Are you looking for a way to move your Azure Virtual Machine (VM) from one resource group or subscription to another? Azure Resource Mover is the answer!
In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to move Azure VMs using this handy tool across different subscriptions.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Sometimes, to advance your business, you may need to relocate your resources. This could involve expanding into new markets, meeting new data requirements, or increasing resiliency through Microsoft Azure availability zones. However, moving your applications from one location to another can be a daunting task, but with the right tools and guidance, the process can be simplified and stress-free.
To simplify this process, Microsoft Azure Resource Mover offers a solution that reduces your effort while providing more control over your resource migration. You can easily orchestrate the move of multiple resources between Azure regions simultaneously, which saves you time and eliminates unnecessary steps.
Azure Resource Mover will identify dependencies and deal with unknown factors, with the hope that you don’t open your business to any risks or unexpected disruptions during the planned downtime.
In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to move your Azure VM to another subscription within the same Tenant using Azure Resource Mover. We will also discuss the benefits of using this tool and provide best practices to ensure a successful migration.
Overview of Azure Resource Mover
Azure Resource Mover is a tool that enables you to move resources between resource groups, subscriptions, and regions. Currently, it supports moving the following types of resources:
- Virtual Machines and associated disks
- Network interface cards
- Availability sets
- Virtual Network resources
- Public IP addresses
- Network security groups
- Internal load balancers
- Public load balancers
- Azure SQL databases
- Elastic pools
- Resource groups
Azure Resource Mover moves your resources asynchronously, meaning that the resources will still be available during the move process. Once the move is complete, your resources will be available in their new location with the same configurations and settings.
There are several benefits to using Azure Resource Mover to move your Azure VMs:
> Simplified process: Azure Resource Mover provides a unified experience that reduces the need for scripting or manual steps.
> Reduced downtime: The tool allows you to move your resources with minimal downtime by using Azure Site Recovery.
> Flexible migration options: You can move your resources across regions, subscriptions, and resource groups.
> Dependency tracking: Azure Resource Mover tracks dependencies between resources and ensures that they are moved in the correct order.
> Rollback support: If the migration fails, you can roll back to the previous state with a few clicks.
Preparing to Move Azure VMs
Before moving your Azure VM, there are a few things you should do to prepare:
Check if the VM can be moved – Not all VMs are eligible for moving. Check if your VM is eligible by verifying the supported operating system and does not have any dependent resources that cannot be moved. Azure Spot VMs are not currently supported.
- Verify supported Windows VMs.
- Verify supported Linux VMs.
Review dependencies – Ensure that all dependencies of the VM can be moved along with it. This includes network interfaces, disks, and availability sets.
- Check supported compute, storage, and networking settings.
- Public IP will not be retained when you move across Azure regions.
Regions support – Not all regions are supported for a move. Check what regions are currently supported.
Destination subscription – The destination subscription needs enough quota to create the resources you’re moving. You might need to request additional limits if you don’t have enough quota.
Ensure sufficient permissions – Ensure that you have sufficient permissions to move the VM and any dependent resources. You must have Owner access to the subscription containing the resources that you want to move.
Review pricing – If you are moving VMs to a different region, then make sure to verify the charges associated with the target region to which you’re moving VMs. Use the pricing calculator to help you.
Learn More: How to create a VM in Azure in 6 easy methods.
Steps to Move Azure VMs with Azure Resource Mover
Now that you’ve prepared to move your Azure VM, let’s walk through the steps to move it using Azure Resource Mover.
Log in to the Azure portal and navigate to the Azure Resource Mover under Services.
In the Overview pane, select the Getting Started Tab, and then under Move Resources, select “Move resources to another subscription“, as shown in the figure below
As mentioned earlier, you can also move resources to another resource group or to another region (choose based on your desired scenario).
Step 1: Select Source and Target
In Move resources > Source + target Tab, do the following:
- Select the Source subscription and resource group.
- Under Target, select the destination subscription and resource group to which you want to move the VMs.
Select Next.
Step 2: Select Azure VM and Dependencies
In Move resources > Resources to move Tab, do the following:
- Select the Add Resources button.
- In the Select Resources page, select the desired VM that you want to move. Please note that you can only add the resources supported for the move (refer to preparing to move Azure VMs section).
- Since we are moving an Azure VM, we need to select all the dependencies such as Network Interface(s), Network Security Group(s), Managed Disk(s), and Virtual network.
- Then click Select.
