In the introduction to this series, we identified that there are multiple parts of the cloud migration journey; namely: Discover, Assess, Migrate, Manage, and Operate.
We will cover various tools that either falls into one of or span multiple phases in the migration journey.
As a quick-link reference, here is the list of tools this series will cover:
- Part 1: Introduction
- Discover
- Part 2: Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit
- Part 3: Service Map
- Part 4: OVF/OVA
- Part 5: Custom Scripts
- Assess
- Migrate
- Part 10: Azure Websites Migration Assistant
- Part 11: Azure Database Migration Planner
- Part 12: Azure Migrate
- Part 13: Azure Migration Center
- Part 14: Manage and Optimize
- Part 15: Third-Party Tools
- Part 16: Summary
Continuing our focus on the tool(s) that fall within the first phase: Discovery, the next tool that we categorize under Discovery, is Custom Scripts.
What Is It Used For?
Custom Scripts are fairly self-explanatory. They are used to collect data about your environment (or a specific element of your environment) and possibly will include some level of reporting as well.
The challenge is that there is an infinite number of custom, community-based scripts out there. And you have to decide for yourself if you trust the authors/scripts. The other challenge is that the script may or may not work in your environment, may need some higher level of permissions/access to work correctly, etc.
Here are a few examples of custom scripts that could be used for discovery:
IMPORTANT: We do not endorse the use of any of these scripts. Please use at your own risk.
- Active Directory Discovery Scripts
- Infrastructure Discovery for Azure Cloud Migrations
- Hyper-V Environment Inventory
Pro’s vs Con’s
Here is a quick list of what we deem as Pro’s/Con’s of this tool.
Pro’s
- Usually available for free
- Community contributed (meaning others can contribute/improve)
- No additional software, infrastructure, etc. to set up and configure for use
Con’s
- Potentially damaging to the environment
- May not include any reporting (just a data export)
- Some scripts may no longer be maintained/updated to support newer environments/OSes
Other Thoughts
When using custom scripts, we would recommend reviewing the script itself. If you’re trying to obtain some specific information, you may be able to extract a specific portion of the script that you need. That way you know exactly what you are executing in your environment.