Migration And Modernization Sequencing — AWS Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02)
Lift-and-shift, replatform, modernize — sequence matters
AWS Application Migration Service moves servers as-is. DMS moves databases with minimal downtime. DataSync moves file data between on-premises storage and AWS. ECS enters when the workload is being containerized post-migration. The exam uses "existing" to signal lift-and-shift; it uses "refactor" or "containerize" to signal a later modernization step. Conflating migration and modernization is where candidates lose points.
What This Pattern Tests
The exam describes a multi-tier application migration and tests whether you sequence by dependency graph. AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) supports continuous replication for zero-downtime database migration. Application Migration Service (MGN) handles server replication for lift-and-shift. The 7 Rs (Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase, Retire, Retain, Relocate) each apply to different workloads in the same migration wave. The trap is migrating the simplest component first rather than the component everything depends on.
Decision Axis
Dependency-driven sequencing (data first, consumers second) vs. convenience-driven sequencing.
Associated Traps
More Top Traps on This Exam
Decision Rules
Determine which migration phase action is required next given that application dependencies have not yet been catalogued, selecting the assess-phase service over any migrate-phase execution service.
Whether the source and target engines differ (heterogeneous migration) determines if AWS SCT is required before AWS DMS, or if AWS DMS alone is sufficient.
When source and target database engines are identical (homogeneous migration), AWS DMS alone is sufficient; AWS SCT is not needed because no schema conversion is required.
Whether the engine change between source (SQL Server) and target (Aurora PostgreSQL) requires an explicit schema conversion step — DMS replicates data rows but does not transform schemas across engines; SCT must be added for any heterogeneous migration.
Is the requirement a database-specific live replication (AWS DMS) or a server and application lift-and-shift (AWS Application Migration Service), given the source is MySQL and the target is Amazon Aurora MySQL-compatible?
Whether AWS SCT or AWS DMS owns the schema conversion phase in a heterogeneous migration — SCT converts schemas and stored objects across incompatible engines; DMS replicates data rows only.
When source and target share the same database engine (homogeneous migration), AWS DMS alone handles data replication; AWS SCT is not required because no schema conversion across engine boundaries is needed.
Domain Coverage
Difficulty Breakdown