In its simplest form, Workload Migration is about moving bytes from place to place in a way that maps to the prescribed overall process, with manual steps for completion either before or after the relocation itself. This section has described many of the items that must be reproduced in the target environment for the migrated application to be served there. Items such as authentication and authorization methods, public key encryption, and DNS must be made available as needed. Because most of these services are delivered over the network, in this case the software-defined network, to the VMware Cloud Provider’s SDDC tenant construct, automation of the deployment of those services and networks is available. This topic is discussed in further detail later in this document and in other vCAT-SP documents and blogs.

In many cases where this type of work is front-loaded or automated, the Workload Migration phase can be the simplest portion of the migration exercise, while for others the actual workload migration might be a very sensitive operation. In any case, coordination with the more discreet movement of individual workloads is of paramount importance. In the case of regulatory compliance or other privacy considerations, for example, you must provide careful management of staging data, at rest and over the wire encryption and privileged credentials to execute certain migration tasks and their log evidence. Think of it as bubble wrap and “white glove” handling for your valuable items, the heirloom china, or grand piano. While this undertaking can be intricate and required to provide evidence, there are methods, tools, and partners who can help customers achieve these most sensitive of workload migrations.