Synchronize data from a PolarDB-X 2.0 instance to a Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance - Data Transmission Service

This topic describes how to synchronize incremental data from a PolarDB-X instance to a Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance in real time by using Data Transmission Service (DTS).

Prerequisites

The source PolarDB-X instance that is compatible with MySQL 5.7 is created.
The version of the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance is supported. For more information, see Overview of data synchronization scenarios.
The available storage space of the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance is larger than the total size of the data in the source PolarDB-X instance.
In the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance, a topic is created to receive the synchronized data. For more information, see Step 1: Create a topic.

Limits

Note

DTS does not synchronize foreign keys in the source database to the destination database. Therefore, the cascade and delete operations of the source database are not synchronized to the destination database.

Category	Description
Limits on the source database	The tables to be migrated must have PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE constraints, and all fields must be unique. Otherwise, the destination database may contain duplicate data records. If you select tables as the objects to synchronize and you need to edit tables (such as renaming tables or columns) in the destination database, you can synchronize up to 5,000 tables in a single data synchronization task. If you run a task to synchronize more than 5,000 tables, a request error occurs. In this case, we recommend that you configure multiple tasks to synchronize the tables in batches or configure a task to synchronize the entire database. The following requirements for binary logs must be met: The binary logging feature must be enabled in the PolarDB-X 2.0 console. For more information, see Parameter settings. The binlog_row_image parameter value is set to full. Otherwise, error messages are returned during the precheck and the data synchronization task cannot be started. If you perform only incremental data synchronization, the binary logs of the source database are retained for at least 24 hours. If you perform both full data synchronization and incremental data synchronization, the binary logs of the source database are retained for at least seven days. After full data synchronization is complete, you can set the retention period to more than 24 hours. Otherwise, DTS may fail to obtain the binary logs and the task may fail. In exceptional circumstances, data inconsistency or loss may occur. Make sure that you set the retention period of binary logs in accordance with the preceding requirements. Otherwise, the service reliability and performance stated in the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of DTS cannot be achieved. The PolarDB-X instance must be compatible with MySQL V5.7.
Other limits	Before you synchronize data, evaluate the impact of data synchronization on the performance of the source and destination databases. We recommend that you synchronize data during off-peak hours. During initial full data synchronization, DTS uses the read and write resources of the source and destination databases. This may increase the loads on the database servers. During initial full data synchronization, concurrent INSERT operations cause fragmentation in the tables of the destination database. After full data synchronization is complete, the size of used tablespace of the destination database is larger than that of the source database. We recommend that you do not use pt-online-schema-change to perform DDL operations on objects. Otherwise, data synchronization may fail. During data synchronization, we recommend that you use only DTS to write data to the destination database. This prevents data inconsistency between the source and destination databases. If you use tools other than DTS to write data to the destination database, data loss may occur in the destination database when you use DMS to perform online DDL operations. Only tables can be selected as the objects to be synchronized. DTS does not synchronize the data in a renamed table to the destination Kafka cluster. This applies if the new table name is not included in the objects to be synchronized. To synchronize the data in a renamed table to the destination Kafka cluster, you must reselect the objects to synchronize. For more information, see Add an object to a data synchronization task.
Precautions	DTS updates the `dts_health_check`.`ha_health_check` table in the source database as scheduled to move forward the binary log file position.

Billing

Synchronization type	Task configuration fee
Schema synchronization and full data synchronization	Free of charge.
Incremental data synchronization	Charged. For more information, see Billing overview.

Size limit of a single record

The maximum size of a single record that can be written to Kafka is 10 MB. Therefore, if a row of source data exceeds 10 MB, the relevant DTS task will be interrupted because DTS cannot write the record to Kafka. In this scenario, we recommend that you do not synchronize the whole tables that contain large fields but synchronize only some fields of the tables. When you configure a DTS task, you must exclude the records of these large fields. If tables that contain large fields are included in the objects of the task, you must remove the tables, add the tables to the objects again, and then set filter conditions to exclude the large fields.

