Skip to content

HYCU Migration Path — Architecture

Detailed component diagram and data flow for the HYCU two-hop migration.

Component Diagram

HYCU detailed architecture

Draw.io source: 02-hycu-architecture-detailed.drawio

Data Flow — Hop 1 (HYCU)

  1. HYCU Controller VM connects to Prism Element (HTTPS 9440)
  2. HYCU triggers a native AHV snapshot via the AHV v3/v4 snapshot API
  3. Backup data is streamed from the Nutanix cluster → HYCU Controller → Backup Target
  4. No AHV Proxy VM is deployed — HYCU reads directly via the API
  5. For incrementals, only Changed Block Tracking (CBT) deltas are transferred
  6. Restore to Hyper-V: HYCU reads from the Backup Target and writes VHDX files to the Hyper-V staging host via WinRM. Disk format conversion (AHV → VHDX) is automatic.
  1. HYCU connects to vCenter/ESXi (HTTPS 443) via the vSphere API
  2. HYCU triggers VMware snapshots and reads CBT-tracked changes
  3. Data is stored on the HYCU Backup Target
  4. Restore to Hyper-V: HYCU restores from backup target as VHDX (VMDK → VHDX conversion is automatic)

Data Flow — Hop 2 (Azure Migrate)

Same as the Veeam path — Azure Migrate is tool-agnostic for Hop 2:

  1. Azure Migrate appliance discovers VMs on Hyper-V via WMI
  2. Replicates VHDX files to Azure Local CSV storage
  3. At cutover: final delta, Azure Migrate creates Azure Local VMs on Azure Local

Key Architecture Difference vs. Veeam

Aspect HYCU Veeam
Backup storage Requires separate backup target Not needed — direct replication
AHV footprint Controller VM only (on cluster) AHV Proxy VM (auto-deployed on cluster)
Data path AHV → Target → Restore to HV AHV → Direct replication to HV
Re-IP Post-restore scripting required Built-in at failover time

Diagrams

See the Diagrams Gallery for architecture diagrams including: