Migrating typical SMB workloads to AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI and beyond — hands-on.
I am running an advanced multi-cloud hands-on lab environment and sharing my experiences on cutting-edge technology to save time for everyone interested. My primary interest is migration and modernization of VMs, containers and database workloads.
I am lucky to have great friends at Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, Oracle Cloud and VMware. We agreed to record quick 2-3 minute videos seeking together the future of IT workloads.
My history, attitude, energy and ownership keep my interest in the data center & desktop evolution of the next decade. Mission-critical production workloads, architecture design, troubleshooting and helping others to do better.
Migrating a WordPress site from SiteGround to a self-hosted VM involved FTP and SSH transfers, MySQL dump and import, DNS updates, and Let’s Encrypt setup. This post details how I automated each step - verifying file integrity, syncing databases, cleaning SiteGround plugins, and securing the new server for full WordPress functionality on my own infrastructure.
Read →Running multiple NVIDIA GPUs for AI workloads in Proxmox VE can cause early boot hangs if the host OS tries to load conflicting drivers. In this guide I document how my Proxmox host with 2× RTX 3090 was stuck at systemd-modules-load, how I debugged it, which files to inspect (/etc/default/grub, /etc/modprobe.d/, /etc/modules-load.d/), and the final stable configuration for rock-solid GPU passthrough to an Ubuntu VM.
I built on my edge AI hardware by adding Proxmox VE as the virtualization layer. After prepping BIOS, using Rufus with the nomodeset trick, and installing Proxmox, I enabled IOMMU, configured VFIO, and passed through 2× RTX 3090 GPUs to a single Ubuntu VM. This setup lets me run private AI workloads at near bare-metal speed, while keeping Windows and native Ubuntu for special use cases.
Exploring three budget AI supercomputer paths: a Dell R740xd for enterprise labs with big storage but limited GPU flexibility, a TRX50 + Threadripper 7970X workstation offering fast DDR5, Gen5 NVMe, and dual RTX GPU power, and the futuristic GB10 AI desktop with unified CPU/GPU memory. Dell is lab-friendly, GB10 is AI-only, but the TRX50 build strikes the best balance today.
Keeping up with today’s technology is both exciting and demanding. My passion for home labs started many years ago, and while my family often jokes about the time and money I spend on self-education, they understand the value of staying ahead in such a fast-moving field. What started as curiosity has grown into a journey of building cost-effective supercomputers for edge AI and virtualization.
This blog explains why VMware Workstation runs slower on Windows 11 compared to Windows 10, focusing on changes like Hyper-V, VBS, and HVCI being enabled by default on modern CPUs. It explores why sharing hypervisors with native hardware causes performance issues, and why disabling Hyper-V restores full VMware performance. Step-by-step PowerShell scripts are provided to toggle Hyper-V on or off safely.
This blog explores multi-cloud networking challenges, highlighting a real-world Azure-to-AWS modernization project. It emphasizes the importance of next-generation firewall marketplace appliances like FortiGate for standardization, secure connectivity, and automation, while addressing tools like Terraform and Python for seamless multi-cloud integration.
This blog explores deploying FortiGate VM in Azure, tackling challenges like license restrictions, Terraform API changes, and Marketplace agreements. It offers insights, troubleshooting tips, and lessons learned for successful single VM deployment in Azure. Using an evaluation license combined with B-series Azure VMs running FortiGate is primarily intended for experimentation and is not recommended for production environments.
This blog explores creating a powerful VMware lab using a budget-friendly 24-core workstation, Synology NAS with SSD storage, and advanced networking setup, including a shift from MikroTik to Fortinet gateways. A hands-on guide for cost-effective, enterprise-ready cloud migration and virtualization.
With Broadcom's acquisition of VMware raising concerns about price increases, it's crucial to explore alternatives like Hyper-V, open-source solutions, and cloud options. While I remain a strong advocate for VMware, I believe customers should have a Plan B ready to ensure flexibility and cost-effectiveness in their infrastructure strategy.