SQL operations that can be synchronized

Operation type	SQL statement
DML	INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE

Procedure

Go to the Data Synchronization Tasks page.
1. Log on to the Data Management (DMS) console.
2. In the top navigation bar, click DTS.
3. In the left-side navigation pane, choose DTS (DTS) > Data Synchronization.
Note
- Operations may vary based on the mode and layout of the DMS console. For more information, see Simple mode and Customize the layout and style of the DMS console.
- You can also go to the Data Synchronization Tasks page of the new DTS console.
On the right side of Data Synchronization Tasks, select the region in which the data synchronization instance resides.
Note
If you use the new DTS console, you must select the region in which the data synchronization instance resides in the top navigation bar.

Click Create Task. On the page that appears, configure the source and destination databases.

Warning

After you configure the source and destination databases, we recommend that you read the limits that are displayed in the upper part of the page. Otherwise, the task may fail or data inconsistency may occur.

Section	Parameter	Description
N/A	Task Name	The name of the task. DTS automatically assigns a name to the task. We recommend that you specify a descriptive name that makes it easy to identify the task. You do not need to specify a unique task name.
Source Database	Select an existing DMS database instance	The database instance that you want to use. You can choose whether to select an existing instance based on your business requirements. If you select an existing instance, DTS automatically populates the parameters for the database. If you do not select an existing instance, you must manually configure parameters for the database.
	Database Type	The type of the source database. Select PolarDB-X 2.0.
	Access Method	The access method of the source database. Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
	Instance Region	The region in which the source PolarDB-X instance resides.
	Instance ID	The ID of the source PolarDB-X instance.
	Database Account	The database account of the source PolarDB-X instance. The account must have the SELECT permission on the objects to be synchronized, and the REPLICATION CLIENT and REPLICATION SLAVE permissions. Note For more information about how to grant the permissions to the database account, see Data synchronization tools for PolarDB-X.
	Database Password	The password of the database account.
Destination Database	Select an existing DMS database instance	The database instance that you want to use. You can choose whether to select an existing instance based on your business requirements. If you select an existing instance, DTS automatically populates the parameters for the database. If you do not select an existing instance, you must manually configure parameters for the database.
	Database Type	The type of the destination database. Select Kafka.
	Access Method	The access method of the destination database. Select Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway. Note DTS does not provide Message Queue for Apache Kafka as an access method. You can use Message Queue for Apache Kafka as a self-managed Kafka cluster to configure data synchronization.
	Instance Region	The region in which the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance resides.
	Connected VPC	The ID of the virtual private cloud (VPC) to which the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance belongs. To obtain the VPC ID, perform the following operations: Log on to the Message Queue for Apache Kafka console and go to the Instance Details page of the Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance. In the Configuration Information section, view the VPC ID.
	IP Address or Domain Name	An IP address that is included in the Default Endpoint parameter of the Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance. Note To obtain an IP address, you can log on to the Message Queue for Apache Kafka console and go to the Instance Details page of the Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance. On the Basic Information page, obtain an IP address from the Default Endpoint parameter.
	Port Number	The service port number of the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance. Default value: 9092.
	Database Account	The database account of the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance. Note If the Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance is a VPC-connected instance, you do not need to set the Database Account or Database Password parameter.
	Database Password	The password of the database account.
	Kafka Version	The version of the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance.
	Encryption	Specifies whether to encrypt the connection. Select Non-encrypted or SCRAM-SHA-256 based on your business and security requirements.
	Topic	The topic used to receive the synchronized data. Select a topic from the drop-down list.
	Topic That Stores DDL Information	The topic used to store the DDL information. Select a topic from the drop-down list. If you do not specify this parameter, the DDL information is stored in the topic that is specified by the Topic parameter.
	Use Kafka Schema Registry	Specifies whether to use Kafka Schema Registry, which provides a serving layer for your metadata. It provides a RESTful API for storing and retrieving your Avro schemas. Valid values: No: does not use Kafka Schema Registry. Yes: uses Kafka Schema Registry. In this case, you must enter the URL or IP address that is registered in Kafka Schema Registry for your Avro schemas.

