This page describes how to use MConnect to generate Looker Studiodashboards from data that you collected with Google Cloud Migration Center andCAST.

Get started with MConnect by watching the tutorial.

Overview

MConnect is a command-line interface that helps you mergeinformation from Migration Center and from static code analysis ofapplications performed byCAST Software.It then exports the data to BigQuery and to Looker Studiofor advanced data analysis.

It assists in modernizing applications by comparing various dimensionsof the transformation, such as level of effort, level of code readiness, andcompute resource impact.

Before you begin

Before you use MConnect, perform the following steps:

1. Create a Google Account and Google Cloud account.
2. Create a Google Cloud project and enable theBigQuery andMigration Center API.
   • For Migration Center, seeGetting started with Migration Center.
   • For BigQuery, seeGetting started with BigQuery.
3. Install the Google Cloud CLI on your local machine.
4. Create aCAST Highlightreport namedanalysisResults.csv.

Pricing

You might be billed for BigQuery, Looker Studio, andCAST, according to their respective pricing.

Generate a dashboard for your data

The following sections explain how to generate a Looker Studiodashboard for your CAST data.

Set up the tool

Before you can use MConnect, perform the following steps:

1. If you use Linux,download the latest binary.For other OS platforms, clone themigrationcenter-utils repository and build MConnect on your local machine.

2. Authenticate to the Google Cloud CLI:

   gcloudinitgcloudauthapplication-defaultlogin

   Make sure that the account you're using has the necessary permissions tocreate and delete groups in Migration Center, and to create anddelete tables in BigQuery in the project you want to use.

Upload the assets to Migration Center

Upload the assets related to the applications in your CAST report toMigration Center. If you already performed an inventory discoveryfor your infrastructure, you can skip this step.

For more information, seeStart an asset discovery.

Create groups in Migration Center

Use the applications identified in your CAST report to create groupsin Migration Center. On your local machine, run the following command:

mconnectcreate-groups--path=ANALYSIS_PATH--project=PROJECT_ID--region=REGION

Replace the following:

• ANALYSIS_PATH: The path to your CAST report file.
• PROJECT_ID: The ID of your project.
• REGION: The region you're using forMigration Center. Onlyus-central1 andeurope-west1 are supported.

After you create the groups, you can filter them in Migration Centerusing themconnect label.

Assign assets to groups

In Migration Center, assign your assets to their correspondingapplication groups. You can perform this in theMigration Center UIor with theAPI.

Export CAST report and Migration Center data to BigQuery

Export the data from your CAST report to BigQuery:

mconnectexport--path=ANALYSIS_PATH--project=PROJECT_ID--region=REGION

The command performs the following actions:

1. It creates a new database in BigQuery calledmcCast.
2. It creates a new table in BigQuery calledcastResultsand populates it with the CAST report data.
3. It exports your Migration Center data to BigQueryby creating three tables calledassets,groups, andpreference_sets.

Create views in BigQuery

From the data you uploaded to BigQuery, create the correspondingviews:

mconnectcreate-views--project=PROJECT_ID--dataset=mcCast

The command creates three views:

• migrationcenterinfra_vw
• castreadiness_vw
• mccastreadinesscombined_vw

The output of this command provides a link to a Looker Studioreport using themccastreadinesscombined_vw view.

Set up the Looker Studio report

You can set up the generated Looker Studio report in two ways, asdescribed in the following sections.

Using the provided link

1. Copy the link obtained in the previous step to your web browser.
2. ClickSave and Share, then clickAcknowledge and save.

Manually copying the data

If the link provided is broken, you can manually set up theLooker Studio report using your data:

1. In Looker Studio, open theMigration Center / CAST Analysisreport.
2. Clickmore_vertMore options.
3. ClickMake a copy>Copy Report.
4. In the new report, clickResources>Manage addeddata sources.
5. Using the data source namedMcCastReadinessCombined_vw, clickEdit.
6. Provide the project ID and the dataset ID used in the previous step,and choosemccastreadinesscombined_vw.
7. ClickReconnect, and thenApply.
8. ClickDone and refresh the page.

