What's changed: Created Professional Cloud Architect Chapter 2 (Domain 1 "Design and plan" part 2: HA/scalability/DR = zonal/regional/multi-region, MIG/autoscaling, load balancers, RTO/RPO, backup/warm/hot standby; migration and hybrid = lift-and-shift/improve-and-move/refactor, Migrate to VMs/DMS/Storage Transfer/Transfer Appliance, Cloud VPN/Interconnect, phased migration).
2.2Planning migration and hybrid/multi-cloud
Understand choosing migration strategies (lift-and-shift, improve-and-move, refactor), migration tools (Migrate to Virtual Machines, Database Migration Service, Storage Transfer Service, Transfer Appliance), hybrid/multi-cloud connectivity (Cloud VPN, Cloud Interconnect), and phased migration planning.
Many enterprises migrate existing assets rather than build from scratch. The architect plans what to move and how (strategy) and how to connect to on-premises (connectivity).
2.2.1Migration strategies and tools
Migration has roughly three levels: run as-is via lift-and-shift (fastest, least change), slightly optimize via improve-and-move, or rebuild cloud-native via refactor (most effort, biggest payoff). Tools: VMs = Migrate to Virtual Machines, databases = Database Migration Service, large data = Storage Transfer Service (over network) or Transfer Appliance (physical shipping). Map "speed first = lift-and-shift" and "maximize cloud benefit = refactor."
2.2.2Hybrid and multi-cloud connectivity
To connect on-premises or other clouds to Google Cloud, choose by requirements: the encrypted-tunnel Cloud VPN (simple, mid-bandwidth) or the dedicated Cloud Interconnect (Dedicated/Partner, high bandwidth, low latency, SLA). For phased migration, first establish connectivity, then move low-dependency workloads first with a coexistence period. Map "simple/mid-bandwidth = Cloud VPN" and "high bandwidth, stable, SLA = Cloud Interconnect."
Common: requirement → means. E.g., "fastest migration, least change" = lift-and-shift; "maximize cloud benefit" = refactor; "migrate a DB with minimal downtime" = Database Migration Service; "huge data on a thin network" = Transfer Appliance; "simple encrypted connection" = Cloud VPN; "high bandwidth, low latency, SLA" = Cloud Interconnect.
Watch the mix-ups: (1) Do not confuse Cloud VPN (simple, mid-bandwidth) and Cloud Interconnect (dedicated, high bandwidth, SLA). (2) Lift-and-shift is fast but yields little cloud-optimization benefit. (3) For bulk transfer, choose physical (Transfer Appliance) vs online (Storage Transfer) by bandwidth and deadline.
2.2.3Section summary
- Migration strategy = lift-and-shift (fast)/improve-and-move/refactor (high payoff), by requirements
- Tools = Migrate to VMs/Database Migration Service/Storage Transfer/Transfer Appliance
- Connectivity = Cloud VPN (simple/mid) or Cloud Interconnect (high bandwidth, low latency, SLA)
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Quick check
(just a quick review)Q1. To migrate an existing system fastest with minimal changes, which strategy best fits?
Q2. To migrate a database to Google Cloud with minimal downtime, which tool best fits?
Q3. To connect on-prem to Google Cloud with high bandwidth, low latency, and an SLA, which is best?
Q4. To simply connect on-prem over an encrypted tunnel (mid bandwidth is enough), which is best?
Q5. To maximize cloud benefits (elasticity, managed services), which migration strategy best fits?
Q6. To migrate hundreds of TB with limited network bandwidth, which is best?