AWS Application Migration Service
AWS Application Migration Service is the lift-and-shift (rehost) migration service of Amazon Web Services, and the recommended successor to the discontinued AWS Server Migration Service. As of June 2026 it is branded AWS Transform MGN, reflecting its role as the replication engine that powers the broader AWS Transform agentic migration service, while remaining usable directly through its own console for hands-on migrations.
Key points
- Renamed AWS Transform MGN in June 2026; APIs, the underlying replication engine, and existing compliance certifications are unchanged, and it can still be operated directly through its own console rather than only via AWS Transform’s agentic workflow.
- Performs continuous, block-level replication of source servers — physical, virtual, or cloud-based — into a low-cost staging area in the target AWS account and Region, then automatically converts them to boot and run natively on Amazon EC2.
- Typical cutover windows are measured in minutes, minimizing downtime during the actual migration.
- Groups servers into applications and applications into waves, using configurable replication, launch, and post-launch templates to control migration behavior at scale; individual server settings can be overridden.
- Supports a broad range of Windows Server and Linux operating systems, both IPv4 and IPv6 networking, and can replicate into standard Availability Zones or AWS Local Zones.
- Migrates entire servers, not the data inside a database — moving data between database engines is the job of AWS Database Migration Service (DMS), which addresses a different layer of a migration.
- After cutover, applications can be replatformed or refactored using other AWS services, making rehosting a fast first step toward modernization rather than an end state.
- Available in all AWS commercial Regions plus both AWS GovCloud (US) Regions.