Select Next.
Step 3: Review and Validate the Move
On the Review Tab, Azure Resource Mover will check whether these resources can be moved.
As part of this step, Azure Resource Mover will identify any pending dependencies that need to be resolved. Resources moved to a different subscription might have billing, scripting, and access control implications. This step might take a few minutes to complete.
Once the dependency validation is completed, select Next.
As mentioned earlier, you need to resolve any dependency error that you might encounter before you continue. You can go back to the Resources to move Tab and change your selection.
Next, on the Review Tab, under the Selection summary, check the source and target subscription and resource groups settings
Step 4: Move Your Azure VM
Once you are ready, select “I understand that tools and scripts associated with moved resources will not work until I update them to use new resource IDs“, and finally, click “Move“, as shown in the figure below.
The moving process will kick in which might several minutes to complete depending on how many resources you are moving.
Once the move is completed, you will receive a notification similar to the one below.
Step 5: Verify Moving Resources
The final step is to verify that your Azure VM is moved to the destination (target) subscription.
Go back to the source subscription and resource group (RG). We can see that we don’t have any resources in the source subscription.
On the destination subscription, we can see the Azure VM has been moved successfully to the target subscription in the same region (UK South) and it’s in running state.
That’s it there you have it!
How it works
You first choose from available Azure geographies and select the region that offers the services you need. Next, you ensure that your workloads are ready by conducting a built-in dependency analysis of resources within your subscription. You can then plan and test your migration as many times as needed until you’re confident that your workloads will move securely and successfully.
After completing the move, your original workloads will remain intact at the source until you decide to delete them. With Azure Resource Mover, you can move your resources with confidence, knowing that it takes less time and effort to move multiple resources at once.
Conclusion
Moving Azure VMs can be a daunting task, especially if you have a complex infrastructure with several dependencies, but with Azure Resource Mover, it’s a breeze! In this article, we’ve covered the steps to move your Azure VM using Azure Resource Mover to another subscription.
Remember to prepare your VM for the move, select all your VM dependencies, review and validate the move, and finally move your VM. With these simple steps, you can easily move your VM between resource groups, subscriptions, and regions.
See Also: How To Rename an Azure Virtual Machine.
Azure Resource Mover is a tool that can help you move your Azure resources, including Azure VMs, across regions, subscriptions, and resource groups.
FAQs
Is Azure Resource Mover free to use?
Yes, Azure Resource Mover is a free tool provided by Azure. You may incur charges when moving between regions.
Can I move resources other than VMs with Azure Resource Mover?
Yes, Azure Resource Mover supports moving a variety of resources, including virtual networks, Availability sets, Public IP addresses, load balancers, and more.
How long does it take to move a VM with Azure Resource Mover?
The moving process with Azure Resource Mover is asynchronous and can take several hours to complete.
Can I move the VM without a virtual network?
Moving a virtual machine could require moving seven resource types with three different resource providers. Those resource providers are Microsoft.Compute, Microsoft.Network, and Microsoft.Storage.
Another common scenario involves moving a virtual network. You may have to move several other resources associated with that virtual network. The move request could require moving public IP addresses, route tables, virtual network gateways, network security groups, and others.
Can I move a VM without using Azure Resource Mover?
Yes, there are a couple of other options that you could use to move a VM without using Azure Resource Mover which gives you more flexibility, for example, moving a VM without its dependent virtual network.
To do so, you have to take the following steps:
First, you need to delete the original VM object (VM only! Not the disk!), then move the Managed disk(s) to the other subscription, then navigate to the disk (in the other subscription) and select Create VM using the existing (moved) disk, and last select the target network and subnet.
Another option, you could use Azure Site Recovery (ASR) to “move” the VM between different subscriptions. Learn more on how to get started with Azure VM disaster recovery (DR).
Can Azure Resource Mover move multiple resources at once?
Yes, it’s possible to transfer several resources at once, and the amount of time required for the transfer depends on the size of each resource.
Can I move my resources across the subscription?
At the time of this writing, Microsoft has documented that Azure Resource Mover only supports moving resources across regions within the same subscription. Move across subscriptions is not supported. However, as you have seen in this article, we were able to move resources across subscriptions successfully.
The Azure Resource Mover blade has an entry point to enable the move across subscriptions. The capability to move across subscriptions is supported by Azure Resource Manager (ARM) and not directly by Azure Resource Mover.
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-Charbel Nemnom-