This research focused on assessing Oracle DBAs' familiarity with cloud technologies (e.g., landing zones, IaC automation) and comparing it to cloud experts' awareness of Oracle Database advancements (e.g., container/pluggable databases). Findings revealed a knowledge gap between the two groups. To address this, I plan a two-week intensive learning journey inspired by Oracle CloudWorld 2024. This includes re-deploying Oracle Database editions, exploring Autonomous Database, understanding Oracle Exadata and Real Application Clusters (RAC), and deepening my knowledge of Maximum Availability Architecture (MAA).
I’ve been waiting for this moment for two years, and at Oracle CloudWorld 2024, everything has finally come together. As a multi-cloud architect with extensive experience across all three major cloud platforms, I’m particularly excited about this opportunity because of my strong background in Oracle databases. I firmly advocate for keeping Oracle databases on their native platform when migrating to the cloud, rather than switching to competitor database engines. In this article, I’ll summarize the publicly available announcements and share what we know so far.
In this blog post, I share my journey from working as a wedding steadicam operator to building YouTube recording studios at home and in the Microsoft Budapest office during the onset of COVID. I offer insights from my early filmmaking days, navigating professional equipment, to refining a minimalist setup for online events and presentations during the pandemic. I also explore the challenges of mastering public speaking and whiteboarding techniques for effective content creation. Moving forward, I’ll provide more details on my evolving video setup to help others streamline their own studios.
I often ask my peers, especially those from my generation, what makes them truly happy at work. What drives people to go beyond just fulfilling their duties? From my research and discussions, three key factors stand out: a growing market, a strong leader and team, and the "space" to operate freely. In today’s landscape, AI also plays a vital role in helping both junior and senior professionals excel. In this article, I’ll explore these factors and reflect on how they’ve shaped my own career, along with the impact of AI on the future of work.
Yesterday and today, I had the pleasure of attending the AI Summit in Budapest, thanks to Crayon Hungary and my colleague Szabolcs Baranyi. It was a fantastic use of time, filled with insightful presentations and great networking opportunities. In this article, I highlight my top presentations, explain why they stood out to me, and share the key takeaways that I will remember.
I’m eager to expand my multi-cloud expertise by exploring Huawei Cloud. A few years ago, I tested Alibaba Cloud but noticed their limited presence in my region. That’s not the case with Huawei, as they have established offices across several EU locations and are actively offering cloud services.
This article compares Azure Migrate and AWS Migration Evaluator, focusing on their assessment capabilities. By feeding identical on-premises workloads into both tools, I analyze the recommended cloud resources, instance types, and pricing to help you make informed cloud migration decisions.
This topic is close to my heart because, as a former Oracle PL/SQL developer, I’ve often voiced concerns about replacing the Oracle database engine in the cloud with alternatives. I’m eager to see what’s changed since I tested this joint solution by Oracle and Microsoft 2 years ago.
In recent months, I’ve worked with customers to quickly generate Azure and AWS pricing estimates, a critical step for securing vendor funding in lift-and-shift migration projects. However, moving assessment data between migration and pricing tools can be challenging.
In this article I am comparing the Database Migration Services offered by Azure, AWS, and GCP while focusing on popular database options like MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server, and Oracle.
I keep researching this topic from several perspectives: regional availability, provided architecture, most popular use cases, VMware software versions, provided hardware configuration, and finally the price of a 3-node vSphere cluster in the Cloud.
I have generated Terraform code for the same Ubuntu VM with OpenAI's Chat GPT-4 and compared the VM prices per region in a fancy table. HCL code results are quite accurate, however, I would not trust price comparison due to outdated information. You can get adjustable results in minutes saving lots of human research time.
It's been more than 5 years since I have been testing and comparing 1st party migration tools. I have seen these tools getting better over the years, with major improvements by acquisitions, end-of-life products, continuous changes, and improvements not just to the tools but the methodology around, well-architected, CAF, the concept of the landing zone, 5Rs became 7Rs. In this article, I am sharing my experiences with the most commonly used cloud migration tools.
I have connected a Database Admin Azure VM running Oracle's SQL Developer (Windows version) and a Microsoft Power Platform application displaying Oracle's HR demo schema (via on-premises data gateway on Azure VM connecting with Power Platform's Oracle Premium Connector) to the same Oracle Database hosted on OCI.
