×
ArticlesMission-critical Solaris applications are essential for business continuity. However, many businesses are running them on aging SPARC hardware, which is unreliable and costly. Replacing business-critical applications is expensive, risky, and time-consuming. Stromasys Charon is a leading provider of solutions that address this issue. It creates a virtualization layer that enables your operating system to operate on cloud platforms like AWS without writing any code.
With Charon-SSP on AWS, your applications, database, and operating system will remain unchanged. So, your applications will continue to run as usual on AWS (only your hardware will be eliminated). As an AWS partner, we have successfully done it over the last few years.
In this article, we will break down the complete process. Discover how Charon-SSP efficiently migrates mission-critical Solaris workloads to AWS in just a matter of days.
Sun SPARC was made ages ago and specifically designed to meet the needs of businesses back then. But Solaris applications running on them have become super ingrained in the fundamental operations of sectors like finance, healthcare, and government.
For example, consider the responsibility of running air traffic control, a nuclear power station, or any kind of power plant. Or the intricacies involved in designing aircraft or satellites. Think about the complexity of updating a system directly controlled by a satellite orbiting above us.
Every business is so caught up in short-term issues that it fails to see the bigger picture. This oversight causes problems to grow, increasing the risk of failure.
In reality, holding on to outdated legacy systems can cause an organization to spend 15% more of its yearly budget just on maintenance.
Also, older hardware is more prone to crashes and unplanned outages, which can lead to significant business disruption and potential revenue loss.
Moreover, Legacy hardware usually operates with old security protocols and misses essential updates, which puts them at a higher risk of cyberattacks.
Finally, they usually do not have the flexible architecture needed to keep up with fast technological changes and what the market wants.
So, we get to the point that modernization is the need of the hour. But the sheer complexity of doing something when there is no source code around makes no one really want to touch it. It becomes the limiting factor. This is where Lift and Shift migration by Stromasys comes into play.
Running Solaris on AWS with the Charon-SSP emulator enables organizations to make tremendous savings on their cost envelope. Let us see how the switch to cloud affects the financials on IT infrastructure maintenance:
Most importantly, applications migrated to AWS without requiring much redesign can bring down the annual maintenance cost that is common to on-premises hardware and software.
It reduces not only the replacements and physical repairs of the solutions but also lessens the software update and security patching costs, saving a lot every year.
As applications and data move to the cloud, the physical servers they ran in-house no longer exist. This means huge savings on the amount used to power and cool these servers.
Hence, an organization will witness a decline in its power bill, reducing the overall power consumption cost.
In addition to the power savings, the reduction in the number of on-site servers reduces the need for complex cooling systems. The typical machinery, the servers, generate so much heat that they need to be cooled to the correct temperature in order not to become overheated.
By outsourcing to the cloud, the obligations of heat dissipation and in the final analysis, the costs are passed to the provider of the cloud. This typically happens at a scale high enough that cooling can be performed better and more effectively.
Finally, rehosting applications from Solaris to the cloud releases the physical space that was reserved for big servers and their hardware in the data centers.
This means that such released space can be used for some other crucial operation, or, in case of its large availability, it can facilitate the organization to downsize. Any of these will save an organization on the expenses made regarding real estate and facility management.
Charon-SSP transfers your Solaris workloads to AWS without requiring extensive refactoring or rewriting. Yes, this is what we call a lift and shift migration.
Lift and shift is the process of replicating your hardware environment on modern hardware. This approach allows the applications to continue running as-is, as if nothing has changed, even though the underlying hardware is different.
Lift and Shift vs. Full Migration: Lift and Shift is preferred over complete migration because it allows for a quicker cloud transition without requiring extensive modifications. It helps avoid disruption by speeding up the migration process and using fewer resources.
Lift and Shift Compared to Spare Part Replacement: Lift and Shift has a more integrated approach than spare part replacement, where the whole application stack is moved to the cloud. It makes the process smoother and does not expose other compatibility issues related to the use of spare parts.
Lift and Shift vs. Status Quo: The proper establishment of Lift and Shift, and the preference to avoid the status quo, allows organizations to see the benefits of cloud computing, including scalability, flexibility, and improved security, even while also allowing for the modernization of their IT infrastructure to remain relevant in a changing technology landscape.
Now that you understand why Lift and Lift is the most cost-effective and quickest way to run Solaris on AWS, let’s explore the inner workings of the emulator.
Please refer to the image. At the bottom left, highlighted in red, you see the problem: it is the SPARC legacy hardware. This system has been operational for a long time, but is now beginning to fail. It is imperative that we address this issue.
Above, indicated by green arrows, are your application, your database, and your classic operating system, in this case, Solaris. Ideally, you would want to preserve these components.
The plan involves phasing out the old hardware, which will be replaced by a setup in the AWS cloud. This could involve running Linux or incorporating our own emulator, so you will not have to manage it. Our emulator acts as a thin layer upon which your application, database, and operating system can be seamlessly transferred, just as they were – this is what we refer to as the lift and shift approach.
The problematic hardware (the red part) is what gets replaced, while your essential software (the green part) is lifted, shifted, and then reinstated to continue operating as before.
Are any modifications or coding required? Absolutely not, and that is precisely the point. Our service targets customers who, for various reasons, either cannot or choose not to modify their source code.
Avoiding recompilation eliminates risks because recompilation can introduce unforeseen issues—even if it is performed in the same environment. You might wonder what would happen if it does not work? The consequences can be significant, potentially leading to system outages.
That is why our approach is to take your existing setup, back it up, and restore it to the new environment, just as you would transfer it to a new piece of hardware. This ensures continuity and stability without delving into the original code.
Would you like to see a demo of Charon SSP on AWS?
Check out this video where our field engineer is sharing the operations & features of Charon-SSP in the AWS cloud:
Maintaining an aging data center is quite challenging due to the costs and complexities involved. With the help of Stromasys and AWS, a customer successfully closed two on-premises data centers and migrated them to VMware Cloud on AWS.
Here is how the customer has expressed their satisfaction “Without the Stromasys solution and the expertise of Effectual, we would not have been able to meet our data center exit deadline. We had time to spare! Furthermore, with these mission-critical applications now hosted in a modern, secure environment, we have the luxury of time to decide if, when, and how to modernize the Solaris applications.”
This is just one of the many instances where we have helped customers close decades-old data centers and streamline them into a virtual one. Would you like to run your business-critical Solaris applications on AWS without writing a single line of code?
The primary benefit is running Solaris workloads on a modern, scalable platform without the need to redo or heavily modify the original code. This means businesses can keep running smoothly, reduce hardware upkeep costs, and take advantage of AWS’s top-notch security and scalability.
Companies still rely on mission-critical applications running on Sun SPARC, Alpha, or other legacy systems like PDP, VAX,...
Read More
SPARC hardware has been trusted by companies around the world for decades now, and rightly...
Read More
Sun SPARC hardware was introduced in the late 1980s and was popular for its high-end...
Read More