Introduction

In today's fast-paced tech landscape, the ability to seamlessly transition applications across cloud platforms is becoming a key factor in maximizing potential customers. For developers and businesses looking to leverage the robust ecosystem of Amazon Web Services (AWS), porting an application originally built on Microsoft Azure can be a strategic move. This process involves not just migrating code but also adapting to AWS's unique services and architecture. In this multi-part series, I'll show you how to port a simple app hosted on Microsoft Azure to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Let's get started!

1. Identify your needs

Before any coding or configurations, you must first figure out the types of resources and services you're using in Azure now so that you can find the AWS equivalents. Here are some examples

  • Serverless functions: if you're using Azure Functions as part of your backend setup, you might consider using Lambda in AWS.
  • Schema-less databases: DynamoDB is an excellent AWS alternative to Azure's NoSQL Cosmos DB.
  • API configuration: If you're managing APIs in Azure API Management, API Gateway is the way to go in AWS (pun intended).
  • Authentication: What's the AWS equivalent to Azure EntraID (previously Azure Active Directory)? That would be AWS Cognito.

2. Do your research

Once you've figured out the services you'll be using, it's important to familiarize yourself with them, even if you're not ready to get started yet. Take the time to do comparisons between the Azure service and AWS equivalents. Read white papers and documentation. Ensure that you're confident when you begin adding and configuring services and resources in AWS.

Cost is also another important factor to consider - costs for services in AWS are not the same as those in Azure. Take account of how much money it costs you to host and use your app in Azure, and research pricing in AWS.

3. Make a plan

It'll be a lot easier to take on this venture with a clear plan. This can include lists, outlines, charts, and other materials that will help this process go more smoothly. As an example, if you wanted to create an AWS infrastructure chart that shows services, resources, and how they interact, you could use an online tool, such as Gliffy.

4. Document everything!

This seems like a given, but even if you're not writing code or making configuration changes to services, document, document, document! If you need to alter your needs or plan, it'll be easier to track changes if you've taken good notes from the beginning. Documenting the entire process will also give you a leg up in creating documentation for your app, as well as help those who may need to replicate the process in the future.

Conclusion

These steps may seem tedious and boring, but they're necessary in creating a solid foundation for migrating your app from one cloud service to another. Set yourself up for success at the beginning!

In the next post I'll go over the sample app and what I did to complete these first four steps. Stay tuned!