Migrate PolarDB for MySQL to RDS for MySQL

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Data Transmission Service (DTS) enables you to migrate data from PolarDB for MySQL to ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances and self-managed MySQL databases.

Prerequisites

Precautions

Note
  • DTS migrates foreign keys during schema migration.

  • During full and incremental data migration, DTS temporarily disables constraint checks and foreign key cascades at the session level. Cascade updates or deletes on the source database while the task runs may cause data inconsistency.

Type

Description

Source database limits

  • The server that hosts the source database must have sufficient outbound bandwidth. Otherwise, the data migration speed is affected.

  • The tables to be migrated must have a primary key or a UNIQUE constraint, and the fields in the key or constraint must be unique. Otherwise, duplicate data may appear in the destination database.

  • If you migrate data at the table level and need to edit the tables, such as mapping column names, a single data migration task can migrate a maximum of 1,000 tables. If you exceed this limit, an error is reported after you submit the task. In this case, split the tables into multiple migration tasks or configure a task to migrate the entire database.

  • If you perform incremental migration:

    • You must enable binary logging and set the loose_polar_log_bin parameter to on. Otherwise, the precheck reports an error and the data migration task cannot start. For more information about how to enable binary logging and modify parameters, see Enable binary logging and Modify parameters.

      Note

      Enabling binary logging for a PolarDB for MySQL cluster consumes storage space and incurs storage fees.

    • The binary logs of the PolarDB for MySQL cluster must be retained for at least 3 days. We recommend a retention period of 7 days. Otherwise, DTS may fail to obtain the binary logs, which can cause the task to fail. In extreme cases, this can lead to data inconsistency or data loss. Issues caused by a binary log retention period shorter than the DTS requirement are not covered by the DTS Service-Level Agreement (SLA).

      Note

      For more information about how to set the retention period for binary logs of a PolarDB for MySQL cluster, see Modify the retention period.

  • Operational limits for the source database:

    • During schema migration and full data migration, do not perform DDL operations that change the database or table schema. Otherwise, the data migration task fails.

      Note

      During full data migration, DTS queries the source database. This creates a metadata lock, which may block DDL operations on the source database.

    • If you perform only full data migration, do not write new data to the source instance. Otherwise, data inconsistency occurs between the source and destination. To maintain real-time data consistency, select schema migration, full data migration, and incremental data migration.

Notes

  • DTS does not support the migration of read-only nodes of the source PolarDB for MySQL instance.

  • DTS does not support the migration of OSS external tables from the source PolarDB for MySQL instance.

  • DTS does not support the migration of INDEX and PARTITION.

  • DTS does not support migrating parsers defined using comment syntax.

  • DTS does not support primary/standby switchover scenarios for the database instance during full data migration. In such a scenario, reconfigure the migration task promptly.

  • If your source database uses temporary-table-mode online DDL operations—including multi-table merge scenarios—or adds function-based indexes to unique key columns, data loss or task failure may occur on the destination database.

  • If a primary key or unique key conflict occurs during migration:

    • If the table schemas are consistent and a record in the destination database has the same primary key value as a record in the source database:

      • During full migration, DTS keeps the record in the destination database. The record from the source database is not migrated.

      • During incremental migration, DTS does not keep the record in the destination database. The record from the source database overwrites the record in the destination database.

    • If the table schemas are inconsistent, only some columns of data may be migrated, or the migration may fail. Proceed with caution.

  • If your data includes four-byte characters—such as rare Chinese characters or emojis—the destination database and table must use the utf8mb4 charset.

    Note

    If you use DTS to migrate schemas, set the instance-level parameter character_set_server to utf8mb4 in the destination database.

  • Before you perform data migration, evaluate the performance of the source and destination databases. We recommend that you perform data migration during off-peak hours. During full data migration, DTS consumes read and write resources on both the source and destination databases, which may increase the database load.

  • Full data migration involves concurrent INSERT operations, which causes table fragmentation in the destination database. As a result, the table storage space in the destination database is larger than that in the source instance after full migration is complete.

  • Verify that the migration precision for columns of the FLOAT or DOUBLE data type meets your business requirements. DTS reads the values of these columns by using ROUND(COLUMN,PRECISION). If the precision is not explicitly defined, DTS uses a default precision of 38 for FLOAT and 308 for DOUBLE.

  • DTS attempts to recover failed tasks within seven days. Before you switch your workloads to the destination instance, you must end or release the task. Alternatively, revoke the write permissions of the database account that DTS uses to access the destination instance by using the revoke command. This prevents the source data from overwriting the data in the destination instance if the task is automatically recovered.

