Cloud Migration and Deployment
Core concepts
Migration questions revolve around assessment, transfer, and cutover. Know the migration lifecycle: inventory and dependency mapping, target architecture design, data transfer, application migration, and validation. Familiarize yourself with tooling concepts - Server Migration Center for host-level moves, Data Transmission Service (DTS) for database replication and synchronization, and OSS-based bulk transfer for large datasets.
Deployment patterns
Understand Infrastructure as Code and templated deployment, blue-green and canary releases, and the role of container services (ACK) and auto scaling during rollout. Know how to sequence a database migration: full sync, incremental sync, brief write freeze, cutover, then validation - minimizing downtime.
Traps
Questions test whether you respect dependency order and data consistency. A common trap is proposing a big-bang cutover when a phased or dual-run approach is safer. Another is forgetting that incremental synchronization must run until cutover to avoid data loss. Be cautious with "lift and shift" answers when the requirement asks for re-architecture to reduce cost or improve resilience.
Rule of thumb
Migrate data first with continuous replication, keep the source authoritative until validation passes, then flip traffic in a controlled window. When in doubt, prefer reversible, incremental steps over a single irreversible switch.