. There is not enough air cooling in the closet, so the door to the closet is usually left open. The internet connection that Funtimes Gaming has is a basic business plan with minimal speeds. This plan was chosen because there was no need for anything faster when the business was starting. Funtimes Gaming has seen a large increase in web traffic to their website because of a game they released recently being a huge success. This has caused their website to have poor performance and even completely shutting down because of the overload on their current system. Their website has a store for their games, forums for their fans to use to interact with one another and Funtimes Gaming, and news about their products.

Methodology

This section (suggested length of 1–2 pages) describes and details the specific methodology. The methodology is the process that the project will follow when it is implemented. Include specific details to adequately describe the steps that will take place to fully execute the project. Explain how a standard methodology (such as PDCA, ADDIE, SDLC, Prototyping or Agile) will be applied for the implementation of the project.

Project Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables

Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables Table

Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables Descriptions

The goal for this project is to perform server migration of Funtimes Gaming servers to Amazon Web Services. This will allow Funtimes Gaming to keep up with demand and give better performance.

Objective 1: The first objective will be to understand the current environment. An inventory of the current servers with what they are running will need to be established.

1. Deliverable 1: Complete an inventory of the servers used with AWS Application Discovery Service. This will include all physical and virtual servers. Data collected will include operating system, services running, ram, CPU, and storage.
2. Deliverable 2: Analyze data collected and verify nothing was missed. The data collected will be compared to the inventory Funtimes Gaming has documented.

Objective 2: The next objective is to design the migration strategy. A plan will be created to decide the order of migration as well as the best way to migrate the data.

1. Deliverable 1: Prioritize servers to be migrated. The servers that will have the best outcomes will be migrated first.
2. Deliverable 2: Determine how the data will be migrated. The data can be migrated by direct connection to AWS. It can be backed up and sent to them to be uploaded. Also, it may be best to build a new server and transfer the settings in.

Objective 3: The third objective will be to perform the migration. The migration strategy will be followed during the migration.

1. Deliverable 1: Use the AWS Server Migration Service to migrate servers. This service helps to transfer the servers to Amazon Web Services. It will provide automation, scheduling and tracking of progress.
2. Deliverable 2: Install, deploy and configure new servers. These will be the servers that were determined it would be best to build a new one instead of transferring it.

Objective 4: The next objective will be to validate and test the migration. Testing of applications will be performed to verify functionality.

1. Deliverable 1: Test the new environment. The new servers and applications will be tested to verify they are performing as expected. This will include stress tests to confirm stability and performance.
2. Deliverable 2: Verify all applications are up and running. A checklist from the migration strategy will be used to validate all applications were migrated and are functioning.

Objective 5: The last objective is to switch production over to the new system. Once the switch has been made, monitoring and optimizing of the system will need to be done.

1. Deliverable 1: Make the cut over to the new system. Production will be switched over and the old system will be turned off.
2. Deliverable 2: Monitor the new system and make necessary changes. The new system will need to be monitored to make sure the correct computing power and capacity is being used. Once a baseline has been established, the new system can be adjusted as needed.

Project Timeline with Milestones

Outcome

In this section, describe the anticipated project outcomes and explain how the success of the project will be measured once completed. Explain the expected project outcomes and describe the evaluation framework to be used once the project is completed to assess the project’s success and effectiveness.

References

• 2nd Watch (2018). Coca-Cola North America. Retrieved from http://2ndwatch.com/case-studies/coca-cola-north-america-2/ 
• Amazon Web Services (2018). Intuit Cloud Migration. Retrieved from https://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies/intuit-cloud-migration/ 
• CloudEndure (2019). Clark Construction Migrates to AWS in a Week Using CloudEndure. Retrieved from https://www.cloudendure.com/case-studies/cloudendure-migration-case-study-with-clark-constructions/
• Yury Izrailevsky (2016). Completing the Netflix Cloud Migration. Retrieved from https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/completing-the-netflix-cloud-migration