  • DTS periodically runs the CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS `test` command on the source database to advance the binary log offset.

  • If a DDL statement fails to be written to the destination database, the DTS task continues to run. You need to check the task logs for the failed DDL statement. For more information about how to view task logs, see Query task logs.

  • If you write columns with identical names but different cases into the same table in the destination MySQL database, unexpected results may occur. MySQL column names are case-insensitive.

  • After migration completes—the task status is Status and the status changes to Completed—run analyze table <table_name> to confirm all data is written to the destination table. For example, after a high-availability (HA) switchover in the destination MySQL database, data may remain in memory and never reach disk, causing data loss.

  • If a task fails, DTS support staff will attempt to restore it within eight hours. During restoration, they may restart the task or adjust its parameters.

    Note

    Only DTS task parameters are modified—not database parameters. Parameters that may be adjusted include those listed in Modify instance parameters.

Special cases

If the destination database is an RDS for MySQL instance, DTS automatically creates a database in the instance. If the name of the database to be migrated does not comply with the naming conventions of RDS for MySQL, create the database in the RDS for MySQL instance before you configure the migration task. For more information, see Manage databases.

Billing

Migration type

Instance configuration fee

Internet traffic fee

Schema migration and full data migration

Free of charge.

When the Access Method parameter of the destination database is set to Public IP Address, you are charged for Internet traffic. For more information, see Billing overview.

Incremental data migration

Charged. For more information, see Billing overview.

Migration types

  • Schema migration

    Data Transmission Service (DTS) migrates the schema definitions of the migration objects from the source database to the destination database.

    • DTS supports schema migration for tables, views, triggers, stored procedures, and functions.

      Note

      The routine_body of stored procedures, the routine_body of functions, and the select_statement of views are not modified.

    • During schema migration, DTS changes the `DEFINER` to `INVOKER` for the views, stored procedures, and functions to be migrated. This action changes the value of `SQL SECURITY` to `INVOKER`. DTS also sets the `DEFINER` to the destination database account that is used for the migration task.

      Note

      The security authentication method and definer of the source database are not modified.

    • Because DTS does not migrate user information, you must grant read and write permissions to the invoker to call views, stored procedures, and functions in the destination database.

  • Full migration

    DTS migrates all historical data of the specified migration objects from the source database to the destination database.

  • Incremental migration

    After a full migration is complete, DTS migrates incremental data updates from the source database to the destination database. Incremental migration lets you smoothly migrate data without interrupting your self-managed applications.

SQL operations for incremental migration

Operation type

SQL statement

DML

INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE

DDL

  • ALTER TABLE, ALTER VIEW

  • CREATE FUNCTION, CREATE INDEX, CREATE PROCEDURE, CREATE TABLE, CREATE VIEW

  • DROP INDEX, DROP TABLE

  • RENAME TABLE

    Important

    A RENAME TABLE operation may cause data inconsistency. For example, if you select only one table as the migration object and rename the table in the source instance during migration, the data of this table is not migrated to the destination database. To prevent this issue, select the entire database to which the table belongs as the migration object when you configure the data migration task. Make sure that the databases to which the table belongs before and after the RENAME TABLE operation are both included in the migration objects.

  • TRUNCATE TABLE

Permissions for database accounts

Database

Required permissions

Reference

PolarDB for MySQL cluster (source)

Read permissions on the objects to be migrated

Create and manage a database account

ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance (destination)

Read and write permissions on the destination database

Create an account

Note

If you need to migrate account information from the source database, the database account used for the task requires additional permissions. For more information, see Migrate database accounts.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the migration task list page for the destination region using one of the following methods.

    From the DTS console

    1. Log on to the Data Transmission Service (DTS) console.

    2. In the navigation pane on the left, click Data Migration.

    3. In the upper-left corner of the page, select the region where the migration instance is located.

    From the DMS console

    Note

    The actual operations may vary based on the mode and layout of the DMS console. For more information, see Simple mode console and Customize the layout and style of the DMS console.

    1. Log on to the Data Management (DMS) console.

    2. In the top menu bar, choose Data + AI > Data Transmission (DTS) > Data Migration.

    3. To the right of Data Migration Tasks, select the region where the migration instance is located.

  2. Click Create Task to navigate to the task configuration page.

  3. Configure the source and destination databases.

    Warning

    After you select the source and destination instances, we recommend that you carefully read the limits displayed at the top of the page. Otherwise, the task may fail or data inconsistency may occur.

