Prepare the on-premises source instance

Install system dependencies

SSH into your x64 on-premises VM. Then, run the following commands to update the system and install prerequisites for the migration scripts such as build tools, Python 3.10, and a Python virtual environment:

    

        
        
sudo apt update
sudo apt -y dist-upgrade
sudo apt install -y build-essential net-tools curl wget python3-dev python3-venv python3-pip openjdk-21-jdk apt-transport-https ca-certificates software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3.10-dev python3.10 python3.10-venv
python3.10 -m venv LnS
echo "source $HOME/LnS/bin/activate" >> $HOME/.bashrc
sudo reboot

    

Install MySQL, sysbench, Azure CLI, and Terraform

Log back in to the x64 on-premises server. Install MySQL Server and sysbench, then apply InnoDB tuning parameters suited to the VM size:

    

        
        
sudo apt install -y mysql-server
sudo apt install -y sysbench
echo innodb_buffer_pool_size = 16G | sudo tee -a /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf > /dev/null
echo innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = 2  | sudo tee -a  /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf > /dev/null
echo innodb_log_file_size = 3G  | sudo tee -a   /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf > /dev/null

    

Install Azure CLI and Terraform. These tools are used later to provision the Arm-based target VM and run the migration:

    

        
        
curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash
curl -fsSL https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install terraform
sudo reboot

    

Confirm MySQL, Terraform, and Azure CLI installations

Open a new SSH shell into your x64 VM and confirm the MySQL client is available:

    

        
        
sudo mysql --version

    

The output is similar to:

    

        
        mysql  Ver 8.0.45-0ubuntu0.24.04.1 for Linux on x86_64 ((Ubuntu))

        
    

Confirm the Terraform installation version:

    

        
        
terraform --version

    

The output is similar to:

    

        
        Terraform v1.14.8
on linux_amd64

        
    

Confirm the Azure CLI installation version:

    

        
        
az --version

    

The output is similar to:

    

        
        azure-cli                         2.85.0

core                              2.85.0
telemetry                          1.1.0

Dependencies:
msal                              1.35.1
azure-mgmt-resource               24.0.0

Python location '/opt/az/bin/python3'
Config directory '/home/douans01/.azure'
Extensions directory '/home/douans01/.azure/cliextensions'

Python (Linux) 3.13.11 (main, Mar 31 2026, 07:18:38) [GCC 13.3.0]

Legal docs and information: aka.ms/AzureCliLegal


Your CLI is up-to-date.

        
    

Create a MySQL admin user

Create an admin user that the migration scripts will use to access the database. Connect to MySQL as root:

    

        
        
sudo mysql

    

At the MySQL prompt, run the following commands (example password: SuperStrongPassword):

    

        
        
CREATE USER 'admin'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'SuperStrongPassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'admin'@'%' WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
quit;

    

Now confirm that you can log into the MySQL environment with that admin user:

    

        
        
mysql -u admin -p

    

After you supply the password, you should see the MySQL prompt. Type quit; to exit.

Load the sample database

Clone the asset repository that contains the migration scripts and sample database:

    

        
        
cd $HOME
git clone https://github.com/DougAnsonAustinTX/lift-n-shift-assets

    

Restore the sample database into MySQL:

    

        
        
cd lift-n-shift-assets/testdb
gunzip -c testdb.sql.gz | mysql -h localhost -u admin -p

    

What you’ve accomplished and what’s next

You’ve now prepared the on-premises x64 simulator with MySQL, sysbench, Terraform, and Azure CLI.

In the next section, you’ll run the migration workflow to move testdb to an Arm-based Azure VM.