When to Choose AWS Application Migration Service

Why Application Migration Service?

AWS Application Migration Service (AWS MGN) is the recommended service to migrate your applications to AWS.

With Application Migration Service, you can migrate your applications from physical infrastructure, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC), and other clouds to AWS.

You can use Application Migration Service to migrate all your applications and databases that run on supported versions of Windows and Linux operating systems.

Please refer to the AWS Regional Services List for the most up-to-date information on Region support.

Get started with AWS Application Migration Service

Which use cases may require a different migration service?

If you are migrating to AWS China Regions, consider using CloudEndure Migration.

To use CloudEndure Migration to migrate to AWS China Regions, open a Support ticket.

If you are migrating to AWS Outposts, consider using AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery. Learn more here.

Note: CloudEndure Migration is no longer available in most AWS Regions. It will continue to be available for use in AWS GovCloud and China Regions and AWS Outposts through November 30, 2024. Learn more

What are the main differences between AWS Application Migration Service and CloudEndure Migration?

Application Migration Service is the next generation of CloudEndure Migration, and offers key features and operational benefits that are not available with CloudEndure Migration. For example, with AWS Application Migration Service you can:

  • Operate the service from the AWS Management Console.
  • Control permissions and access using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM).
  • Operate the service without a connection to the public internet.
  • Store your migration metadata in the same AWS Region as your migrated instances.
  • Utilize an agentless replication option (for vCenter), if needed.
  • Use APIs that are better suited for migration-specific workflows, as well as a CLI and SDKs.
  • Use Amazon CloudWatch and AWS CloudTrail to monitor AWS Application Migration Service.
  • Better control how your test and cutover instances are launched using Amazon EC2 launch templates (rather than Blueprints).
  • Use tags to organize your source servers and control access permissions.
  • Automate modernizations to your migrated applications.
  • Plan and manage your application migrations. 
  • Plan and manage your migration waves.

Application Migration Service is not yet supported in China Regions.

Capability     CloudEndure Migration AWS Application Migration Service
(AWS MGN)

Console & APIs

Proprietary console and APIs
  • Part of AWS Management Console
  • Standard AWS APIs, SDK, and CLI
  • Console functions similarly to all other services in AWS Management Console
Resource management
  • Legacy projects
  • Legacy blueprints, not up to date with EC2
  • Standard AWS mechanism (tags or accounts)
  • Launch settings, launch templates, and standard EC2 launch templates (instead of blueprints)
  • Eliminates latency between EC2 launch of new instance types and their support in AWS MGN launch configuration  
User management
and monitoring
  • Proprietary user management
  • 3 available pre-set, non-configurable user profiles
  • Selected 52 events in legacy format
  • No access to metrics
  • Standard AWS user management mechanism (IAM)
  • Standard AWS audit mechanism (CloudTrail) with full coverage
  • Standard AWS metrics mechanism (including custom event notifications via CloudWatch Events)
  • IAM provides granular configurable authorization for specific APIs and AWS MGN resources
Consumption model

Free for migrations completed within 90 days, then blocked
  • Free for migrations completed within 90 days, then metering via AWS billing
  • See AWS MGN pricing page for more information
Price

Free

Free for servers for which migration is completed within 90 days
Control plane
  • The control plane for all commercial Regions is hosted in US East (N. Virginia)
  • The control plane for China is hosted in China (Beijing)
  • The control plane is hosted in the target Region
  • Compliance benefit
  • Higher availability due to no cross-Region dependencies
Public internet access

Required for connection between replication servers and console
  • Supports private link for replication and failback
  • Security benefit
Agentless replication

No

Yes, supported for vCenter 6.7, 7.0 and 8.0.
AWS Region to Region replication

Yes

Yes
No rescan on reboot

Windows only

Yes
Operating system support
  • Common operating systems are supported
  • Detailed list available in the documentation
  • Common operating systems are supported
  • The following OSs that are supported by CloudEndure Migration are not supported by AWS MGN: Microsoft Windows XP, 7, Vista
  • Detailed list available in the documentation
In scope for the following compliance programs
Start/stop/pause/resume replication

Yes

Yes
Auto-detection of added disks

Yes

No
CloudEndure Migration Factory

Yes

Yes
Support for AWS Outposts

Yes

No
AWS GovCloud (US) Regions

Yes

Yes
AWS China Regions

Yes

No
Security

Secured according to AWS security policies

Secured according to AWS security policies
Availability

The CloudEndure Migration control plane is hosted in US East (N. Virginia) so the service relies on this Region's availability, in addition to the target Region
  • The service is fully hosted on each of the supported AWS Regions
  • No dependency on other Regions