    Category

    Parameter

    Description

    N/A

    Task Name

    DTS automatically generates a task name. We recommend that you specify a descriptive name for easy identification. The name does not need to be unique.

    Source Database

    Select Existing Connection

    • To use a database instance that has been added to the system (created or saved), select the desired database instance from the drop-down list. The database information below will be automatically configured.

      Note

      In the DMS console, this parameter is named Select a DMS database instance..

    • If you have not registered the database instance with the system, or do not need to use a registered instance, manually configure the database information below.

    Database Type

    Select PolarDB for MySQL.

    Access Method

    Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.

    Instance Region

    Select the region of the source PolarDB for MySQL cluster.

    Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts

    In this example, a database instance under the current Alibaba Cloud account is used. Select No.

    PolarDB Cluster ID

    Enter the ID of the source PolarDB for MySQL cluster.

    Database Account

    Enter the database account of the source PolarDB for MySQL cluster. For information about the required permissions, see Required permissions for database accounts.

    Database Password

    Enter the password for the database account.

    Encryption

    Select a connection type as needed. For more information about the SSL encryption feature, see Enable SSL encryption.

    Destination Database

    Select Existing Connection

    • To use a database instance that has been added to the system (created or saved), select the desired database instance from the drop-down list. The database information below will be automatically configured.

      Note

      In the DMS console, this parameter is named Select a DMS database instance..

    • If you have not registered the database instance with the system, or do not need to use a registered instance, manually configure the database information below.

    Database Type

    Select MySQL.

    Access Method

    Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.

    Instance Region

    Select the region of the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

    Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts

    In this example, a database instance under the current Alibaba Cloud account is used. Select No.

    RDS Instance ID

    Select the ID of the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

    Database Account

    Enter the database account of the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. For information about the required permissions, see Required permissions for database accounts.

    Database Password

    Enter the password for the database account.

    Encryption

    Select Non-encrypted or SSL-encrypted based on your database requirements. If you set this parameter to SSL-encrypted, you must enable SSL encryption for the RDS for MySQL instance beforehand. For more information, see Quickly enable SSL encryption using a cloud certificate.

  4. After you complete the configuration, click Test Connectivity and Proceed at the bottom of the page.

    Note
    • Ensure that the IP address segment of the DTS service is automatically or manually added to the security settings of the source and destination databases to allow access from DTS servers. For more information, see Add DTS server IP addresses to a whitelist.

    • If the source or destination database is a self-managed database (the Access Method is not Alibaba Cloud Instance), you must also click Test Connectivity in the CIDR Blocks of DTS Servers dialog box that appears.

  5. Configure the task objects.

    1. On the Configure Objects page, configure the objects that you want to migrate.

      Parameter

      Description

      Migration Types

      • If you only need to perform a full migration, select both Schema Migration and Full Data Migration.

      • To perform a migration with no downtime, select Schema Migration, Full Data Migration, and Incremental Data Migration.

      Note
      • If you do not select Schema Migration, you must ensure that a database and tables to receive the data exist in the destination database. You can also use the object name mapping feature in the Selected Objects box as needed.

      • If you do not select Incremental Data Migration, do not write new data to the source instance during data migration to ensure data consistency.

      Method to Migrate Triggers in Source Database

      Select a method to migrate triggers based on your requirements. If the objects to be migrated do not involve triggers, you do not need to configure this parameter. For more information, see Configure how to synchronize or migrate triggers.

      Note

      This parameter is available only if your selected Migration Types include both Schema Migration and Incremental Data Migration.

      Processing Mode of Conflicting Tables

      • Precheck and Report Errors: Checks whether tables with the same names exist in the destination database. If no tables with the same names exist, the precheck is passed. If tables with the same names exist, an error is reported during the precheck, and the data migration task does not start.

        Note

        If a table in the destination database has the same name but cannot be easily deleted or renamed, you can change the name of the table in the destination database. For more information, see Object name mapping.

      • Ignore Errors and Proceed: Skips the check for tables with the same names.

        Warning

        Selecting Ignore Errors and Proceed may cause data inconsistency and business risks. For example:

        • If the table schemas are consistent and a record in the destination database has the same primary key value as a record in the source database:

          • During full migration, DTS keeps the record in the destination database. The record from the source database is not migrated.

          • During incremental migration, DTS does not keep the record in the destination database. The record from the source database overwrites the record in the destination database.

