Migrating 100+ Websites on Azure

Technology  |     |  

For enterprises serving customers on a large scale through multi-operational businesses, executing an enterprise cloud migration can be a truly daunting task. It requires a thorough assessment of the existing applications and data and their ability to perform on cloud. So, when [company name XYZ] approached Loves Cloud in 20…, we knew it was going to be both challenging and interesting at the same time. They wanted us to assist them in migrating over 100 websites running on Microsoft technologies and infrastructure to Azure for more than 25 customers!

XYZ is one of the most distinguished retailers for over 40 years for government agencies in the USA. They provide government, power, water districts, and municipalities with hardware and software solutions for their utility management and fund accounting. We tried to assess the underlying problems they were facing because of the monolithic infrastructure and this is what we reached at:

Problem analysis

  • The application and database servers were lacking the edge and slowing down operations. They needed an upgrade. A fully-managed database service with built-in security and performance monitoring for managing databases at a scale was need of the hour.
  • The disaster recovery time was too long which was affecting customer service.
  • Operational costs were escalating in absence of cost monitoring of the existing resources, thereby hampering overall profitability of the business.

How did we approach the challenge?

During our discussion with the CTO of XYZ, we zeroed in on a few goals that we would be achieving as part of the cloud migration job. The goals were:

  • Migrating the application and database servers to Azure
  • Migrating application data and databases to the servers in Azure
  • Configuring all websites and applications to run on Azure application servers and database servers

On reaching consensus, we started to work as a team towards achieving these goals and making digital transformation a reality for the client company.

Implementation of the solution:

Since we had a background where we had previously experienced such cases and worked with migration projects, we utilized the lessons learnt from them.

We started creating 13 servers in Azure for applications and databases. Then, to make them available, we started configuring the servers using Microsoft infrastructure from third-party data centre to that of Azure.

We set up real-time monitoring and alerting for cost and performance of all Azure resources and finally, shifted all the application data and large MSSQL databases to the servers in Azure. The client company wanted to completely shed their old-school data and adopt Azure database thereby embracing a culture of digital transformation.

To ensure successful implementation and smooth running of the solution, we used the following tools and platforms:

  1. Azure Stack as the public cloud platform –
    • Virtual machines to run the solutions
    • Azure monitor instead of Microsoft technologies and infrastructure
    • VNet to connect two virtual networks
  2. Dot net and Bash were used as programming and scripting languages.

Cost management being critical in business was also taken into consideration while performing the task.

Migrating 100+ websites on Azure and beyond

The implementation of the solution wasn’t easy but for us, who already had a stronghold in handling migration, it turned out to be quite rewarding. We were able to achieve our goals within the desired time frame without any hindrance and the best part is- we even managed to garner some additional benefits for the client.

  • The application servers and database servers got upgraded to the latest versions.
  • The application framework support was changed to comply with the framework version on Azure servers.
  • Automated backup was enabled on Azure to reduce the disaster recovery time
  • And most importantly, the operational cost could be contained within the customer’s budget.

The scripting language was made simple so that it becomes easy to operate. We succeeded in doing so through proactive cost monitoring of all Azure resources. However, we made sure that the client received a complete digital transformation.

Also, we made sure to document each and every step performed to execute the migration task in hand. The team members of the client company later took care to follow the guidelines provided by us.

It makes us elated to see our clients benefiting from our services, consultation and help. Helping them achieve something motivates us to keep going and aspire to provide a thousand more customers in the coming days in the future.

At Loves Cloud, we are constantly leveraging the power of various public cloud computing platforms along with multiple open source software solutions to automate, optimize, and scale workloads of our customers. To learn more about our services aimed at digital transformation of your business, please visit https://www.loves.cloud/ or write to us at biz@loves.cloud.