Doppler: Automated SKU Recommendation in Migrating SQL Workloads to the Cloud

TL;DR

Doppler is an automated, scalable recommendation engine that helps migrate SQL workloads to Azure cloud by providing personalized, cost-effective target suggestions based on low-level resource data and customer behavior insights.

Contribution

Doppler introduces a novel price-performance methodology for cloud target recommendation that operates without access to sensitive customer data.

Findings

Accurately identifies optimal cloud targets for SQL workload migration.

Adapts to workload changes over a 9-month period.

Discovers cost-saving opportunities among over-provisioned customers.

Abstract

Selecting the optimal cloud target to migrate SQL estates from on-premises to the cloud remains a challenge. Current solutions are not only time-consuming and error-prone, requiring significant user input, but also fail to provide appropriate recommendations. We present Doppler, a scalable recommendation engine that provides right-sized Azure SQL Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) recommendations without requiring access to sensitive customer data and queries. Doppler introduces a novel price-performance methodology that allows customers to get a personalized rank of relevant cloud targets solely based on low-level resource statistics, such as latency and memory usage. Doppler supplements this rank with internal knowledge of Azure customer behavior to help guide new migration customers towards one optimal target. Experimental results over a 9-month period from prospective and existing customers indicate that Doppler can identify optimal targets and adapt to changes in customer workloads. It has also found cost-saving opportunities among over-provisioned cloud customers, without compromising on capacity or other requirements. Doppler has been integrated and released in the Azure Data Migration Assistant v5.5, which receives hundreds of assessment requests daily.