AWS CloudEndure Migration: What It Was and What Replaces It (AWS MGN)

Key Takeaways

• AWS CloudEndure Migration has been retired — AWS has transitioned all customers to AWS Application Migration Service (MGN), which absorbed and extended CloudEndure's core technology.
• If you're planning a new migration today, use AWS MGN directly — don't set up new CloudEndure projects, as the legacy console/API path is being wound down.
• Both tools share the same underlying approach: continuous, block-level replication from source servers to a staging area in AWS, enabling low-downtime cutover.
• MGN adds tighter integration with AWS Migration Hub, Application Discovery Service, and post-migration modernization tooling that CloudEndure didn't natively offer.
• Migration steps conceptually remain similar: install agent → continuous replication → test instance launch → cutover — just performed through the MGN console/API now.

If you've found this page searching for "CloudEndure migration steps," here's the direct answer: CloudEndure Migration, the tool AWS acquired in 2019, has been retired as a standalone product. AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) is the current, actively maintained successor, built on the same replication engine. This guide covers the legacy CloudEndure model for context and walks through the equivalent, current MGN workflow.

What CloudEndure Migration Was

CloudEndure used an agent-based, continuous block-level replication model: install a lightweight agent on each source server (physical, VMware, Hyper-V, or another cloud), and it continuously streamed disk-level changes to a low-cost staging area in your target AWS account. This let you keep source servers fully operational during the entire sync window, then cut over with minutes, not hours, of downtime.

Why It Was Retired

AWS folded CloudEndure's replication engine into AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) to unify its migration tooling under one roadmap, with deeper integration into Migration Hub, Discovery Service, and post-migration right-sizing recommendations. New customer onboarding to legacy CloudEndure stopped, and AWS has been actively migrating remaining CloudEndure users over to MGN.

If you're starting fresh: go straight to AWS MGN. The rest of this guide shows the current path.

Migration Flow: Legacy CloudEndure vs. Current MGN

Step 1: Set Up AWS MGN (Current Path)

Initialize MGN in your target region — this creates the service-linked role and default replication settings template:

aws mgn initialize-service \
  --region us-east-1

Step 2: Configure the Replication Settings Template

aws mgn put-template-action \
  --replication-configuration-template-id tmpl-0123456789abcdef0 \
  --staging-area-subnet-id subnet-0abc123 \
  --replication-server-instance-type t3.small \
  --use-dedicated-replication-server false \
  --ebs-encryption DEFAULT

Step 3: Install the MGN Replication Agent on Source Servers

On a Linux source server:

wget -O ./aws-replication-installer-init.py \
  https://aws-application-migration-service-us-east-1.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/latest/linux/aws-replication-installer-init.py

sudo python3 aws-replication-installer-init.py \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --aws-access-key-id AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE \
  --aws-secret-access-key wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY

Use a scoped IAM user with only AWSApplicationMigrationAgentPolicy attached for this credential — never a broad admin key.

Step 4: Monitor Replication and Launch a Test Instance

aws mgn describe-source-servers \
  --filters sourceServerIDs=s-0123456789abcdef0

aws mgn start-test \
  --source-server-id s-0123456789abcdef0

Validate the test instance boots correctly, network configuration is right, and application starts cleanly before scheduling cutover.

Step 5: Cut Over

aws mgn start-cutover \
  --source-server-id s-0123456789abcdef0

This launches the final cutover instance from the most recent replicated data point, with downtime limited to the final sync and DNS/traffic switch — typically minutes.

Key Differences From Legacy CloudEndure

FAQ

Q: Can I still use CloudEndure Migration today? A: AWS has retired new customer onboarding for CloudEndure Migration and moved existing customers to MGN. For any new migration project, use AWS MGN.

Q: Will my CloudEndure migration steps still work in MGN? A: The underlying concepts (agent install, continuous replication, test launch, cutover) carry over directly — only the console/API surface changed.

Q: Is AWS MGN free? A: MGN itself has no additional licensing fee beyond the AWS infrastructure costs (staging area EC2/EBS, data transfer) incurred during replication and test launches.

Q: Does MGN support non-AWS source environments? A: Yes — physical servers, VMware, Hyper-V, and other clouds are all supported source environments, same as CloudEndure supported.

Plan Your Migration With AWS MGN

F9infotech's cloud migration team runs AWS MGN-based lift-and-shift and re-platform migrations end to end — assessment, replication setup, cutover, and post-migration optimization. Talk to our migration specialists.