Website / Application Migration to AWS
Moved onto AWS with the cutover rehearsed, the DNS planned, and the old host still standing.
From $459 2–5 days
Database Migration to Amazon RDS
PostgreSQL or MySQL onto RDS, with the cutover rehearsed and a way back.
Price and scope
From $549
Typically $549–$1,599, fixed in writing before anything starts.
What moves it up
- More than about 50 GB, where the copy itself stops fitting in the window
- A downtime allowance measured in minutes rather than hours
- A major version jump at the same time as the move, which is two migrations wearing one hat
What actually goes wrong
The dump restores. Everyone treats that as the migration working, and it is the least interesting thing that happens all week. What breaks afterwards is the difference between the database the application was written against and the one it is now talking to: a different default collation quietly changing how ORDER BY sorts, a timezone set to UTC where the old box was on local time, an extension the schema depends on that RDS will not install, and a max_connections derived from instance class rather than from the number your connection pool was configured for two years ago.
How I find it
pg_dump --schema-only on both sides, diffed, before anyone celebratesSELECT name, setting FROM pg_settings WHERE name IN ('lc_collate','timezone','max_connections')aws rds describe-db-parameters --db-parameter-group-name <group> — against the old server config, line by lineA rehearsed cutover against a restored copy, timed, before the real one is scheduled
What you get
- The target RDS instance, parameter group and subnet group, built and documented
- A rehearsed cutover run end to end against a copy, with the elapsed time measured rather than estimated
- A written cutover runbook, including the rollback and the point after which rollback stops being possible
- Row counts and a schema diff from both sides, as the evidence the data arrived intact
- Automated backups and point-in-time recovery configured, with one restore performed and timed
Questions
How much downtime should I plan for?
I will not give you a number before the rehearsal, and you should be suspicious of anyone who does. The rehearsal against a restored copy produces the real figure, and the maintenance window gets booked after that rather than before it.
Can you migrate with no downtime at all?
Sometimes, using logical replication to keep the target in step until you cut over. It costs more, it needs the source to be a version that supports it, and it is worth it when minutes of downtime cost you real money. When they do not, a short planned window is simpler and has fewer ways to go wrong.
What happens to the old database?
It stays running, untouched and still holding your data, until you tell me to stop it. Nothing is deleted as part of this work. The rollback is only real for as long as the old instance is still there.
Will my application need code changes?
Usually just the connection string and the TLS settings. Occasionally more, when the schema leans on something RDS does not offer — a filesystem-backed extension, or a superuser action the managed service does not grant. I check for that before the work starts, not during the cutover.
If this is not quite it
AWS Architecture Review
What your account actually looks like, what breaks first, and what it is costing you to keep it that way.
From $299 2–4 days
Want this done?
Tell me what you are running and I will come back with a fixed price and a date. If it turns out you do not need this, I will say that instead.
Prefer to talk? Book a free call ↗ · Or hire me on Upwork ↗ · Typical reply within one business day.
Before you enquire
When I answer
Sunday to Thursday, 09:00–18:00 EET. Outside that I will still look, but I will not promise a time.
No 24/7 desk, and I will not pretend otherwise
One person, one time zone. If round-the-clock cover is what you need, you need a team, and I will say so rather than sell you a plan that cannot deliver it.
Your AWS bill stays yours
You pay Amazon directly and you keep control of the account. Nothing here resells your infrastructure or sits between you and your own billing.
A price that starts with "from" is a starting price
Every service page lists exactly what pushes a quote above it, before you ask. You get a fixed number in writing before any work begins.