# Migrate IIS-hosted applications to Amazon EC2 by using appcmd.exe *Deepak Kumar, Amazon Web Services* ## Summary When you migrate Internet Information Services (IIS)-hosted applications to Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, you need to address several authentication challenges. These challenges include re-entering domain credentials for application pool identities and potentially regenerating machine keys for proper website functionality. You can use AWS Directory Service to establish trust relationships with your on-premises Active Directory or create a new managed Active Directory in AWS. This pattern describes a clean migration approach that uses the backup and restore functionality of IIS on Amazon EC2 instances. The approach uses appcmd.exe to uninstall and reinstall IIS on the target EC2 instances, enabling successful migration of IIS-hosted websites, application pool identities, and machine keys. ## Prerequisites and limitations **Prerequisites ** + An active AWS account for the target server. + A functional source IIS server with websites hosted on it. + Understanding of IIS working principles such as administration and configuration. + System administrator access on both the source and target servers. + Completed migration of the source IIS server to the target AWS account. You can use migration tools such as AWS Application Migration Service, an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) snapshot-based approach, or other migration tools. **Limitations** + Some AWS services aren’t available in all AWS Regions. For Region availability, see [AWS Services by Region](https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/regional-product-services/). For specific endpoints, see [Service endpoints and quotas](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/aws-service-information.html), and choose the link for the service. **Product versions** + IIS 8.5 or IIS 10.0 ## Architecture **Source technology stack  ** + Windows Server with IIS 8.5 or IIS 10.0 installed **Target technology stack  ** + Windows Server with IIS 8.5 or IIS 10.0 installed + Application Migration Service **Target architecture** The following diagram shows the workflow and architecture components for this pattern. ![\[Workflow to migrate IIS-hosted applications to Amazon EC2.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/images/pattern-img/2f9f7757-b2bc-4077-b51a-700de521424c/images/36aa9b7a-d0aa-4fa4-be47-9fee43b53c22.png) The solution includes the following steps: 1. [Install](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/mgn/latest/ug/agent-installation.html) and configure the AWS Replication Agent on the source IIS server in your corporate data center. This agent initiates the replication process and manages data transfer to AWS. 1. The AWS Replication Agent establishes a [secure connection ](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/mgn/latest/ug/Agent-Related-FAQ.html#How-Communication-Secured)to Application Migration Service and begins replicating the source server data, including IIS configurations, websites, and application files. 1. Application Migration Service launches EC2 instances in the application subnet with the replicated data. The target EC2 instance runs IIS and contains the migrated applications with their associated Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volumes. After the initial replication, Application Migration Service continues to sync changes until you're [ready to cut over](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/mgn/latest/ug/migration-dashboard.html#ready-for-cutover1) to the new environment. ## Tools **AWS services** + [AWS Application Migration Service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/mgn/latest/ug/what-is-application-migration-service.html) helps you rehost (*lift and shift*) applications to the AWS Cloud without change and with minimal downtime. + [Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ebs/latest/userguide/what-is-ebs.html) provides block-level storage volumes for use with Amazon EC2 instances. + [Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/concepts.html) provides scalable computing capacity in the AWS Cloud. You can launch as many virtual servers as you need and quickly scale them up or down. **Other tools** + [Internet Information Services (IIS)](https://www.iis.net/overview) for Windows Server is a web server with a scalable and open architecture for hosting anything on the Web. IIS provides a set of administration tools, including administration and command line tools (for example, appcmd.exe), managed code and scripting APIs, and Windows PowerShell support. ## Epics ### Back up IIS at source prior to migration | Task | Description | Skills required | | --- | --- | --- | | Create backups of IIS-hosted websites, configuration key, and `WAS` key. | To create backups for IIS-hosted websites, the configuration key (`iisConfigurationKey`), and the `WAS` key (`iisWasKey`), use appcmd.exe on the source server. Use the following steps:[\[See the AWS documentation website for more details\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/migrate-iis-hosted-applications-to-amazon-ec2-by-using-appcmd.html)To export the configuration key and the `WAS` key, do the following:[\[See the AWS documentation website for more details\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/migrate-iis-hosted-applications-to-amazon-ec2-by-using-appcmd.html) | IIS Administrator | ### Uninstall and reinstall IIS on the target server | Task | Description | Skills required | | --- | --- | --- | | Uninstall IIS on the target server. | To uninstall IIS on the target server, use the following steps: [\[See the AWS documentation website for more details\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/migrate-iis-hosted-applications-to-amazon-ec2-by-using-appcmd.html) | IIS Administrator | | Install IIS on the target server. | To install IIS on the target server, use the following steps: [\[See the AWS documentation website for more details\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/migrate-iis-hosted-applications-to-amazon-ec2-by-using-appcmd.html) | IIS Administrator | ### Restore IIS websites and configuration from the backups | Task | Description | Skills required | | --- | --- | --- | | Restore IIS websites and configuration. | To restore the IIS backups that you created from the source server on the target server, use the following steps:[\[See the AWS documentation website for more details\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/migrate-iis-hosted-applications-to-amazon-ec2-by-using-appcmd.html) | IIS Administrator | ## Related resources **AWS documentation** + [Installing the AWS Replication Agent](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/mgn/latest/ug/agent-installation.html) (AWS Application Migration Service documentation) **AWS Prescriptive Guidance** + [Migrate an on-premises VM to Amazon EC2 by using AWS Application Migration Service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/patterns/migrate-an-on-premises-vm-to-amazon-ec2-by-using-aws-application-migration-service.html) + [Using AMIs or Amazon EBS snapshots for backups](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/backup-recovery/ec2-backup.html#amis-snapshots) **Microsoft resources** + [Application pool identities](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/developer/webapps/iis/was-service-svchost-process-operation/understanding-identities#application-pool-identities) + [IIS documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/iis/) + [IIS 8 appcmd.exe documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-r2-and-2012/jj635852(v=ws.11)) + [IIS 10 appcmd.exe documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/iis/get-started/whats-new-in-iis-10/new-features-introduced-in-iis-10) + [Powerful Admin Tools](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/iis/overview/powerful-admin-tools)