cloudmigrationazuresqlawsrds· Updated 2026-07-01

Cloud migration checklist

1. Assess

Inventory: versions, editions, sizes, growth, dependencies (linked servers, CLR, agent jobs, SSIS, cross-db queries).
Run the vendor assessor (Azure DMA / AWS SCT) — collect blockers before choosing the target.
Baseline current performance (top queries, peak CPU/IOPS/latency) — you cannot judge "the cloud is slower" without a before picture.

2. Choose the target honestly

Situation	Sensible target
Instance-level features (Agent, cross-db, CLR)	Azure SQL Managed Instance / RDS for SQL Server
Single app database, PaaS appetite	Azure SQL Database / RDS or Aurora PostgreSQL-MySQL
Lift-and-shift, full control, weird config	IaaS VM (last resort — you keep all the toil)

3. Migrate

Online: continuous replication (DMS, Log Replay Service, native log shipping, logical replication) → short cutover. Rehearse the cutover at least once.
Offline: backup/restore or export/import inside a window.
Move logins/users/permissions, jobs, alerts, and (often forgotten) certificates/TDE keys explicitly.

4. Cut over

Freeze writes → final sync → validate (row counts + critical query smoke tests + app health) → repoint connection strings/DNS → keep the old system read-only for a defined rollback window.

5. After

Watch for: missing indexes that on-prem hardware hid, parameter/compat-level differences, connection-pool exhaustion (PaaS limits), cost surprises (I/O-billed services).
Re-establish the boring things: backup verification (yes, still), monitoring/alerting parity, restore drills against the cloud copies.