AVS Assessments in Azure Migrate commit 1

Author: Rashi Joshi

articles/migrate/best-practices-assessment.md

@@ -16,15 +16,24 @@ This article summarizes best practices when creating assessments using the Azure
 
 ## About assessments
 
-Assessments you create with Azure Migrate Server Assessment are a point-in-time snapshot of data. There are two types of assessments in Azure Migrate.
+Assessments you create with Azure Migrate Server Assessment are a point-in-time snapshot of data. There are two types of assessments you can create using Azure Migrate: Server Assessment:
 
-**Assessment type** | **Details** | **Data**
+**Assessment Type** | **Details**
+--- | --- 
+**Azure VM** | Assessments to migrate your on-premises servers to Azure virtual machines. <br/><br/> You can assess your on-premises [VMware VMs](how-to-set-up-appliance-vmware.md), [Hyper-V VMs](how-to-set-up-appliance-hyper-v.md), and [physical servers](how-to-set-up-appliance-physical.md) for migration to Azure using this assessment type. [Learn more](concepts-assessment-calculation.md)
+**Azure VMware Solution (AVS)** | Assessments to migrate your on-premises servers to [Azure VMware Solution (AVS)](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-vmware/introduction). <br/><br/> You can assess your on-premises [VMware VMs](how-to-set-up-appliance-vmware.md) for migration to Azure VMware Solution (AVS) using this assessment type. [Learn more](concepts-avs-assessment-calculation.md)
+
+
+### Sizing criteria
+Server Assessment provides two sizing criteria options:
+
+**Sizing criteria** | **Details** | **Data**
 --- | --- | ---
-**Performance-based** | Assessments that make recommendations based on collected performance data | VM size recommendation is based on CPU and memory utilization data.<br/><br/> Disk type recommendation (standard HDD/SSD or premium-managed disks) is based on the IOPS and throughput of the on-premises disks.
-**As-is on-premises** | Assessments that don't use performance data to make recommendations. | VM size recommendation is based on the on-premises VM size<br/><br> The recommended disk type is based on what you select in the storage type setting for the assessment.
+**Performance-based** | Assessments that make recommendations based on collected performance data | **Azure VM assessment**: VM size recommendation is based on CPU and memory utilization data.<br/><br/> Disk type recommendation (standard HDD/SSD or premium-managed disks) is based on the IOPS and throughput of the on-premises disks.<br/><br/> **Azure VMware Solution (AVS) assessment**: AVS nodes recommendation is based on CPU and memory utilization data.
+**As-is on-premises** | Assessments that don't use performance data to make recommendations. | **Azure VM assessment**: VM size recommendation is based on the on-premises VM size<br/><br> The recommended disk type is based on what you select in the storage type setting for the assessment.<br/><br/> **Azure VMware Solution (AVS) assessment**: AVS nodes recommendation is based on the on-premises VM size.
 
-### Example
-As an example, if you have an on-premises VM with four cores at 20% utilization, and memory of 8 GB with 10% utilization, the assessments will be as follows:
+#### Example
+As an example, if you have an on-premises VM with four cores at 20% utilization, and memory of 8 GB with 10% utilization, the Azure VM assessment will be as follows:
 
 - **Performance-based assessment**:
     - Identifies effective cores and memory based on core (4 x 0.20 = 0.8), and memory (8 GB x 0.10 = 0.8) utilization.
@@ -34,6 +43,7 @@ As an example, if you have an on-premises VM with four cores at 20% utilization,
 - **As-is (as on-premises) assessment**:
     -  Recommends a VM with four cores; 8 GB of memory.
 
+
 ## Best practices for creating assessments
 
 The Azure Migrate appliance continuously profiles your on-premises environment, and sends metadata and performance data to Azure. Follow these best practices for assessments of servers discovered using an appliance:
@@ -49,6 +59,19 @@ Follow these best practices for assessments of servers imported into Azure Migra
 - **Create as-is assessments**: You can create as-is assessments immediately once your machines show up in the Azure Migrate portal.
 - **Create performance-based assessment**: This helps to get a better cost estimate, especially if you have overprovisioned server capacity on-premises. However, the accuracy of the performance-based assessment depends on the performance data specified by you for the servers. 
 - **Recalculate assessments**: Since assessments are point-in-time snapshots, they aren't automatically updated with the latest data. To update an assessment with the latest imported data, you need to recalculate it.
+ 
+### FTT Sizing Parameters for AVS assessments
+
+The storage engine used in AVS is vSAN. vSAN storage polices define storage requirements for your virtual machines. These policies guarantee the required level of service for your VMs because they determine how storage is allocated to the VM. These are the available FTT-Raid Combinations: 
+
+**Failures to Tolerate (FTT)** | **RAID Configuration** | **Minimum Hosts Required** | **Sizing consideration**
+--- | --- | --- | --- 
+1 | RAID-1 (Mirroring) | 3 | A 100GB VM would consume 200GB.
+1 | RAID-5 (Erasure Coding) | 4 | A 100GB VM would consume 133.33GB
+2 | RAID-1 (Mirroring) | 5 | A 100GB VM would consume 300GB.
+2 | RAID-6 (Erasure Coding) | 6 | A 100GB VM would consume 150GB.
+3 | RAID-1 (Mirroring) | 7 | A 100GB VM would consume 400GB.
+
 
