AWS Cloud Migration Runbook: Zero-Downtime Production Template
Executing a successful aws cloud migration runbook requires synchronizing database state and traffic routing without taking enterprise workloads offline. This production runbook provides exact Terraform manifests, continuous AWS DMS CDC replication tasks, Route 53 weighted cutover strategies, and automated reverse-replication rollback templates.
How Do You Structure an AWS Cloud Migration Runbook?
Direct Answer: A resilient AWS cloud migration runbook orchestrates four distinct deployment phases: establishing dedicated private hybrid networking (VPN/Direct Connect), continuous real-time database replication via AWS Database Migration Service (DMS CDC), progressive weighted DNS traffic shifting in Route 53, and a zero-loss reverse replication fallback channel for immediate rollback.
AWS Cloud Migration Architecture & Cutover Comparison Matrix
Direct Answer: Choosing the right cutover strategy in an AWS cloud migration runbook involves trading infrastructure cost against operational risk. While a traditional maintenance window requires zero dual-write coordination, continuous CDC replication with Route 53 weighted canary routing offers true zero downtime with sub-minute rollback safety.
| Migration Pattern | Downtime (RTO) | Data Loss (RPO) | Operational Complexity | Rollback Latency | Best Production Scenario |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMS CDC Continuous Sync | 0 seconds | 0 seconds | Moderate | Sub-60s (via DNS flip) | Mission-critical 24/7 transactional SaaS & e-commerce |
| Blue-Green Route 53 Flip | 5 - 30 seconds (DNS TTL) | 0 seconds | Low | < 60 seconds | Stateless web workloads, APIs with external caching |
| Application Dual-Write | 0 seconds | 0 seconds | High (Code changes required) | Instantaneous | Complex distributed architectures with schema transformations |
| Maintenance Window (Cold) | 2 - 8 hours | 0 seconds | Low | High (Manual database restores) | Batch processing systems, internal reporting databases |
Step-by-Step AWS Cloud Migration Runbook Implementation
Direct Answer: To execute an enterprise cutover, deploy the following battle-tested configuration sequence: configure source and target DMS replication endpoints with SSL, start the change data capture task, monitor CDC lag via CloudWatch metrics, and execute progressive DNS weight shifting in Route 53.
1. Network Interconnect & VPN/Direct Connect Setup
Ensure the source and target subnets have non-overlapping CIDR blocks. You can calculate subnet layouts using our CIDR Subnet Calculator. Provision an AWS Transit Gateway and ensure Security Groups allow outbound TCP 3306 (MySQL) or TCP 5432 (PostgreSQL) directly to the replication subnet.
2. Database Migration Service (DMS) Full Load & CDC Replication
Use the following Terraform manifest to deploy an enterprise AWS DMS replication instance, source endpoint, target Aurora PostgreSQL endpoint, and full-load + CDC task. For end-to-end cloud infrastructure blueprints, see our AWS Startup Reference Architecture.
