Open-source software giant Red Hat Inc. is getting into the application migration game with a new offering that helps companies move legacy apps based on traditional infrastructure to its container-focused Red Hat OpenShift platform.

Most modern applications these days are built using software containers that host the components of those apps, enabling them to run on any kind of computing infrastructure and be updated more often.

The problem developers have is that some of their existing apps and systems just aren’t compatible with container infrastructure. So modernizing these kinds of workloads is time-consuming, costly and in many cases, simply too overwhelming for developers.

Red Hat gave developers a way to get around these problems with its OpenShift Virtualization service that debuted in 2020. That service makes it easy for developers to bring traditional, virtual machine-based apps into containerized workflows by running the VMs they’re based on within an application container. This enables them to develop, manage and deploy their VMs side-by-side with container-based applications on serverless infrastructure through a single platform.

Now, Red Hat is taking things a step further with the general availability of a new migration toolkit for virtualization that companies can use to migrate VMs at scale to Red Hat OpenShift. Through this, Red Hat said, companies gain the ability to access workloads running on VMs more easily, while developing new cloud-native applications at the same time. Each migration is performed in just a few simple steps, Red Hat said.

First, developers provide the source and destination credentials for their VMs. Then, they map the source and destination infrastructure and create a choreographed plan for moving that VM. Once everything has been planned out, the migration is executed.

The toolkit provides on-premises analytics capabilities that help to identify any potential issues before the migration is executed. When developers select each VM they wish to migrate, it will automatically scan it and highlight any issues that might cause a problem, then provide details on how those issues can be fixed.

The new offering adds to Red Hat’s existing migration toolkits for applications and containers and is another example of how the company is making life easier for developers by providing open-source tools that can help modernize their applications and the infrastructure they use. Earlier this year Red Hat and parent company IBM Corp. debuted Konveyor, which is an open-source community that’s working to build tools and share advice around cloud-native information technology transformation.

“Red Hat strongly believes in the power of Kubernetes and Linux containers as the foundation of digital transformation but we know that the leap to cloud-native technologies can be intimidating,” said Red Hat Senior Director of Product Management James Labocki. “With Red Hat’s migration toolkit for virtualization, we’re aiming to make the arduous process of moving your virtual machines to containers simpler and more efficient while minimizing risk. ”

In other news today, Red Hat announced an update to its free “Kubernetes by Example” resource that’s designed to help developers get accustomed to the Kubernetes software that has become the industry standard for deploying, managing and scaling containerized applications.

It’s a collection of Kubernetes-focused tutorials that are based on a hands-on, “learn by doing” approach that allows learners to practice skills as they are taught. The site is launching a new streaming show called “KBE Insider” that focuses on the ongoing evolution of Kubernetes and provides insights for developers that will grow their knowledge and abilities. The show will premiere June 29 at 10 a.m. EDT.

Other resources include free access to Red Hat OpenShift Kubernetes clusters for developers to play around with.

Image: Red Hat