In the lower part of the page, click Test Connectivity and Proceed.
If the source or destination database is an Alibaba Cloud database instance, such as an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL or ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance, DTS automatically adds the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the whitelist of the instance. If the source or destination database is a self-managed database hosted on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, DTS automatically adds the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the security group rules of the ECS instance, and you must ensure that the ECS instance can access the database. If the source or destination database is a self-managed database that is deployed in a data center or provided by a third-party cloud service provider, you must manually add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the whitelist of the database to allow DTS to access the database. For more information, see Add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the security settings of on-premises databases.
Warning
If the CIDR blocks of DTS servers are automatically or manually added to the whitelist of the database or instance, or to the ECS security group rules, security risks may arise. Therefore, before you use DTS to synchronize data, you must understand and acknowledge the potential risks and take preventive measures, including but not limited to the following measures: enhancing the security of your username and password, limiting the ports that are exposed, authenticating API calls, regularly checking the whitelist or ECS security group rules and forbidding unauthorized CIDR blocks, or connecting the database to DTS by using Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway.

Configure objects to synchronize and advanced settings.

Parameter	Description
Synchronization Type	By default, Incremental Data Synchronization is selected. You must also select Schema Synchronization and Full Data Synchronization. After the precheck is complete, DTS synchronizes the historical data of selected objects from the source instance to the destination instance. The historical data is the basis for subsequent incremental synchronization.
Processing Mode of Conflicting Tables	Precheck and Report Errors: checks whether the destination database contains tables that have the same names as tables in the source database. If the source and destination databases do not contain tables that have identical table names, the precheck is passed. Otherwise, an error is returned during the precheck and the data synchronization task cannot be started. Note You can use the object name mapping feature to rename the tables that are synchronized to the destination database. You can use this feature if the source and destination databases contain identical table names and the tables in the destination database cannot be deleted or renamed. For more information, see Map object names. Ignore Errors and Proceed: skips the precheck for identical table names in the source and destination databases. Warning If you select Ignore Errors and Proceed, data inconsistency may occur, and your business may be exposed to potential risks. If the source and destination databases have the same schemas, and a data record has the same primary key value as an existing data record in the destination database: During full data synchronization, DTS does not synchronize the data record to the destination database. The existing data record in the destination database is retained. During incremental data synchronization, DTS synchronizes the data record to the destination database. The existing data record in the destination database is overwritten. If the source and destination databases have different schemas, data may fail to be initialized, only some columns are synchronized, or the data synchronization task fails. Operate with caution.
Data Format in Kafka	The format in which data is stored in the Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance. If you select DTS Avro, data is parsed based on the schema definition of DTS Avro. For more information, visit GitHub. If you select Canal Json, data is stored in the Canal JSON format. For more information about the related parameters and examples, see the "Canal JSON" section of the Data formats of a Kafka cluster topic.
Policy for Shipping Data to Kafka Partitions	Select a synchronization policy based on your business requirements. For more information, see Specify the policy for migrating data to Kafka partitions. Important The feature of shipping data to Kafka partitions is not supported if the source database is a PolarDB-X 1.0 database.
Capitalization of Object Names in Destination Instance	The capitalization of database names, table names, and column names in the destination instance. By default, DTS default policy is selected. You can select other options to ensure that the capitalization of object names is consistent with that in the source or destination database. For more information, see Specify the capitalization of object names in the destination instance.
Source Objects	Select one or more objects from the Source Objects section and click the icon to add the objects to the Selected Objects section. Note You can select columns, tables, or databases as the objects to be synchronized. If you select tables or columns as the objects to be synchronized, DTS does not synchronize other objects such as views, triggers, or stored procedures to the destination database.
Selected Objects	To rename an object that you want to synchronize to the destination instance, right-click the object in the Selected Objects section. For more information, see Map the name of a single object. To rename multiple objects at a time, click Batch Edit in the upper-right corner of the Selected Objects section. For more information, see Map multiple object names at a time. Note To select the SQL operations performed on a specific database or table, perform the following steps: In the Selected Objects section, right-click an object. In the dialog box that appears, select the SQL operations that you want to synchronize. For more information about the SQL operations that can be synchronized, see SQL operations that can be synchronized. To specify WHERE conditions to filter data, right-click an object in the Selected Objects section. In the dialog box that appears, specify the conditions. For more information, see Set filter conditions.