As part of my multi-cloud research, I wanted to test Oracle Database Service for Azure. In this article, you will see how to sign up for the new service and how to link Oracle and Azure accounts. I used Frankfurt datacenters, Azure MSDN, and an OCI paid account (Free Tier does not work) using my private Azure Active Directory.
While cloud migration is still a popular topic during customer discussions, I have noticed that more and more customers are considering an exit plan from one cloud (vendor lock-in) to another cloud meaning there is an increase in multi-cloud migration demand. VMware, Oracle, and SAP are the major workloads in on-premises data centers today. Based on my research both VMware and Oracle are very vocal about the importance of having a multi-cloud strategy.
There are two ways of approaching this challenge. (#1) running MikroTik virtual appliance (CHR) in AWS (#2) using Virtual Private Gateway, a "cloud-native" networking solution provided by AWS. Each solution has its own benefits.
Every week, almost every day, whenever I have time. This is a massive commitment in my life to do better. I am primarily focused on human and leadership skills; LinkedIn Learning helped me a lot in preparation for my expert certifications, both Microsoft and AWS.
I started to learn AWS last summer as a 2nd cloud after my Microsoftee years. So many similarities, but different vocabulary. What is your profile? What's the best learning path for you? How can you bring the most value to the organization that supports your development plan?
Recently, I have installed several template virtual machines in my lab. My primary objective is to automate large-scale migrations to the AWS Cloud using the AWS CloudEndure Migration Factory Solution. The secondary objective is to test VMware HCX-based migrations to Cloud. This article gives you an idea of how to prepare a vSAN-based nested LAB to achieve similar goals.
I am building my lab to support testing cloud migration tools. It is not only for "legacy" VMs but cloud native workloads as well. I deployed ESXi7 on nested Workstation 16, added Synology NAS via NFS to store ISOs, built core infra like DC on Windows Server 2022, and thought about the proper diagramming tool that supports the hybrid design and automated deployment.
When you register a domain it is a big deal. It is your e-mail address, it is connected to your organization, you will use it in Cloud IAM and connected APIs. You will type it in CLI and pick it from GUI multiple times. I added my experiences with Microsoft Azure/M365/Teams and AWS Route 53/Chime as well.
My friends keep suggesting that GCP is a cool thing. I trust them. So let's do this. But how to start? I collected links and materials for you to understand how you can get your GCP exams done.
I have activated my GCP sandbox. Received an extra $100! Impressive welcome screen with offerings. The first service I am going to test is Migrate for Compute Engine API to better understand how to move complex workloads from VMware. How are different sources such as Hyper-V (Azure Stack HCI) or KVM supported?
I need to admit, I was lucky all my life. When relational DBs and Oracle SQL tuning were popular, I was there. Later when virtualization came to our town, I was there. I learned how to run an entire region working at a US startup, quite self-driven. I enjoyed DIB in a global organization at Microsoft. What's Next?
In the year 2019, I built an advanced VMware and Azure-based lab to teach my Microsoft colleagues about hybrid scenarios. I am working on a deployment of something similar and even more advanced these days to support testing migration tools and understand how workloads get into the Cloud.
VMware is not just a legacy source system with VMs to modernize, it is about understanding how a complex on-premises solution including cloud-native workloads (Tanzu) potentially lands in public cloud(s).
I have a bold career vision and I am happy to share it with everyone interested in similar topics. Here is my learning path for 2022.
Upcoming blog articles and video interviews. I continue my research on cloud vendors, cloud migration companies, and potential VMware landing zones.
Before designing any cloud landing zone for (SMB) customers, you need to have a perfect understanding of what workloads you can expect at the source system.
This is based on a true and personal story. A friend, Éva, is in trouble during the holidays, because her prem server has stopped on 23rd December.
This is a comparison of whether the 10-year-old server hardware can keep up with today's desktop computers. The nested virtualized lab seemed better on the Desktop.
Storage is key, saying this as an ex-Virtana employee. If you want to build a fast and great lab, you need to understand your options in this area.
Storage is key, speaking as an ex-Virtana employee. If you want to build a fast and great lab, you need to understand your options in this area.