        • If the table schemas are inconsistent, only some columns of data may be migrated, or the migration may fail. Proceed with caution.

      Whether to migrate Event

      Select whether to migrate source database events. If you select Yes, additional steps are required. Synchronize or migrate events.

      Capitalization of Object Names in Destination Instance

      You can configure the case sensitivity policy for the names of migrated objects, such as databases, tables, and columns, in the destination instance. By default, DTS default policy is selected. You can also choose to keep the case sensitivity consistent with the default policy of the source or destination database. For more information, see Case sensitivity of object names in the destination database.

      Source Objects

      In the Source Objects box, click the objects to migrate, and then click Right arrow to move them to the Selected Objects box.

      Note

      You can select objects to migrate at the database, table, or column level. If you select a table or column as the migration object, other objects such as views, triggers, and stored procedures are not migrated to the destination database.

      Selected Objects

      Note
      • To filter data by conditions, right-click the table to be migrated in the Selected Objects pane and set the filter conditions in the dialog box that appears. For more information, see Set filter conditions.

      • To select the SQL operations for incremental migration at the database or table level, right-click the object to be migrated in the Selected Objects pane and select the desired SQL operations in the dialog box that appears. For information about the supported operations, see SQL operations supported for incremental migration.

      • If you use the object name mapping feature, DTS may fail to migrate other objects that depend on the mapped object.

    2. Click Next: Advanced Settings to configure advanced parameters.

      Parameter

      Description

      Dedicated Cluster for Task Scheduling

      By default, DTS schedules tasks on a shared cluster. You do not need to select one. If you want more stable tasks, you can purchase a dedicated cluster to run DTS migration tasks.

      Copy the temporary table of the Online DDL tool that is generated in the source table to the destination database.

      If you use Data Management (DMS) or gh-ost to perform online DDL changes in the source database, you can choose whether to migrate the data from the temporary tables generated by the online DDL changes.

      Important
      • DTS tasks do not support using tools such as pt-online-schema-change to perform online DDL changes. Otherwise, the DTS task fails.

      • The processing methods for each phase are as follows: The Schema Migration and Full Data Migration phases do not allow DDL operations that change the database or table structure. Therefore, they are not controlled by the online DDL policy.

        • Schema Migration: Not controlled by the online DDL policy. Related temporary tables are created.

        • Full Data Migration: Not controlled by the online DDL policy. The migration of temporary tables is not included in the full migration objects. All tables whose names match the regular expression (^_(.+)_(?:gho|new)$ or ^_(.+)_(?:ghc|del|old)$) are filtered out.

        • Incremental Data Migration: Controlled by the online DDL policy.

          • Yes: Migrates data changes from temporary tables (for example, _table_name_gho) generated by online DDL operations.

          • No, Adapt to DMS Online DDL and No, Adapt to gh-ost: Filters out data changes from temporary tables (for example, _table_name_gho) generated by tools such as gh-ost based on regular expression rules.

      • Yes: Migrates the data from the temporary tables generated by online DDL changes.

        Note

        If online DDL changes generate a large amount of data in temporary tables, it may cause task latency.

      • No, Adapt to DMS Online DDL: Does not migrate the data from the temporary tables generated by online DDL changes. It only migrates the original DDL statements executed using Data Management (DMS).

        Note

        This option causes tables in the destination database to be locked.

      • No, Adapt to gh-ost: Does not migrate the data from the temporary tables generated by online DDL changes. It supports custom filtering rules. DTS filters out data changes from temporary tables (for example, _table_name_gho) generated by tools such as gh-ost based on regular expression rules. You can modify the default regular expressions used to match shadow and useless tables as needed:

        • Shadow table: ^_(.+)_(?:gho|new)$

        • Useless table: ^_(.+)_(?:ghc|del|old)$

        Note

        This option causes tables in the destination database to be locked.

      Whether to Migrate Accounts

      Specify whether to migrate account information from the source database. If you select Yes, you must also select the accounts to be migrated and confirm their permissions.

      Retry Time for Failed Connections

      After the migration task starts, if the connection to the source or destination database fails, DTS reports an error and immediately begins to retry the connection. The default retry duration is 720 minutes. You can customize the retry time to a value from 10 to 1440 minutes. We recommend that you set the duration to more than 30 minutes. If DTS reconnects to the source and destination databases within the specified duration, the migration task automatically resumes. Otherwise, the task fails.

      Note
      • For multiple DTS instances that share the same source or destination, the network retry time is determined by the setting of the last created task.

