MGN replication agent to migrate NFS Share

Hi

AWS Application Migration Service MGN: Primarily designed for lift-and-shift migrations of entire servers or applications, including their data, to AWS.

DataSync: Specifically designed for data transfer and synchronization between on-premises storage and AWS storage services.

Your Q: Does the MGN replication agent directly migrate NFS shares to AWS?

Answer: Yes, it can, but with a catch. The MGN agent needs to be installed on the server actually hosting the NFS share, and the share must be treated like a regular hard drive on that server.

Your Q: When should I use DataSync for migrating NFS shares to AWS?

Answer: Use DataSync when:

• You only want to move the data inside the NFS share, not the whole server.
• You want to continuously synchronize your NFS share with AWS storage for backup or hybrid cloud setups.

****Your Q: **when do I use MGN vs. DataSync for NFS migration?

Answer:

• MGN: Migrate the entire server and its NFS share.
• DataSync: Migrate only the NFS data or keep it in sync with AWS storage.

Below Information in detailed explaning about the solution.

A shared file system (SFS), also known as a network or clustered file system, is a file share that is mounted to multiple servers. Shared file systems are accessed through protocols such as Network File System (NFS), Common Internet File System (CIFS), or Server Message Block (SMB).

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/migrate-shared-file-systems-in-an-aws-large-migration.html

These systems are not migrated with standard migration tools such as AWS Application Migration Service because they are neither dedicated to the host being migrated nor represented as a block device. Although most host dependencies are migrated transparently, the coordination and management of the dependent file systems must be handled separately.