This creates a new report calledMigration Center / CAST Analysisusing your data.

MConnect reference

The following sections provide the available MConnect commands and their flags.

mconnect

Usage:mconnect [command] [args] [flags]

Available commands

create-groups

Creates a group for each CAST application in Migration Center andadds a 'mconnect' label to it.

create-views

Creates three views in BigQuery using Migration Centerand CAST data.

export

Exports CAST data to BigQuery.

help

Help about any command.

Flags

-h, --help

Help for mconnect.

-t, --toggle

Help message for toggle.

-v, --version

Version for mconnect.

create-groups

Creates a group for each CAST application in Migration Center andadds the 'mconnect' label to it.

Usage:mconnect create-groups path project region [flags]

Examples

mconnectcreate-groups--path=path/to/cast/analysisResults.csv--project=my-mc-project-id--region=my-region1mconnectcreate-groups--path=path/to/cast/analysisResults.csv--project=my-mc-project-id--region=my-region1--ignore-existing-groups=true

Flags

-h, --help

Help for create-groups.

-i, --ignore-existing-groups

Continue if mconnect is trying to create a group that already exists inMigration Center. If set to 'true', the 'mconnect' label will beadded to every group that already exists as well.

--path

The CSV file's path which contains CAST's report (analysisResults.csv).(Required)

--project

The project ID in which to create the Migration Center groups.Make sure to use the same project ID for every command. (Required)

--region

The Migration Center region in which the groups will be created.(Required)

export

Exports CAST report and Migration Center data to BigQuery.By default it will be assumed that the project and region used forMigration Center and BigQuery are the same.

Usage:mconnect export path project region dataset [flags]

Examples

mconnectexport--path=path/to/cast/analysisResults.csv--project=my-project-id--region=my-region1# the default dataset will be set to 'mcCast'.mconnectexport--path=path/to/cast/analysisResults.csv--project=my-project-id--region=my-region1--dataset=dataset-idmconnectexport--path=path/to/cast/analysisResults.csv--project=my-project-id--region=my-region1--dataset=dataset-id--force=truemconnectexport--path=path/to/cast/analysisResults.csv--project=my-project-id--region=my-region1--dataset=dataset-id--mc-project=my-mc-project-id--mc-region=my-mc-region

Flags

--dataset

The dataset-id to export the data to. If the dataset doesn't exist it willbe created. If not specified, the default name will be 'mcCast'.Make sure to use the same dataset for every command.

-f, --force

Force the export of the data even if the destination tables exist. Theoperation will delete all the content in the original tables.

-h, --help

Help for export.

--path

The CSV file's path of the CAST report (analysisResults.csv). (Required)

--project

The BigQuery project ID to export the data to. (Required)

--region

The BigQuery region in which the dataset and tables will becreated. (Required)

Hidden flags

--mc-project

The Migration Center project ID used to export its data toBigQuery.

--mc-region

The Migration Center region from which to export the data.

create-views

Creates three views in BigQuery using Migration Center andCAST data.Provides a link for a Looker Studio report using themccastreadinesscombined_vw view.

Usage:mconnect create-views project dataset [flags]

Views created

• migrationcenterinfra_vw: Shows grouped asset data fromMigration Center.
• castreadiness_vw: Shows data from the CAST Analysis file.
• mccastreadinesscombined_vw: Combines the two previous views.This view is also used in Looker Studio's Template.

Examples

mconnectcreate-views--project=my-project-id--dataset=dataset-idmconnectcreate-views--project=my-project-id--dataset=dataset-id--force=true

Flags

--dataset

The BigQuery dataset ID to create the views in. Make sure to usethe same dataset as in the export command. (Required)

-f, --force

Force the creation of views even if only one of the destination views exist.The operation will replace all the contents in the old existing views.

-h, --help

Help for create-views.

--project

The BigQuery project ID to create the views in. (Required)