What are the Risks in Migration?
Migrating virtual machines (VMs) from VMware to next-generation open infrastructure platforms like KubeVirt and OpenShift Virtualization carries some VM migration risks that can impact business operations if not managed properly. One of the key challenges is compatibility, as the architecture, configurations, and dependencies of VMs in VMware may not seamlessly translate to new environments, leading to issues with performance, application functionality, or even failed migrations. Process risks include:
Inconsistent Configuration Mapping: VMware VMs may have configurations, resource allocations, or dependencies that do not directly map to KubeVirt’s environment, leading to potential compatibility issues or misconfigurations during migration.
Downtime and Service Disruption: The migration process can result in significant downtime if not managed carefully, potentially impacting critical applications and services, and leading to business disruptions.
Data Corruption or Loss: During the transfer of VM data, there is a risk of data corruption or loss if migration tools are not properly configured or if interruptions occur during the process, particularly if data validation checks are insufficient.
As pointed out in this post by Julio Villarreal Pelegrino – “VMware administrators transitioning to the new virtualization platform will need to upskill by first understanding the architecture, tools, and best practices…You will need leaders who actively champion the initiative, set a clear vision, and allocate necessary resources.”
Without proper planning, IT teams may face prolonged recovery times, integration issues with existing tools, and difficulties in maintaining consistent performance, all of which can undermine business continuity and increase VM migration risks.
Legacy Data Protection Falls Short in Migrations to Cloud Native Infrastructure
Many organizations that rely on VMware have traditionally used legacy data protection solutions designed for static, monolithic environments. These tools often perform well in conventional virtualization ecosystems, but they lack the capabilities necessary for modern, cloud-native architectures. Here’s why they fall short:
Not Built for Open Infrastructure: Traditional solutions are designed around fixed, hardware-based architectures. In contrast, open infrastructure platforms such as KubeVirt and OpenStack are designed to operate on distributed, flexible environments. Legacy tools often lack the agility needed to support dynamic, containerized workloads.
Lack of Cloud-Native Integration: In cloud-native environments, applications and data are often containerized, ephemeral, and orchestrated by tools like Kubernetes. Legacy solutions, built for VM-centric environments, struggle to protect workloads that are constantly shifting and scaling across hybrid or multi-cloud architectures. These solutions fail to integrate seamlessly with cloud-native tools, limiting automation and slowing down operations.
Limited Automation: Cloud-native environments rely on DevOps practices where infrastructure is often automated and managed through Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC). Traditional backup solutions lack the ability to integrate with modern orchestration and CI/CD pipelines, which can hinder recovery times and delay incident responses.
Complexity and High Costs: Many legacy solutions are not designed to scale fluidly across hybrid or multi-cloud environments, leading to inefficiencies in storage management and higher operational costs. This lack of scalability, combined with the need for frequent manual intervention, increases both the risk of human error and total cost of ownership (TCO).
The result is a mismatch between the needs of a modern IT landscape and the capabilities of legacy data protection solutions, leading to inefficiencies, longer recovery times, and increased risks to business continuity.
The Ideal Data Protection Solution for Cloud-Native and Open Infrastructure Migrations
Given the challenges of legacy solutions, what should IT leaders look for in a data protection platform that supports migrations to KubeVirt, OpenShift Virtualization, or OpenStack? The answer lies in solutions that are designed specifically for cloud-native environments. Key attributes of the ideal data protection solution include:
Cloud-Native Architecture: A platform built with cloud-native principles ensures seamless integration with Kubernetes-based platforms and containerized workloads. This eliminates the need for workarounds and allows IT teams to fully leverage the benefits of the new infrastructure.
Workload Portability: When migrating between platforms, whether on-premises or in the cloud, a solution must enable seamless movement of applications and data. A native integration with Kubernetes orchestrators ensures smooth transitions between environments without risking data integrity or application performance.
Automation and Scalability: The best data protection solutions leverage automation for backup, and disaster recovery processes. This allows them to scale effortlessly across distributed environments, reducing human error and enabling faster recovery times. Tools such as Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform and Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management provided by vendors such as Red Hat help create and define data protection and other various capabilities and functions as ‘policy’.
Granular and Application-Centric Protection: In modern IT environments, it’s not just about protecting VMs but also about safeguarding the underlying data and applications. Solutions should offer granular recovery options to restore workloads efficiently and minimize downtime.
Why Trilio is the Ideal Solution for Your Migration Project
Trilio is an example of a solution that has been built from the ground up to meet these exact requirements. Specifically designed for cloud-native and open infrastructure environments, Trilio offers a robust platform that simplifies data protection, while ensuring that IT leaders can maintain business continuity throughout their migration journey. Here’s why Trilio is the best choice for IT leaders that require the assurances of recoverability while overseeing complex migrations:
Native Integration with Cloud-Native Platforms: Unlike traditional data protection solutions, Trilio is built with cloud-native platforms in mind. It integrates directly with Kubernetes, offering native support for Kubernetes workloads, enabling seamless, automated backup and recovery processes. Through it’s Certified Operator in Red Hat OpenShift, installation and configuration is reliable and quick.
Application-Centric Approach: Trilio doesn’t just back up VMs; it focuses on the entire application stack, including all related data, configurations, and dependencies. This ensures full application portability and protection, making migrations more predictable and less risky.
Automation and Orchestration: Trilio’s deep integration with Kubernetes and OpenShift allows for backup policies to be automated and integrated into existing CI/CD pipelines. This ensures that data protection is not an afterthought, but a part of the overall infrastructure management process. Much of this can be automated and extended through Certified Ansible Collections provided by Trilio and a Git repository of Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management Policies.
Scalability and Flexibility: Trilio’s solution is built for dynamic environments, allowing IT teams to scale their data protection efforts in line with workload changes. Whether you’re dealing with a handful of containers or a massive multi-cloud deployment, Trilio’s flexibility ensures data protection scales with you.
Ease of Use: For IT leaders, simplicity is key. Trilio offers a user-friendly platform that eliminates the complexity associated with traditional data protection, making it easier for teams to deploy, monitor, and manage backup and recovery processes without heavy investment in specialized expertise.
Disaster Recovery: Trilio offers robust disaster recovery (DR) capabilities, ensuring that IT teams can recover applications, data, and infrastructure in the event of a failure. This is critical for maintaining business continuity during migrations, where the risks of outages are higher.
Conclusion
As IT directors look to modernize their infrastructure by migrating from VMware to cloud-native platforms such as KubeVirt, OpenShift Virtualization, or OpenStack, data protection becomes a pivotal concern. Legacy solutions no longer meet the needs of these dynamic environments. The ideal solution must be cloud-native, scalable, and capable of integrating with modern orchestration and DevOps practices.
By opting for a solution like Trilio, which is purpose-built for cloud-native and open infrastructure environments, IT leaders can ensure that data protection is not only maintained but enhanced. This approach allows organizations to fully embrace the benefits of open platforms while maintaining the critical business continuity required to operate, minimize risks, and ensure a smooth transition to the next generation of IT infrastructure. Trilio is a strategic choice.
