AWS Transform now supports Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP (Public Preview)
Migrate shared storage workloads from NetApp, Dell, Pure Storage, or VMware to FSx for ONTAP—compute, network, and storage in one wave.
View original announcement →Visual Summary
graph TD
A{{AWS Transform FSx for ONTAP}}:::announced
B((On-Premises Storage)):::external
C([Agentic AI Discovery]):::feature
D([Migration Wave Orchestration]):::feature
E(Amazon FSx for ONTAP):::storage
F(Amazon EBS):::storage
G(Amazon EC2):::compute
H([Block Storage Replication]):::feature
I((VMware/NetApp/Dell)):::external
I ==>|"source workloads"| A
B ==>|"block/NFS data"| A
A -->|"discovers"| C
A -->|"plans & executes"| D
D -->|"replicates storage"| H
H ==>|"writes to"| E
H -.->|"alternative"| F
D -->|"provisions compute"| G
G -->|"attaches"| E
classDef announced fill:#ff9900,stroke:#ec7211,color:#fff,font-weight:bold
classDef compute fill:#e3f2fd,stroke:#1565c0,color:#1565c0
classDef storage fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#2e7d32,color:#2e7d32
classDef feature fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#e65100,color:#e65100
classDef external fill:#f5f5f5,stroke:#616161,color:#616161
What's New
AWS has announced the public preview of a new storage migration capability within AWS Transform that allows customers to migrate block storage workloads from any on-premises or cloud source directly to Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP (FSx for ONTAP), expanding beyond the previously supported Amazon EBS destination. AWS Transform is an agentic AI service that automates the full migration lifecycle—discovery, planning, and execution—and now handles storage replication to FSx for ONTAP as part of the same migration wave that manages compute and networking. This capability supports source environments from any vendor, including NetApp, Dell, Pure Storage, and VMware.
How It Works
- AWS Transform's AI agents perform automated discovery of on-premises or cloud workloads, analyzing dependencies, network configurations, and storage attachments to build a comprehensive migration plan.
- During migration execution, Transform deploys replication agents that copy block storage data directly to FSx for ONTAP volumes, eliminating the need for intermediate staging platforms or separate storage migration tools.
- Storage migration is orchestrated within the same migration wave as compute (EC2) and network provisioning, ensuring consistency and reducing the coordination overhead between separate toolchains.
- Source environments supported include block storage and NFS datastores from NetApp ONTAP, Dell, Pure Storage, VMware (vSAN, NFS datastores), and other on-premises or cloud storage appliances.
- FSx for ONTAP serves as the destination, providing a fully managed shared storage service accessible via NFS, SMB, iSCSI, and NVMe-over-TCP protocols—preserving existing application data access patterns without code changes.
- The service integrates with AWS Transform's unified workbench, giving project managers, architects, and engineers a single shared view of migration progress, risk, and cutover status across compute, network, and storage.
Why It's Important
- Historically, storage migration has been a separate, complex workstream requiring dedicated tools (e.g., NetApp SnapMirror, third-party replication software), additional licensing costs, and specialized expertise—this announcement collapses that into a single managed service.
- Customers running enterprise workloads that depend on shared storage semantics (NFS/SMB/iSCSI) cannot simply rehost to Amazon EBS, which is block storage attached to a single instance; FSx for ONTAP support unlocks migration paths for a much broader class of applications.
- Eliminating intermediate storage platforms reduces both migration risk (fewer failure points, fewer data copies) and cost (no need for temporary storage infrastructure or additional tooling licenses).
- VMware customers—already under pressure to migrate off on-premises vSphere environments—can now migrate NFS datastores and block storage as part of a unified compute+storage migration, significantly simplifying VMware exit strategies.
- The IDC whitepaper cited by AWS reports a 288% three-year ROI and 37% lower storage operations cost for FSx for ONTAP adopters, strengthening the business case for migrating to this destination.
How It's Different
- Unlike traditional migration approaches that treat storage as a separate workstream with its own tooling and timelines, AWS Transform integrates storage replication into the same migration wave as compute and networking, providing a single orchestration plane.
- Compared to migrating to Amazon EBS (single-instance block storage), FSx for ONTAP supports shared, multi-protocol access (NFS, SMB, iSCSI, NVMe-over-TCP), making it suitable for workloads that require shared storage semantics without application refactoring.
- Unlike vendor-specific migration tools (e.g., NetApp SnapMirror), AWS Transform is source-agnostic and supports migrations from NetApp, Dell, Pure Storage, VMware, and other platforms through a single unified interface.
- The agentic AI approach automates dependency mapping, wave grouping, and cutover orchestration—tasks that previously required weeks of manual effort—reducing human error and accelerating migration timelines.
- FSx for ONTAP as a destination preserves ONTAP management interfaces and data management capabilities (snapshots, cloning, tiering), meaning operations teams do not need to retrain or change existing workflows post-migration.
When to Prefer It
- Choose this capability when migrating applications that rely on shared storage (NFS or SMB mounts accessed by multiple hosts simultaneously), where Amazon EBS's single-instance attachment model is insufficient.
- Ideal for organizations running NetApp ONTAP on-premises who want to lift-and-shift to AWS while retaining ONTAP's data management features (SnapMirror, FlexClone, tiering) and without retraining storage administrators.
- Use when migrating VMware environments that use NFS datastores or shared block storage (iSCSI/FC), as part of a broader VMware-to-AWS migration where compute and storage need to move together.
- Preferred when migrating from heterogeneous storage environments (Dell, Pure Storage, VMware vSAN) where a single source-agnostic tool is more practical than deploying multiple vendor-specific migration utilities.
- Appropriate for large-scale enterprise migrations where reducing toolchain complexity, intermediate infrastructure costs, and migration risk are primary concerns alongside speed of execution.
- Consider when post-migration workloads will benefit from FSx for ONTAP's S3 Access Points integration, enabling AI/ML workloads on Bedrock, SageMaker, or Athena to access file data without moving it.
Availability
- Status: Public Preview as of June 16, 2026; not yet generally available (GA).
- Supported Sources: Any on-premises or cloud block storage source, including NetApp ONTAP, Dell, Pure Storage, and VMware environments (block storage and NFS datastores).
- Supported Destinations: Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP (new) and Amazon EBS (existing capability).
- Regions: Specific supported AWS regions for the public preview are not explicitly stated in the announcement; customers should consult the AWS Transform migrations page for current regional availability.
- Pricing: Pricing details for the new FSx for ONTAP migration capability are not disclosed in the announcement; FSx for ONTAP itself follows a pay-for-what-you-use model with no upfront costs or licensing fees.
- Limitations: As a public preview, the feature may have functional limitations, SLA restrictions, and is subject to change before general availability; production use should be evaluated carefully.
- Getting Started: Available via the AWS Transform for migrations console at aws.amazon.com/transform/migrations/.
