DC to Azure - use AzureMigrate or Create a new VM and sync

Question

Hi all,

just trying to find out PROS and CONS of these two different ways of migrating DC to Azure. I've seen many ppl recommending to spin up a "new VM in Azure" then sync with on-prem DC and then Decomm on-prem DC... This seems to be a bit more work (sync, move all roles, decommision, etc) than just migrate DC using Azure Migrate. Why Azure Migrate is not a prefered way for DC migrations? Are there going to be the same steps when using Azure migrate that must be done manually (promote DC in Azure, decomm on-prem, etc)?

PS: I'm just preparing for my first on-prem to Azure migration so not very experienced with it yet.

Answer 1

Hello @Michal Sumega ,
Thanks for reaching out to us!

Please see the answer below:

Reference to common questions - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/migrate/common-questions-server-migration#can-i-migrate-active-directory-domain-controllers-using-azure-migrate

I hope your other questions are answered here - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/66081/migrating-on-premise-domain-controller-to-azure.html

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Answer 2

Just to add - When I'm doing a migration it is best practice to replicate servers into a Test Bed (silo VNet - same ip scope as target) to test functionality and performance. In this test environment, I normally replicate an AD server for only test failovers so I can have a server provide DNS and authentication in my test environment. Remember you do not want to do test failovers on a live production network or you will experience some production issues.

For production, it is best practice to extend your domain with connectivity to existing AD with a VPN or Express Route connection for sync\replication.