Vmware VM Migration by way of restore from Synology Backup for Business backups

Russell ORR 1 Reputation point
2022-11-08T08:40:48.177+00:00

I have a client running 3 x Server 2016 VMs (DC, Exchange and an app server) on an EXSI 6.5 host using the free version. The VMS are backed up twice daily to an off site synology NAS using synology's active backup for business. I can confirmed I can successfully restore the VMs to a different host running ESXI 7. No Vcentre is available as this is a free version.

The client feels that if his server room or server was destroyed in a fire or earthquake he would like to move his servers to AZURE in one step by restoring the VMS directly to the cloud from the synology backups.

Questions: Can this be done or will he need to restore his vms to a local ESXI 7 host before they can be migrated to the cloud?

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  1. SadiqhAhmed-MSFT 38,401 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
    2022-11-08T11:14:35.683+00:00

    Hello @Russell ORR Thank you for reaching out to us on Microsoft Q&A community platform. Happy to assist!

    I understand your requirement about migrating your server 2016 VM consisting of (DC, Exchange and an app server) on an EXSI 6.5 host using the free version. You also mentioned that "No Vcentre is available as this is a free version." In that case you follow physical to Azure migration approach. However, the Server Migration tool is application agnostic and works for most applications. When you migrate a server using the Server Migration tool, all the applications installed on the server are migrated along with it. However, for some applications, alternate migration methods other than server migration may be better suited for the migration. For Active Directory, if hybrid environments where the on-premises site is connected to your Azure environment, you can extend your Directory into Azure by adding extra domain controllers in Azure and setting up Active Directory replication. If you're migrating into an isolated environment in Azure requiring its own domain controllers (or testing applications in a sandbox environment), you can migrate servers using the server migration tool.

    Questions: Can this be done or will he need to restore his vms to a local ESXI 7 host before they can be migrated to the cloud?
    IMO, you need to create Exchange server in Azure VM coexists with the local Exchange server (You need to join Azure VM to the local domain), then migrate mailbox from local Exchange server to the Azure VM Exchange (Database migration).

    After that you could uninstall the local Exchange server and migrate DC to the Azure VM.

    Note: Using Azure migration the migration can be performed. However, post migration if you experience any issues with DC, Exchange Server or App Server that will be treated as platform level issues and needs to be fixed with the help of dedicated technical support team by raising a support request.

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