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AWS Transform for VMware · Generally Available

Migrate VMware to EC2
with Agentic AI

Discover, plan, convert networks, and migrate servers — all orchestrated by AI agents that reason, adapt, and execute. Available at no cost to AWS customers.

80×
Faster Network Conversion
5,000+
Servers Migrated
60%
Less Manual Effort
16
Target AWS Regions
01

The Problem: VMware Migration at Scale

Thousands of VMs, complex network dependencies, tight timelines. Manual migration doesn't scale.

License Cost Pressure

VMware licensing changes are driving costs up. Organizations need to move fast to avoid escalating fees while maintaining operational continuity.

Complex Dependencies

Applications span dozens of VMs with hidden network dependencies. Missing one connection during migration means downtime and broken services.

Network Conversion

Translating VMware vSwitches, VLANs, and NSX configurations into VPCs, subnets, and security groups manually takes weeks per environment.

Wave Planning Complexity

Deciding which servers to migrate together, in what order, and when — requires deep knowledge of application relationships that's rarely documented.

02

How the VMware Migration Agent Works

Six phases, fully orchestrated by AI — from discovery to cutover.

🔍
Phase 01

Discover

Scan your VMware environment — the agent maps every VM, network, and dependency.
  • AWS Transform discovery tool (replaces ADS)
  • Export for vCenter (open-source)
  • Import independently collected data
  • RVTools for VMware inventory
📋
Phase 02

Plan

AI groups servers into applications, creates move groups, and builds prioritized migration waves.
  • Graph neural networks analyze dependencies
  • Application grouping by dependency
  • Move groups with soft/hard dependencies
  • Prioritized waves by business criticality
🌐
Phase 03

Network Conversion

Convert VMware network configs to VPC architecture — Hub & Spoke or Isolated VPCs — 80× faster than manual.

Translates vSwitches, VLANs, and NSX configurations into VPCs, subnets, security groups, and Transit Gateway. Generates IaC templates ready to deploy.

🏗️
Phase 04

Landing Zone

Set up target accounts, VPCs, and infrastructure using generated CloudFormation, CDK, or Terraform.
  • AWS CloudFormation (default)
  • AWS CDK (TypeScript)
  • HashiCorp Terraform (HCL)
  • Landing Zone Accelerator (LZA)
📦
Phase 05

Replicate

Deploy replication agents via MGN Connector. Continuous block-level replication to EBS volumes.

MGN Connector installs lightweight agents on source servers. Block-level replication streams data to staging EBS volumes in your target AWS account. Free for 90 days per server.

Phase 06

Test & Cutover

Launch test instances, validate, then perform final cutover. Servers run natively on EC2.

Launch non-disruptive test instances to validate before cutover. When ready, perform final cutover — MGN handles the switchover. Your servers now run natively on EC2 with full AWS integration.

03

Network Conversion: 80× Faster

The agent converts your VMware network topology into AWS VPC architecture — choose your model.

Transit Gateway Central Hub Spoke VPC 1 App Servers Spoke VPC 2 Database Tier Spoke VPC 3 Web Frontend Spoke VPC 4 Shared Services 🔥 Inspection Firewall VPC 🌐 Inbound Internet GW

Hub & Spoke: Transit Gateway connects all spoke VPCs. Cross-VPC traffic routes through an Inspection VPC for firewall analysis. Includes dedicated Inbound and Outbound VPCs for internet traffic.

04

Race the Clock: Manual vs Transform

Pick your server count, hit Start, and watch the time difference unfold.

Assumes 60% reduction in manual effort and 40% faster execution with AWS Transform (reported by partners). Adjust weeks to match your environment.

🐢 Manual Migration Wave-by-wave
0 weeks
⚡ AWS Transform AI-orchestrated
0 weeks
↔ AI-orchestrated waves
Manual time
Transform time
Time saved
05

What's Free, What You Pay For

The AWS Transform VMware agent itself is free. But migration uses AWS infrastructure that has standard charges. Here's the full picture.

✅ Free — No Charge $0

  • 🤖
    AWS Transform VMware agent
    Discovery, assessment, migration planning, network conversion, wave planning — all AI-driven orchestration at no cost.
  • 📋
    Assessment agent
    Business case generation, cost analysis, and migration strategy recommendations.
  • 🔄
    AWS Application Migration Service (MGN)
    Free for 2,160 hours (90 days) per server. Covers the replication service itself — agent installation, orchestration, and lifecycle management.
  • 📐
    IaC generation
    CloudFormation, CDK, Terraform, and LZA templates generated at no cost.

💰 You Pay — Standard AWS Pricing Infra costs

  • 🖥️
    Replication staging servers (EC2)
    Lightweight EC2 instances that receive replicated data. Run during active replication. Default: t3.small per source server.
  • 💾
    Staging EBS volumes
    EBS volumes matching your source disk sizes. Charged at standard EBS rates during replication.
  • 🚀
    Target EC2 instances
    The actual migrated servers running on EC2 after cutover. Sized per your configuration.
  • 🌐
    Networking infrastructure
    VPCs, Transit Gateway, NAT Gateways, Elastic IPs — deployed from the generated IaC templates.
  • 📡
    Data transfer
    Data transfer into AWS is free. Cross-AZ and cross-Region transfer has standard charges.

📊 How Replication Staging Works

During migration, MGN spins up temporary replication servers in a staging area subnet. Each source server gets a lightweight EC2 instance (default t3.small) and EBS volumes matching your source disks. These run only during active replication and are automatically cleaned up after cutover. For high-IOPS workloads, you may need larger staging instances — run storage benchmarking first to estimate costs.

ComponentWhen you're charged
Replication server (EC2)During active replication only
Staging EBS volumesDuring active replication only
Test instancesWhen you launch test instances for validation
Cutover instancesFrom cutover onward — these become your production servers
SnapshotsEBS snapshots retained for point-in-time recovery
💡 Key takeaway: You pay for the AWS infrastructure you use (EC2, EBS, networking) — not for the AI agent that plans and orchestrates the migration. The 90-day free MGN window means most migrations complete without any MGN service charges. Use the AWS Pricing Calculator to estimate infrastructure costs for your specific environment.

Get Started with AWS Transform for VMware

Available at no cost through the AWS Console. Start your migration today.