Database migration procedure includes transferring table definitions, data, indexes, constraints, views, triggers, stored procedures and functions, user accounts, roles and permissions between different versions or formats of database management system (DBMS).Organizations may consider migrating their databases due to hardware upgrades, change application environment or reducing total cost of ownership through open-source systems.
It is possible to migrate databases manually or programmatically, the second option is supported by using special software called database migration tools.Common algorithms of database migration consist of the following steps:
- export source table definitions along with indexes and constraints as set of SQL statements
- transform these SQL statements so they comply with the destination format and load to the target DBSM
- export source data into comma separated values (CSV) files
- transform the data to comply to the target format and load it to the destination database management system
- export original views, stored procedures/functions and triggers in set of SQL statements and code
- transform these statements and code so they comply with the destination format and load into the target DBMS
After migration is completed, resulting database must be validated to check that all objects were accurately migrated, database is complete and supports for applications in the new system properly. The main goal of this verification is to identify areas of inequality,data loss or corruption.
Database migration is usually done programmatically in order to automate the process and free up human resources from this task, especially for large and complex database projects. Choosing the right software is the key to successful database migration without data loss or corruption.Here is list of most important requirements to high quality tools for database conversion and migration:
- support for all modern versions of source and target database management systems
- it must migrate table definitions, data, indexes and constraints with all necessary attributes (support of views, triggers and stored procedures may be considered as extra benefit)
- it must store conversion settings into a profile to simplify the next use
- it must support Unicode in order to be used with multi-byte code pages
- it must provide option to customize types mapping and to define conversion rules in order to make database migration more flexible and personalized
- command line support is valuable advantage since it allows automate the migration process
There are number of software vendors providing special solutions to automate database migration. Intelligent Converters is one of such companies, they are focused on database migration and synchronization between all popular DBMS such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, Azure SQL, Microsoft Access, FoxPro, IBM DB2 and SQLite.
Visit https://www.convert-in.com to learn more about Intelligent Converters and database migration software provided by the company.
