A manufacturer running an AWS Migration Hub portfolio assessment must label two workloads with one of the seven common migration strategies before wave planning begins. The first is a self-managed Microsoft SQL Server estate the team is willing to retire in favour of a managed engine, accepting a database engine swap but no application rewrite, to cut patching and backup overhead. The second is a VMware-based line-of-business application the business will not let the team change at all and which must move within an eight-week lease deadline that rules out re-imaging each host. Which TWO strategy classifications correctly pair with these two workloads? Select TWO.
- AThe SQL Server estate is a refactor, because re-architecting it into a serverless event-driven design on AWS is the only way to remove the patching and backup burden that the team has identified as the problem.
- BThe SQL Server estate is a replatform, because moving it onto Amazon RDS for SQL Server keeps the application unchanged while offloading patching, backups and failover to the managed service through a targeted change. Correct
- CThe SQL Server estate is a rehost, because lifting the database servers to Amazon EC2 unchanged is the lowest-effort move and still lets the team stop managing on-premises hardware after the migration.
- DThe VMware application is a relocate, because moving the virtual machines to VMware Cloud on AWS lifts them as-is with no operating system or application change and the fastest path to meet the eight-week deadline. Correct
- EThe VMware application is a retire, because workloads bound by a hard lease deadline are decommissioned to avoid migration effort and the business case treats them as end-of-life candidates by default.
Why A is wrong: Refactor means re-architecting the application and is far heavier than needed, since a managed RDS engine already removes patching and backup overhead without rewriting the application.
Why B is correct: Replatform (the lift-and-tinker strategy) is exactly an engine move to a managed RDS service without rewriting the application, which matches the willingness to swap the database while reducing operational overhead.
Why C is wrong: Rehost lifts servers to EC2 with no engine change, so it leaves the team still patching and backing up SQL Server itself, which contradicts the stated goal of offloading that overhead to a managed engine.
Why D is correct: Relocate moves VMware workloads to VMware Cloud on AWS without changing the guest operating system or application, which fits the no-change mandate and the short deadline that rules out re-imaging hosts.
Why E is wrong: Retire applies only to applications no longer needed, but this line-of-business application is still required, so a deadline alone never justifies decommissioning a workload the business depends on.