Discovery and Tracking
Discovery and Tracking
Migration planning fails when the inventory is guesswork. Application Discovery Service (ADS) collects evidence two ways: an agentless connector for VMware vCenter environments that reads VM configurations and performance, and installed agents on hosts that record running processes, network connections, and resource utilization over time — long enough to catch nightly batch jobs a snapshot would miss.
Migration Hub is the portfolio layer: import ADS findings, group servers into applications, and track migration status in one dashboard even though execution happens in other tools (DMS, Migration Hub Strategy Recommendations, migration partners). Strategy Recommendations analyzes the imported inventory — mostly Java and .NET estates — and suggests rehost/replatform/refactor candidates.
Planning Flow
Planning Flow
A practical sequence:
- Choose the Migration Hub home region — API calls and findings route through it, so pick before you import anything.
- Deploy the connector or agents (agents installable via installer or host tooling) with a read-only service account.
- Let discovery run across a full business cycle; utilization trends separate busy, idle, and dormant servers.
- Import findings into Migration Hub, tag servers into applications, and assign owners.
- Run Strategy Recommendations to get per-application suggestions, then apply the 6R decision tree.
- Track execution status back in the dashboard so stakeholders see one source of truth.
The hub tracks; it never touches your servers.
Pitfalls and Interview Focus
Pitfalls and Interview Focus
Discovery is only as good as its reach: connector deployments that cover one cluster miss standalone hosts, and short windows hide batch dependencies. Agents need network paths to AWS collection endpoints and valid credentials — blocked outbound traffic shows up as silent gaps. vCenter connector requires appropriate read permissions on the environment.
Treat process-level data carefully: it reveals installed software and user activity, so get the privacy/sign-off story straight before deploying. Re-run discovery before finalizing plans; six-month-old utilization makes for six-month-old decisions.
Interview: separate the tools by job — ADS gathers evidence, Strategy Recommendations suggests the 6R, Migration Hub reports status, and migration services execute. Mixing those roles is the most common wrong answer.
Quiz
1. What is the primary role of Migration Hub?
2. When would you install ADS agents rather than use the connector?
3. Why must discovery run long enough to cover batch cycles?
Flashcards
Question
ADS connector
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Answer
Agentless discovery for VMware vCenter: VM configs and utilization.
Question
ADS agent
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Answer
Installed per host; records processes, network connections, and utilization over time.
Question
Strategy Recommendations
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Answer
Analyzes imported inventory (Java/.NET focus) and suggests 6R candidates.
Question
Migration Hub role
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Answer
Plan and track only — execution happens in DMS, partners, and other services.
Question
Home region
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Answer
Migration Hub findings and API calls are tied to the initially chosen home region.
Revision Notes
Key Takeaways
- 1. Evidence beats guesses: connectors for vCenter, agents for per-host detail
- 2. Track in the hub, execute elsewhere — keep the role boundaries straight
- 3. Freshness and coverage decide whether the 6R plan is real
Interview Tips
- • Name each tool by function (gather / suggest / track / execute) in one clean sentence
- • Flag privacy and collection-window concerns when recommending agent deployment
Cheat Sheet
ADS: vCenter connector (agentless) + agents (process/net telemetry). Strategy Recommendations → 6R suggestions. Migration Hub: inventory + status, home region fixed; it tracks, never executes.