Cloud deployment archetypes are strategic frameworks for moving and managing applications in cloud environments, originating from AWS's migration strategies and now adopted industry-wide across all major cloud providers. These archetypes guide critical decisions about how to handle legacy applications, new developments, and infrastructure transitions, directly impacting timelines, costs, and business outcomes. Understanding these patterns is essential because choosing the wrong archetype can result in wasted migration effort, cost overruns, or systems that fail to leverage cloud benefits — while the right choice accelerates modernization and maximizes ROI.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This topic spans 12 focused tables and 80 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.
Table 1: The 7R Migration Strategies
| Strategy | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
VM → IaaS instance(no code changes) | • Moves applications to cloud without modifications — fastest migration but forgoes cloud-native benefits • ideal for rapid datacenter exits or time-sensitive moves. | |
VMware on-prem → VMware Cloud on AWS | • Transfers workloads at the hypervisor level without changing the guest OS or application layer • used for VMware environments migrating to cloud providers with native VMware support. | |
SQL Server on VM → Azure SQL Database | • Applies minor cloud optimizations (managed databases, load balancers) without rearchitecting the core application • balances speed with moderate cloud benefits. | |
Monolith → microservices + containers | • Redesigns application architecture to be cloud-native (microservices, serverless, event-driven) • highest effort but maximizes scalability, resilience, and cost efficiency. |