how do I migrate to ARM

Question

I am a basic personal user of Azure with the following:

1. A classic storage account with a number of blob containers holding images which are used in several ASP.NET 4 web applications (not on Azure). The blobs are managed directly by me using Azure Storage Explorer (ASE) and accessed in the web applications by their URLs
2. A SQL database which is accessed by the same web applications and managed using the Portal and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

I am aware that I have to migrate my classic storage account to ARM and also transition to role-based access control (RBAC) by 31 August. I believe that I understand how to do the former either from the Portal or ASE. What I do not know is whether there are any other implications, in particular in transition to RBAC (since the web applications and myself are the only 'users') and whether there is any impact on the SQL database. Do I need to create additional user identities before migration? Do my connection strings have to change?

Answer 1

I'd be tempted to just created a new storage account, copy the content you want and then expose it as a static website (that sounds like what you are doing).
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-static-website

I'm not sure on the SQL question - are you using Azure SQL, SQL on a VM, SQL managed instance or something else? Does it have to be migrated?

Answer 2

Hello!

It's great to hear that you are planning to migrate your classic storage account to ARM and transition to RBAC. I can help you with your questions. Regarding the transition to RBAC, you will need to create a new role assignment for yourself and any other users who need access to your resources. This can be done through the Azure portal or using Azure PowerShell. You can assign roles such as "Storage Blob Data Contributor" or "Storage Blob Data Owner" to users who need access to your blob containers. As for the SQL database, there should not be any impact on it during the migration process. Your connection strings should not need to change either. However, it's always a good idea to test your web applications after the migration to ensure that everything is working as expected. If you have any further questions or concerns, please let me know.

If this answered your question, do take time to mark this as answer. Thanks.

Answer 3

Hello Jon Stranger,

Thank you for posting your query here!

Migrating Classic Storage Account to ARM:

Deadline: Microsoft will retire classic storage accounts on August 31, 2024. To preserve your data, you must migrate your classic storage account to the ARM deployment model by that date.

Migration Process:

· Identify classic storage accounts in your subscription.

· Locate and delete any disk artifacts (such as classic (unmanaged) disks, virtual machine images, and OS images) from the classic account before migration.

· Migrate your classic storage account.

· Update your applications to use Azure Resource Manager APIs.

Identifying Classic Storage Accounts:

· You can list classic storage accounts in your subscription using either the Azure portal or PowerShell.

· In the Azure portal, navigate to your storage accounts list and filter by type “microsoft.classicstorage/storageaccounts.”

· With PowerShell, run the command to list classic storage accounts.

Deleting Disk Artifacts:

· Classic storage accounts may contain unmanaged disks, VM images, and OS images. Delete these artifacts before migration.

· Failure to delete classic disk artifacts may cause migration issues.

Transitioning to RBAC:

· RBAC allows you to control access to Azure resources based on roles assigned to users, groups, or applications.

· Since you mentioned that you and your web applications are the only users, consider the following:

Owner Role: If you’re the sole administrator, assign yourself the “Owner” role for full control.

Contributor Role: Assign the “Contributor” role to your web applications to allow them to manage resources.

Storage Account Contributor Role: If your applications only need to manage storage accounts, assign the “Storage Account Contributor” role.

Connection Strings:

· If your web applications use connection strings to access the storage account, ensure that they are updated to use the new ARM storage account URLs.

· The format of the connection string will change from the classic format to the ARM format.

· Update your application code to use the new connection strings.

Impact on SQL Database:

· Migrating the storage account should not directly impact your SQL database.

· However, ensure that your web applications’ connection strings to the SQL database remain valid after the migration.

· If you’re using RBAC for SQL Server, review and update permissions as needed.

For further details: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/classic-account-migrate?tabs=azure-portal

Do let us know if you have any further queries. I’m happy to assist you further.

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