Which AWS Services Are Used for Discovery and Assessment in Migration?
A company is planning to migrate its on-premises infrastructure to AWS. The company wants to assess the current environment and create a migration plan. Which TWO AWS services should be used for discovery and assessment?
Quick Answer
The correct answer is AWS Application Discovery Service, along with AWS Migration Hub and AWS Server Migration Service. Application Discovery Service directly gathers data about on-premises servers, including utilization and dependencies, which is essential for discovery and assessment services for migration. Migration Hub provides a centralized view to track the assessment and migration progress, while Server Migration Service, though primarily a migration tool, also offers server inventory capabilities that aid in discovery. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this question tests your understanding of the integrated discovery-to-migration workflow, often trapping candidates who overlook that SMS contributes to discovery even though its primary role is migration. A common memory tip is to remember the trio as "DMS" for Discovery, Migration Hub, and Server Migration Service, but note that Trusted Advisor and CloudWatch are red herrings focused on optimization and monitoring, not discovery.
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates may assume AWS Server Migration Service (SMS) is a discovery tool because of its name, but it is actually a replication service used for migrating servers. Discovery is better handled by AWS Application Discovery Service.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
AWS Migration Hub
AWS Application Discovery Service (D) is correct because it is purpose-built to discover on-premises servers and collect configuration, usage, and dependency data (via the agentless Discovery Connector or the Discovery Agent) that feeds migration planning. AWS Migration Hub (B) is correct because it provides a single place to track the migration status of applications across multiple migration tools, including discoveries from Application Discovery Service, which is exactly what is needed to build and monitor a migration plan. AWS Server Migration Service (A) is a migration/replication tool for moving VMs, not a discovery and assessment service. Amazon CloudWatch (C) is a monitoring service for AWS and on-premises resources' metrics and logs, not an environment discovery tool. AWS Trusted Advisor (E) provides best-practice checks and recommendations for AWS accounts, not on-premises discovery or migration planning.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Server Migration Service (SMS)
Why it's wrong here
Server Migration Service replicates live server volumes to AWS to perform the migration itself; it does not inventory or assess the source environment. It is tempting because its name implies migration planning, and it would be correct once discovery is complete and the actual cutover of servers is required.
- ✓
AWS Migration Hub
Why this is correct
AWS Migration Hub provides a centralised view of application discovery and migration status across multiple tools, satisfying the need to assess the environment and track migration progress. It aggregates data from AWS Application Discovery Service and Migration Evaluator, letting the company plan migrations from one dashboard rather than per-service consoles.
- ✗
Amazon CloudWatch
Why it's wrong here
CloudWatch monitors running AWS resources and applications; it cannot discover or inventory on-premises servers, dependencies or utilisation. It is tempting because it is the default AWS observability service, and it would be correct for tracking metrics, logs and alarms after workloads have already migrated to AWS.
- ✓
AWS Application Discovery Service
Why this is correct
AWS Application Discovery Service agentlessly or via agent collects on-premises server configuration, performance data and dependency mappings, feeding the migration assessment. This satisfies the discovery and assessment requirement by producing the inventory and network dependencies needed to build an accurate migration plan before cutover.
- ✗
AWS Trusted Advisor
Why it's wrong here
Trusted Advisor inspects existing AWS accounts for cost, security and limit issues; it has no visibility into on-premises infrastructure. It is tempting as an assessment-sounding advisory tool, and it would be correct for reviewing an already-deployed AWS environment rather than planning a migration from on-premises.
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Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on SAP-C02
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A company is migrating a large number of on-premises VMs to AWS. They need to assess the current environment and track migration progress. Which THREE AWS services should be used together?
hard- A.AWS Server Migration Service (SMS)
- ✓ B.AWS Application Migration Service (MGN)
- ✓ C.AWS Migration Hub
- D.AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
- ✓ E.AWS Application Discovery Service
Why B: AWS Application Discovery Service (E) is correct because it performs the assessment phase by collecting on-premises server inventory, configuration, and utilization data (via the Discovery Agent or agentless VMware collector) to build the baseline needed for migration planning. AWS Application Migration Service (B) is correct because it is the recommended lift-and-shift service that replicates on-premises VMs (block-level replication using the AWS Replication Agent) and launches them on AWS as EC2 instances, handling the actual migration of the large VM fleet. AWS Migration Hub (C) is correct because it provides a single console to track migration status and progress across services such as MGN and DMS, giving the centralized progress-tracking capability the company requires. AWS Server Migration Service (A) is not appropriate because it is a legacy service being deprecated in favor of MGN for VM migrations. AWS Database Migration Service (D) is not appropriate because it targets database migrations specifically, not the general VM migration and assessment scenario described.
Variation 2. Which TWO AWS services can be used together to automate the discovery and migration of on-premises servers to AWS? (Choose two.)
easy- A.AWS DataSync
- B.AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)
- C.AWS Server Migration Service (SMS)
- ✓ D.AWS Application Migration Service (MGN)
- ✓ E.AWS Application Discovery Service
Why D: AWS Application Discovery Service (E) is correct because it performs agentless or agent-based discovery of on-premises servers, collecting configuration, usage, and dependency data that feeds migration planning. AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) (D) is correct because it uses that discovered data to perform automated, block-level replication and lift-and-shift migration of physical, virtual, or cloud servers into AWS as EC2 instances. Together they form the standard discovery-to-migration pipeline for server migrations. AWS DataSync (A) is a data transfer service for files and objects, not server discovery or OS-level migration. AWS Database Migration Service (B) migrates databases, not whole servers. AWS Server Migration Service (C) is the older, deprecated agent-based service that has been superseded by MGN, so it is not the intended pair.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SAP-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SAP-C02 exam.