HYCU Migration Path — Validation & Checklist
Validation steps for each migration hop and the complete pre-migration checklist.
Hop 1 Go / No-Go Sign-off
CAUTION
Do not proceed to Hop 2 until every VM in the batch achieves a Go status Each VM must be individually reviewed. If any item is a No-Go, the VM must be remediated or rolled back before the batch is considered complete.
| Check | Validation Method | Pass Criteria (Go) | Fail Action (No-Go) |
|---|---|---|---|
| VM boots and stays running | Hyper-V Manager | Running stable for 5+ min | Rollback to Nutanix |
| Correct IP address assigned | ipconfig /all / ip addr | Expected IP (or correct re-IPed address) | Re-apply IP via netplan/netsh |
| Default gateway reachable | ping <gateway> | Replies received | Check vSwitch, VLAN, NIC binding |
| DNS resolution (forward) | nslookup <hostname> | Correct A record returned | Flush DNS cache, check DNS server setting |
| DNS resolution (reverse) | nslookup <ip> | Correct PTR record returned | Update DNS PTR or notify DNS admin |
| AD domain membership | Test-ComputerSecureChannel (Windows) | True | Re-join domain if needed |
| Domain controller reachable | nltest /sc_verify:<domain> | Success | Check firewall, DNS, network routing |
| Core services running | Get-Service / systemctl status | Expected services Active | Review event logs; start or fix services |
| Application smoke test | Browser / curl / DB connection | Expected response | Engage app team; don't proceed |
| Can communicate to source network | Ping source cluster gateway or a Nutanix VM IP | Replies received | Verify routing between staging and source VLANs |
| No disk errors in logs | Event Viewer / dmesg | Clean | Investigate; may indicate incomplete restore |
| Disk capacity matches source | Get-Volume / df -h | Within 5% of source VM | Compare against HYCU restore summary |
Batch Sign-off
After all VMs in the batch pass the checks above:
Batch: ________________________________
Date/Time: ____________________________
Validated by (Engineer): ______________
Application owner sign-off: ___________
Approved to proceed to Hop 2: Yes / No
Notes: ________________________________Hop 1 Validation — Hyper-V Staging
After HYCU restore, validate each VM before proceeding to Azure Migrate:
| Check | Command / Method | Expected Result |
|---|---|---|
| VM boots | Hyper-V Manager — check VM state | Running |
| Network connectivity | ping <gateway> from VM | Successful |
| IP address correct | ipconfig /all / ip addr | Matches expected (or new IP if re-IPed) |
| DNS resolution | nslookup <hostname> | Resolves correctly |
| AD domain membership | Test-ComputerSecureChannel | True |
| Services running | Get-Service / systemctl status | Expected services active |
| Application smoke test | Browser / curl / DB query | Expected response |
| Disk integrity | Event Viewer / dmesg | No disk errors |
TIP
Re-IP verification If subnets differ and you ran the re-IP script, verify the correct IP was applied before testing connectivity. Run ipconfig /all (Windows) or ip addr show (Linux) to confirm.
Hop 2 Validation — Azure Local
After Azure Migrate cutover, repeat all Hop 1 checks plus:
| Check | Method | Expected Result |
|---|---|---|
| Arc status | Azure portal → Azure Local → VMs | Connected |
| Azure Monitor agent | Azure portal → Monitor → Agents | Reporting |
| Defender for Cloud | Azure portal → Defender | VM visible, no critical alerts |
| Update Manager | Azure portal → Update Manager | VM inventoried |
| DNS (if re-IPed) | nslookup <hostname> from multiple clients | Resolves to correct IP |
| Kerberos / SPN | setspn -L <computer-account> | Intact for SQL/IIS services |
| Application sign-off | App owner full functional test | Pass |
Rollback Decision Points
| Stage | Rollback Action |
|---|---|
| After HYCU restore to Hyper-V — validation fails | Delete restored HV VMs → power source Nutanix VMs back on |
| After Azure Migrate test migration — issues found | Clean up test VMs; source VMs still safe on Nutanix (powered off) |
| After Azure Migrate cutover — issues found | Power source Nutanix VMs back on (they are powered off, not deleted) |
CAUTION
Never delete source VMs until holding period expires Maintain source Nutanix VMs powered-off for at least 2–4 weeks after Azure Local validation. Only decommission after the holding period.
Pre-Migration Checklist
| Item | Status | Owner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HYCU controller VM deployed on AHV cluster | ☐ | Infra | 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM / static IP |
| HYCU licensed and activated | ☐ | Infra | Confirm VM count or socket licensing |
| Nutanix AHV/ESXi cluster added as HYCU source | ☐ | Infra | All VMs discovered |
| HYCU backup target configured and tested | ☐ | Infra | SMB/NFS/S3 with sufficient capacity |
| Hyper-V staging host(s) provisioned | ☐ | Infra | Hyper-V role, virtual switches, storage |
| Hyper-V registered as HYCU restore target | ☐ | Infra | Credentials and storage path verified |
| Re-IP script prepared and tested | ☐ | Infra | Only if staging subnet differs from source |
| Azure Migrate project created | ☐ | Cloud | Subscription + RG selected |
| Azure Migrate appliance deployed and registered | ☐ | Cloud | Discovery complete |
| Azure Local cluster healthy and Arc-registered | ☐ | Infra | CSV capacity available |
| Network ports open between all components | ☐ | Networking | See prerequisites table |
| VM inventory sorted into batches | ☐ | Migration Lead | Batch spreadsheet complete |
| IP/VLAN mapping complete | ☐ | Networking | Source → target for all VMs |
| DNS TTLs lowered (if re-IPing) | ☐ | Networking | Set to 300s, 48 hours before Batch 1 |
| Application baselines documented | ☐ | App Owners | IPs, services, smoke test procedures |
| Rollback procedure tested | ☐ | All | Verified: delete HV restore → power AHV back on |
| Stakeholder maintenance windows approved | ☐ | PM | Per-batch windows scheduled |
| Source VM holding period policy agreed | ☐ | All | Minimum 2 weeks recommended |