      • Because you are charged for the task during the connection retry period, we recommend that you customize the retry time based on your business needs, or release the DTS instance as soon as possible after the source and destination database instances are released.

      Retry Time for Other Issues

      After the migration task starts, if a non-connectivity issue, such as a DDL or DML execution exception, occurs in the source or destination database, DTS reports an error and immediately begins to retry the operation. The default retry duration is 10 minutes. You can customize the retry time to a value from 1 to 1440 minutes. We recommend that you set the duration to more than 10 minutes. If the related operations succeed within the specified retry duration, the migration task automatically resumes. Otherwise, the task fails.

      Important

      The value of Retry Time for Other Issues must be less than the value of Retry Time for Failed Connections.

      Enable Throttling for Full Data Migration

      During full migration, DTS consumes read and write resources on the source and destination databases, which may increase the database load. If required, you can enable throttling for the full migration task. You can set Queries per second (QPS) to the source database, RPS of Full Data Migration, and Data migration speed for full migration (MB/s) to reduce the load on the destination database.

      Note
      • This configuration item is available only if you select Full Data Migration for Migration Types.

      • You can also adjust the full migration speed after the migration instance is running.

      Enable Throttling for Incremental Data Migration

      If required, you can also choose to set speed limits for the incremental migration task. You can set RPS of Incremental Data Migration and Data migration speed for incremental migration (MB/s) to reduce the load on the destination database.

      Note
      • This configuration item is available only if you select Incremental Data Migration for Migration Types.

      • You can also adjust the incremental migration speed after the migration instance is running.

      Environment Tag

      You can select an environment tag to identify the instance based on your requirements. This parameter is not required in this example.

      Whether to delete SQL operations on heartbeat tables of forward and reverse tasks

      Choose whether DTS writes heartbeat SQL information to the source database while the instance is running.

      • Yes: Does not write heartbeat SQL information to the source database. The DTS instance may display latency.

      • No: Writes heartbeat SQL information to the source database. This may interfere with source database operations like physical backups and cloning.

      Configure ETL

      Based on your business needs, select whether to configure the ETL feature to process data.

      • Yes: Configures the ETL feature. You must also enter data processing statements in the text box.

      • No: Does not configure the ETL feature.

      Monitoring and Alerting

      Select whether to set alerts and receive alert notifications based on your business needs.

      • No: Does not set an alert.

      • Yes: Configure alerts by setting an alert threshold and an alert contact. If a migration fails or the latency exceeds the threshold, the system sends an alert notification.

    3. Click Next: Data Validation to configure a data validation task.

      For more information about the data validation feature, see Configure data validation.

  6. Save the task and run a precheck.

    • To view the parameters for configuring this instance when you call the API operation, move the pointer over the Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck button and click Preview OpenAPI parameters in the bubble that appears.

    • If you do not need to view or have finished viewing the API parameters, click Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck at the bottom of the page.

    Note
    • Before the migration task starts, DTS performs a precheck. The task starts only after it passes the precheck.

    • If the precheck fails, click View Details next to the failed check item, fix the issue based on the prompt, and then run the precheck again.

    • If a warning is reported during the precheck:

      • For check items that cannot be ignored, click View Details next to the failed item, fix the issue based on the prompt, and then run the precheck again.

      • For check items that can be ignored, you can click Confirm Alert Details, Ignore, OK, and Precheck Again to skip the alert item and run the precheck again. If you choose to ignore a warning, it may cause issues such as data inconsistency and pose risks to your business.

  7. Purchase the instance.

    1. When the Success Rate is 100%, click Next: Purchase Instance.

    2. On the Purchase page, select the link specification for the data migration instance. For more information, see the following table.

      Category

      Parameter

      Description

      New Instance Class

      Resource Group Settings

      Select the resource group to which the instance belongs. The default value is default resource group. For more information, see What is Resource Management?

      Instance Class

      DTS provides migration specifications with different performance levels. The link specification affects the migration speed. You can select a specification based on your business scenario. For more information, see Data migration link specifications.

    3. After the configuration is complete, read and select Data Transmission Service (Pay-as-you-go) Service Terms.

    4. Click Buy and Start. In the OK dialog box that appears, click OK.

      You can view the progress of the migration task on the Data Migration Tasks list page.

      Note
      • If the migration task does not include incremental migration, it stops automatically after the full migration is complete. After the task stops, its Status changes to Completed.

      • If the migration task includes incremental migration, it does not stop automatically. The incremental migration task continues to run. While the incremental migration task is running, the Status of the task is Running.