 ## Best practices for confidence ratings
 
@@ -101,6 +124,12 @@ An assessment might not have all the data points for a number of reasons:
 
 - Few VMs were created after discovery in Server Assessment had started. For example, if you are creating an assessment for the performance history of last one month, but few VMs were created in the environment only a week ago. In this case, the performance data for the new VMs will not be available for the entire duration and the confidence rating would be low.
 
+### Migration Tool Guidance for AVS assessments
+
+In the Azure readiness report for Azure VMware Solution (AVS) assessment, you can see the following suggested tools: 
+- **VMware HCX or Enterprise**: For VMware machines, VMWare Hybrid Cloud Extension (HCX) solution is the suggested migration tool to migrate your on-premises workload to your Azure VMWare Solution (AVS) private cloud. [Learn More](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-vmware/hybrid-cloud-extension-installation).
+- **Unknown**: For machines imported via a CSV file, the default migration tool is unknown. Though, for VMware machines, its is recommended to use the VMWare Hybrid Cloud Extension (HCX) solution.
+
 
 ## Next steps
 

articles/migrate/common-questions-discovery-assessment.md

@@ -25,11 +25,35 @@ Review the supported geographies for [public](migrate-support-matrix.md#supporte
 
 You can discover up to 10,000 VMware VMs, up to 5,000 Hyper-V VMs, and up to 1000 physical servers by using a single appliance. If you have more machines, read about [scaling a Hyper-V assessment](scale-hyper-v-assessment.md), [scaling a VMware assessment](scale-vmware-assessment.md), or [scaling a physical server assessment](scale-physical-assessment.md).
 
+## How I choose between Azure VM assessment and Azure VMware Solution (AVS) assessment?
+
+- Use **Azure VM assessments** when you want to assess your on-premises [VMware VMs](how-to-set-up-appliance-vmware.md), [Hyper-V VMs](how-to-set-up-appliance-hyper-v.md), and [physical servers](how-to-set-up-appliance-physical.md) for migration to Azure VMs. [Learn More](concepts-assessment-calculation.md)
+
+- Use **Azure VMware Solution (AVS)** assessments when you want to assess your on-premises [VMware VMs](how-to-set-up-appliance-vmware.md) for migration to [Azure VMware Solution (AVS)](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-vmware/introduction) using this assessment type. [Learn more](concepts-avs-assessment-calculation.md)
+
+- You can use a common group with VMware machines only to run both types of assessments. Note that if you are running AVS assessments in Azure Migrate for the first time, it is advisable to create a new group of VMware machines.
+
+## I can't see some groups when I am creating an Azure VMware Solution (AVS) assessment
+
+- AVS assessment can be done on groups that have only VMware machines. Please remove any non-VMware machine from the group if you intend to perform an AVS assessment.
+- If you are running AVS assessments in Azure Migrate for the first time, it is advisable to create a new group of VMware machines.
+
+## How do I select FTT-RAID level in AVS assessment?
+
+The storage engine used in AVS is vSAN. vSAN storage polices define storage requirements for your virtual machines. These policies guarantee the required level of service for your VMs because they determine how storage is allocated to the VM. These are the available FTT-Raid Combinations: 
+
+**Failures to Tolerate (FTT)** | **RAID Configuration** | **Minimum Hosts Required** | **Sizing consideration**
+--- | --- | --- | --- 
+1 | RAID-1 (Mirroring) | 3 | A 100GB VM would consume 200GB.
+1 | RAID-5 (Erasure Coding) | 4 | A 100GB VM would consume 133.33GB
+2 | RAID-1 (Mirroring) | 5 | A 100GB VM would consume 300GB.
+2 | RAID-6 (Erasure Coding) | 6 | A 100GB VM would consume 150GB.
+3 | RAID-1 (Mirroring) | 7 | A 100GB VM would consume 400GB.
+
 ## I can't see some VM types in Azure Government
 
 VM types supported for assessment and migration depend on availability in Azure Government location. You can [review and compare](https://azure.microsoft.com/global-infrastructure/services/?regions=usgov-non-regional,us-dod-central,us-dod-east,usgov-arizona,usgov-iowa,usgov-texas,usgov-virginia&products=virtual-machines) VM types in Azure Government.
 
