You can use DTS to migrate data between various types of data sources. Typical scenarios include data migration to Alibaba Cloud, data migration between instances within Alibaba Cloud, and database splitting and scale-out. DTS supports data migration between homogeneous and heterogeneous data sources. It also supports extract, transform, and load (ETL) features such as object name mapping and data filtering.

Billing

Migration type Migration channel fee Public network traffic fee
Schema migration or full data migration Free of charge Migrating data from Alibaba Cloud over the Internet incurs fees. For more information, see Pricing.
Incremental data migration Billed. For more information, see Pricing.

Database and migration types

For more information, see Overview of data migration scenarios.

Easy to use

After you configure the source instance, destination instance, and objects to be migrated, DTS automatically completes the entire data migration process and ensures service continuity.

Migration types

DTS supports schema migration, full data migration, and incremental data migration. You can select all of the supported migration types to ensure service continuity.

Migration types Description
schema migration

DTS migrates the schemas of the required objects from the source database to the destination database. Tables, views, triggers, and stored procedures can be migrated.

For schema migration between heterogeneous databases, DTS converts the schema syntax based on the syntax of the source and destination databases. For example, it converts the NUMBER data type in Oracle databases to the DECIMAL data type in MySQL databases.

full data migration DTS migrates historical data of the required objects from the source database to the destination database. If you select only schema migration and full data migration, new data generated in the source database will not be migrated to the destination database.
Note To ensure data consistency, do not write new data into the source database during full data migration. To migrate data with minimal downtime, you must select schema migration, full data migration, and incremental data migration when configuring a data migration task.
incremental data migration DTS retrieves static snapshots from the source database and migrates the snapshot data to the destination database. Then, DTS synchronizes the incremental data generated in the source database to the destination database in real time.
Note During incremental data migration, data between the source and destination databases are synchronized in real time. The migration task does not automatically stop. You must manually stop the migration task.

ETL features

Data migration supports the following ETL features:
  • Object name mapping for columns, tables, and databases: you can migrate data between two columns, tables, or databases that have different names.
  • Data filtering: you can use SQL conditions to filter the required data in a specific table. For example, you can specify a time range to migrate only the latest data.

Alerts

DTS supports sending alerts for data migration tasks. If an error occurs in a task, DTS immediately sends an SMS alert to the task creator. The alerts allow the task creator to handle the error in a timely manner.

Migration task management

A migration task is a basic unit of data migration. To migrate data, you must create a migration task in the DTS console. To create a migration task, you must configure the required information such as the source and destination instances, the migration types, and the objects to be migrated. You can create, manage, stop, and delete data migration tasks in the DTS console.

The following table describes the statuses of a data migration task.

Task status Description Available operations
Not Started The migration task is configured but the precheck is not performed. Perform the precheck and delete the migration task
Prechecking A precheck is being performed. Delete the migration task
Precheck Passed The migration task has passed the precheck but is not started. Start and delete the migration task
Migrating Data is being migrated. Pause, stop, and delete the migration task
Migration Failed The migration task has encountered an error. You can identify the point of failure based on the progress of the migration task. Delete the migration task
Paused The migration task is paused. Start and delete the migration task
Completed The migration task is completed, or you have clicked End to stop the migration task. Delete the migration task

If a migration task is in the Migration Failed state, the task will be started and resumed within seven days. To stop data migration, you must manually release or stop the migration task.

References