# 1. AWS DMS Replication Instance
resource "aws_dms_replication_instance" "migration_runner" {
replication_instance_id = "prod-migration-instance"
replication_instance_class = "dms.c5.xlarge"
allocated_storage = 100
multi_az = true
publicly_accessible = false
apply_immediately = true
replication_subnet_group_id = aws_dms_replication_subnet_group.migration_subnets.id
vpc_security_group_ids = [aws_security_group.dms_sg.id]
}
# 2. Source On-Premise Endpoint
resource "aws_dms_endpoint" "source_onprem" {
endpoint_id = "onprem-postgres-source"
endpoint_type = "source"
engine_name = "postgres"
server_name = "db.onprem.internal"
port = 5432
database_name = "payments_prod"
username = var.dms_user
password = var.dms_password
ssl_mode = "require"
}
# 3. Target Amazon Aurora Endpoint
resource "aws_dms_endpoint" "target_aurora" {
endpoint_id = "aurora-postgres-target"
endpoint_type = "target"
engine_name = "aurora-postgresql"
server_name = aws_rds_cluster.aurora.endpoint
port = 5432
database_name = "payments_prod"
username = var.aurora_user
password = var.aurora_password
ssl_mode = "require"
}
# 4. Continuous CDC Replication Task
resource "aws_dms_replication_task" "live_sync" {
replication_task_id = "sync-payments-continuous"
migration_type = "full-load-and-cdc"
replication_instance_arn = aws_dms_replication_instance.migration_runner.replication_instance_arn
source_endpoint_arn = aws_dms_endpoint.source_onprem.endpoint_arn
target_endpoint_arn = aws_dms_endpoint.target_aurora.endpoint_arn
table_mappings = jsonencode({
rules = [
{
rule-type = "selection"
rule-id = "1"
rule-name = "all-tables"
object-locator = {
schema-name = "public"
table-name = "%"
}
rule-action = "include"
}
]
})
}
3. Route 53 Weighted DNS Canary Cutover
Lower your record TTL to 60 seconds at least 48 hours before the migration event. During cutover, shift traffic progressively using weighted routing:
# Traffic Route to On-Premises (Primary 90%)
resource "aws_route53_record" "api_onprem" {
zone_id = var.hosted_zone_id
name = "api.yourcompany.com"
type = "A"
ttl = 60
weighted_routing_policy {
weight = 90
}
set_identifier = "onprem-primary"
records = [var.onprem_lb_ip]
}
# Traffic Route to AWS Cloud (Canary 10%)
resource "aws_route53_record" "api_aws" {
zone_id = var.hosted_zone_id
name = "api.yourcompany.com"
type = "A"
weighted_routing_policy {
weight = 10
}
set_identifier = "aws-canary"
alias {
name = aws_lb.alb.dns_name
zone_id = aws_lb.alb.zone_id
evaluate_target_health = true
}
}
4. Rollback Runbook: Reverse Replication & Fast Failover
A staff SRE never cuts over without an active escape hatch. Immediately upon shifting 100% traffic to AWS, provision a reverse DMS CDC task streaming writes from Aurora back to on-premises. If an unrecoverable failure occurs within the 48-hour burn-in period, execute the rollback script:
# 1. Flip Route 53 weight back to 100% on-premises
aws route53 change-resource-record-sets --hosted-zone-id $ZONE_ID --change-batch '{
"Changes": [
{"Action": "UPSERT", "ResourceRecordSet": {"Name": "api.yourcompany.com", "Type": "A", "SetIdentifier": "onprem-primary", "Weight": 100, "TTL": 60, "ResourceRecords": [{"Value": "'$ONPREM_IP'"}]}},
{"Action": "UPSERT", "ResourceRecordSet": {"Name": "api.yourcompany.com", "Type": "A", "SetIdentifier": "aws-canary", "Weight": 0, "AliasTarget": {"HostedZoneId": "'$ALB_ZONE'", "DNSName": "'$ALB_DNS'", "EvaluateTargetHealth": true}}}
]
}'
# 2. Wait for reverse DMS CDC to drain inflight AWS transactions
aws dms describe-replication-tasks --filters "Name=replication-task-id,Values=reverse-sync-aurora-to-onprem" \
--query "ReplicationTasks[0].ReplicationTaskStats.CDCLatencySource"
# 3. Stop incoming AWS ingress traffic and resume 100% on-premise operations
Why Is Pre-Flight Validation Critical for AWS Cloud Migration?
Direct Answer: Pre-flight validation isolates performance bottlenecks before traffic cutover. Migrating relational databases without verifying binary log retention, foreign key constraint order, network MTU fragmentation, and schema index compatibility is the leading cause of failed cloud migrations.
CDCLatencySource and CDCLatencyTarget read zero before initiating the final DNS cutover. Set application connection pools on-premises to read-only for 15 seconds while remaining writes flush across the DMS stream into Aurora.
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