-
 ## The size of my VM changed. Can I run an assessment again?
 
 The Azure Migrate appliance continuously collects information about the on-premises environment.  An assessment is a point-in-time snapshot of on-premises VMs. If you change the settings on a VM that you want to assess, use the recalculate option to update the assessment with the latest changes.
@@ -43,7 +67,7 @@ The Azure Migrate appliance continuously collects information about the on-premi
 
 Yes, Azure Migrate requires vCenter Server in a VMware environment to perform discovery. Azure Migrate doesn't support discovery of ESXi hosts that aren't managed by vCenter Server.
 
-## What are the sizing options?
+## What are the sizing options in an Azure VM assessments?
 
 With as-on-premises sizing, Azure Migrate doesn't consider VM performance data for assessment. Azure Migrate assesses VM sizes based on the on-premises configuration. With performance-based sizing, sizing is based on utilization data.
 
@@ -55,18 +79,18 @@ Similarly, disk sizing depends on sizing criteria and storage type:
 - If the sizing criteria is performance-based and the storage type is automatic, Azure Migrate takes the IOPS and throughput values of the disk into account when it identifies the target disk type (Standard or Premium).
 - If the sizing criteria is performance-based and the storage type is Premium, Azure Migrate recommends a Premium disk SKU based on the size of the on-premises disk. The same logic is applied to disk sizing when the sizing is as-on-premises and the storage type is Standard or Premium.
 
-## Does performance history and utilization affect sizing?
+## Does performance history and utilization affect sizing in an Azure VM assessment?
 
-Yes, performance history and utilization affect sizing in Azure Migrate.
+Yes, performance history and utilization affect sizing in an Azure VM assessment.
 
 ### Performance history
 
 For performance-based sizing only, Azure Migrate collects the performance history of on-premises machines, and then uses it to recommend the VM size and disk type in Azure:
 
 1. The appliance continuously profiles the on-premises environment to gather real-time utilization data every 20 seconds.
-1. The appliance rolls up the collected 20-second samples and uses them to create a single data point every 15 minutes.
-1. To create the data point, the appliance selects the peak value from all 20-second samples.
-1. The appliance sends the data point to Azure.
+2. The appliance rolls up the collected 20-second samples and uses them to create a single data point every 15 minutes.
+3. To create the data point, the appliance selects the peak value from all 20-second samples.
+4. The appliance sends the data point to Azure.
 
 ### Utilization
 
@@ -76,12 +100,17 @@ For example, if you set the performance duration to one day and the percentile v
 
 Using the 95th percentile value ensures that outliers are ignored. Outliers might be included if your Azure Migrate uses the 99th percentile. To pick the peak usage for the period without missing any outliers, set Azure Migrate to use the 99th percentile.
 
-## How are import-based assessments different from assessments with discovery source as appliance?
+## How are import-based Azure VM assessments different from Azure VM assessments with discovery source as appliance?
 
 Import-based assessments are assessments created with machines that are imported into Azure Migrate using a CSV file. Only four fields are mandatory to import: Server name, cores, memory, and operating system. Here are some things to note: 
  - The readiness criteria is less stringent in import-based assessments on the boot type parameter. If the boot type isn't provided, it is assumed the machine has BIOS boot type and the machine is not marked as **Conditionally Ready**. In assessments with discovery source as appliance, the readiness is marked as **Conditionally Ready** if the boot type is missing. This difference in readiness calculation is because users may not have all information on the machines in the early stages of migration planning when import-based assessments are done. 
  - Performance-based import assessments use the utilization value provided by the user for right-sizing calculations. Since the utilization value is provided by the user, the **Performance history** and **Percentile utilization** options are disabled in the assessment properties. In assessments with discovery source as appliance, the chosen percentile value is picked from the performance data collected by the appliance.
 
+## Why is the suggested migration tool in import-based AVS assessment marked as unknown?
+
+For machines imported via a CSV file, the default migration tool in and AVS assessment is unknown. Though, for VMware machines, its is recommended to use the VMWare Hybrid Cloud Extension (HCX) solution. [Learn More](https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-vmware/hybrid-cloud-extension-installation).
+
+
 ## What is dependency visualization?
 
 Dependency visualization can help you assess groups of VMs to migrate with greater confidence. Dependency visualization cross-checks machine dependencies before you run an assessment. It helps ensure that nothing is left behind, and it helps avoid unexpected outages when you migrate to Azure. Azure Migrate uses the Service Map solution in Azure Monitor to enable dependency visualization. [Learn more](concepts-dependency-visualization.md).