HYCU Migration Path¶
Migrate Nutanix AHV or ESXi VMs to Azure Local using HYCU Backup & Recovery and Azure Migrate.
Overview¶
The HYCU migration path uses a two-hop architecture:
- Hop 1 — HYCU: Backs up VMs from Nutanix AHV or ESXi, then restores them to a Hyper-V staging host with automatic VHDX conversion.
- Hop 2 — Azure Migrate: Discovers the staged Hyper-V VMs and migrates them to Azure Local as Azure Local VMs.
Nutanix AHV ──[HYCU backup]──► HYCU Backup Target ──[HYCU restore]──► Hyper-V Staging ──[Azure Migrate]──► Azure Local
Why HYCU?¶
| Advantage | Details |
|---|---|
| Simplest deployment | Single Linux VM on the Nutanix cluster — no Windows server, no SQL database |
| No proxy VM on AHV | Uses native AHV snapshot API directly — zero additional footprint on Nutanix |
| Web UI management | Browser-based console on port 8443 — no desktop application required |
| Agentless | No agents on source VMs |
| Purpose-built for Nutanix | Native AHV and Nutanix Files integration |
Scenario Pages¶
- Prerequisites — Licensing, hardware, network, and account requirements
- Architecture — Detailed component diagram and data flow
- Runbook — Step-by-step migration runbook with batch pipeline
- Validation & Checklist — Validation steps and pre-migration checklist
Source Platform Support¶
HYCU is purpose-built for Nutanix AHV. It connects directly to the Prism Element API using native AHV snapshot APIs. No proxy VM is deployed — HYCU's controller VM communicates directly with the Nutanix cluster.
Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is handled natively by Nutanix AHV, giving HYCU efficient incremental backups.
HYCU also supports VMware vSphere sources (including ESXi-on-Nutanix). HYCU connects to vCenter or ESXi via the vSphere API, similar to how Veeam operates on ESXi. Backups use VMware snapshot mechanisms.
HYCU vs. Veeam Summary¶
| Aspect | HYCU | Veeam |
|---|---|---|
| Migration workflow | Backup → Restore (two-step) | Direct live replication |
| RPO at cutover | Last incremental interval | Live replica (lower RPO) |
| Re-IP capability | Not built-in; script post-restore | Built-in re-IP rules |
| Staging storage | Backup target + Hyper-V staging | Hyper-V staging only |
| Deployment footprint | Single VM on Nutanix | Windows Server + components |
Start with the PoC
Before migrating production VMs, validate the HYCU path in the Proof of Concept plan using 5–10 representative VMs.
Alternative approaches¶
- Compare all four paths in the Tool Comparison
- If you want live replication and built-in re-IP, see Veeam
- If you already standardize on Commvault, see Commvault
- If you prefer clean-build target VMs and data/application migration, see Deploy-First