Click Next: Advanced Settings to configure advanced settings.

Parameter	Description
Set Alerts	Specifies whether to configure alerting for the data synchronization task. If the task fails or the synchronization latency exceeds the specified threshold, alert contacts will receive notifications. Valid values: No: does not configure alerting. Yes: configures alerting. In this case, you must also configure the alert threshold and alert contacts. For more information, see Configure monitoring and alerting for a new DTS task.
Specify the retry time range for failed connections	The retry time range for failed connections. If the source or destination database fails to be connected after the data synchronization task is started, DTS immediately retries a connection within the time range. Valid values: 10 to 1440. Unit: minutes. Default value: 720. We recommend that you set the parameter to a value greater than 30. If DTS reconnects to the source and destination databases within the specified time range, DTS resumes the data synchronization task. Otherwise, the data synchronization task fails. Note If you set different retry time ranges for multiple DTS tasks that have the same source or destination database, the shortest retry time range that is set takes precedence. When DTS retries a connection, you are charged for the DTS instance. We recommend that you specify the retry time range based on your business requirements. You can also release the DTS instance at your earliest opportunity after the source and destination instances are released.
Configure ETL	Specifies whether to enable the extract, transform, and load (ETL) feature. For more information, see What is ETL? Valid values: Yes: configures the ETL feature. You can enter data processing statements in the code editor. For more information, see Configure ETL in a data migration or data synchronization task. No: does not configure the ETL feature.
Whether to delete SQL operations on heartbeat tables of forward and reverse tasks	Specifies whether to write SQL operations on heartbeat tables to the source database while the DTS instance is running. Yes: does not write SQL operations on heartbeat tables. In this case, a latency of the DTS instance may be displayed. No: writes SQL operations on heartbeat tables. In this case, specific features such as physical backup and cloning of the source database may be affected.

Click Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck in the lower part of the page.
You can move the pointer over Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck and click Preview OpenAPI parameters to view the parameter settings of the API operation that is called to configure the instance.
Note
- Before you can start the data synchronization task, DTS performs a precheck. You can start the data synchronization task only after the task passes the precheck.
- If the task fails to pass the precheck, click View Details next to each failed item. After you troubleshoot the issues based on the causes, run a precheck again.
- If an alert is triggered for an item during the precheck:
  If an alert item cannot be ignored, click View Details next to the failed item and troubleshoot the issues. Then, run a precheck again.
  If an alert item can be ignored, click Confirm Alert Details. In the View Details dialog box, click Ignore. In the message that appears, click OK. Then, click Precheck Again to run a precheck again. If you ignore the alert item, data inconsistency may occur, and your business may be exposed to potential risks.
Wait until the success rate becomes 100%. Then, click Next: Purchase Instance.

On the Purchase Instance page, configure the Billing Method and Instance Class parameters for the data synchronization instance. The following table describes the parameters.

Section	Parameter	Description
New Instance Class	Billing Method	Subscription: You pay for the instance when you create an instance. The subscription billing method is more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method for long-term use. Pay-as-you-go: A pay-as-you-go instance is charged on an hourly basis. The pay-as-you-go billing method is suitable for short-term use. If you no longer require a pay-as-you-go instance, you can release the pay-as-you-go instance to reduce costs.
	Resource Group	The resource group on which the instance is run. Default value: default resource group. For more information, see What is Resource Management?.
	Instance Class	DTS provides various synchronization specifications that provide different performance. The synchronization speed varies based on the synchronization specifications that you select. You can select a synchronization specification based on your business scenario. For more information, see Specifications of data synchronization instances.
	Subscription Duration	If you select the subscription billing method, set the subscription duration and the number of instances that you want to create. The subscription duration can be one to nine months, one year, two years, three years, or five years. Note This parameter is available only if you select the Subscription billing method.

Read and select the check box to agree to the Data Transmission Service (Pay-as-you-go) Service Terms.
Click Buy and Start to start the data synchronization task. You can view the progress of the task in the task list.