Migrate data between PolarDB for PostgreSQL clusters - Data Transmission Service

This topic describes how to migrate data between PolarDB for PostgreSQL clusters by using Data Transmission Service (DTS).

Prerequisites

A destination PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster is created. The available storage space of this cluster is larger than the total size of the data in the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster. For more information, see Create a PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster.
The wal_level parameter of the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster is set to logical. For more information, see Specify cluster parameters.
A database is created in the destination PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster to receive data. For more information, see Database management.

Limits

Note

During schema migration, DTS migrates foreign keys from the source database to the destination database.
During full data migration and incremental data migration, DTS temporarily disables the constraint check and cascade operations on foreign keys at the session level. If you perform the cascade and delete operations on the source database during data migration, data inconsistency may occur.

Limit type	Description
Limits on the source database	The tables to be migrated from the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster must contain primary keys or UNIQUE NOT NULL indexes. If the source database has long-running transactions and the data migration task contains incremental data migration, the write-ahead logging (WAL) logs that are generated before the long-running transactions are submitted may not be cleared and therefore pile up, resulting in insufficient storage space in the source database. If you want to perform a primary/secondary switchover on the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster, the logical replication slot failover feature must be enabled. This prevents logical subscriptions from being interrupted and ensures that your data migration task can run as expected. For more information, see Logical replication slot failover.
Other limits	During full data migration, concurrent INSERT operations cause fragmentation in the tables of the destination database. After full data migration is complete, the size of used tablespace of the destination database is larger than that of the source database. DTS attempts to resume data migration tasks that failed within the last seven days. Before you switch workloads to the destination instance, stop or release the failed task. You can also execute the `REVOKE` statement to revoke the write permissions from the accounts that are used by DTS to access the destination instance. Otherwise, the data in the source database overwrites the data in the destination database after the failed task is resumed. DTS does not check the validity of metadata such as sequences. You must manually check the validity of metadata. After your workloads are switched to the destination database, newly written sequences do not increment from the maximum value of the sequences in the source database. Therefore, you must query the maximum value of the sequences in the source database before you switch your workloads to the destination database. Then, you must specify the queried maximum value as the starting value of the sequences in the destination database. You can execute the following statements to query the maximum value of the sequences in the source database: `do language plpgsql $$ declare nsp name; rel name; val int8; begin for nsp,rel in select nspname,relname from pg_class t2 , pg_namespace t3 where t2.relnamespace=t3.oid and t2.relkind='S' loop execute format($_$select last_value from %I.%I$_$, nsp, rel) into val; raise notice '%', format($_$select setval('%I.%I'::regclass, %s);$_$, nsp, rel, val+1); end loop; end; $$;`

Billing

Migration type	Task configuration fee	Data transfer fee
Schema migration and full data migration	Free of charge.	Free of charge in this example.
Incremental data migration	Charged. For more information, see Billing overview.	Free of charge in this example.

SQL operations that support incremental migration

Operation type	SQL statement
DML	INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
DDL	DDL operations can be migrated only in the data migration tasks that are created after October 1, 2020. Important For a data migration task created before May 12, 2023, you must create a trigger and a function in the source database to capture DDL information before you configure the data migration task. For more information, see Use triggers and functions to implement incremental DDL migration for PostgreSQL databases. Incremental data migration does not support the data of the BIT type. If the database account of the source database is a privileged account, data migration tasks support the following DDL operations: CREATE TABLE and DROP TABLE ALTER TABLE, including RENAME TABLE, ADD COLUMN, ADD COLUMN DEFAULT, ALTER COLUMN TYPE, DROP COLUMN, ADD CONSTRAINT, ADD CONSTRAINT CHECK, and ALTER COLUMN DROP DEFAULT TRUNCATE TABLE (The database engine version of the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster must be PostgreSQL V11 or later.) CREATE INDEX ON TABLE Important You cannot migrate additional information of DDL statements, such as CASCADE or RESTRICT. You cannot migrate the DDL statements from a session that executes the `SET session_replication_role = replica` statement. If the SQL statements submitted by the source database at a time contain both DML and DDL statements, DTS does not migrate the DDL statements. If the SQL statements submitted by the source database at a time contain DDL statements on objects not to be migrated, DTS does not migrate the DDL statements.

Permissions required for database accounts

Database type	Required permissions	References
Source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster	Permissions of a privileged account	Create a database account
Destination PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster	Permissions of a privileged account	Create a database account

Procedure

Go to the Data Migration Tasks page.
1. Log on to the DMS console.
2. In the top navigation bar, move the pointer over DTS.
3. Choose DTS (DTS) > Data Migration.
Note
- The actual 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 Migration Tasks page of the new DTS console.
From the drop-down list on the right side of Data Migration Tasks, select the region in which your data migration instance resides.
Note
If you use the new DTS console, select the region in which the data migration instance resides in the top navigation bar.

Click Create Task. On the Create Task page, configure the source and destination databases. The following table describes the parameters.

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. (Optional. If you have not registered a DMS database instance, ignore this option and configure database settings in the section below.)	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 for PostgreSQL.
	Access Method	The access method of the source database. Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
	Instance Region	The region where the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster resides.
	Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts	Specifies whether to migrate data across Alibaba Cloud accounts. In this example, No is selected.
	Instance ID	The ID of the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster.
	Database Name	The name of the database that contains the objects to be migrated in the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster.
	Database Account	The database account of the source PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster. For more information about the permissions that are required for the database account, see the Permissions required for database accounts section of this topic.
	Database Password	The password of the database account.
Destination Database	Select an existing DMS database instance. (Optional. If you have not registered a DMS database instance, ignore this option and configure database settings in the section below.)	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 PolarDB for PostgreSQL.
	Access Method	The access method of the destination database. Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
	Instance Region	The region where the destination PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster resides.
	Instance ID	The ID of the destination PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster.
	Database Name	The name of the database used to receive data in the destination PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster.
	Database Account	The database account of the destination PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster. For more information about the permissions that are required for the database account, see the Permissions required for database accounts section of this topic.
	Database Password	The password of the database account.

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 IP address 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 make sure that the ECS instance can access the database. If the self-managed database is hosted on multiple ECS instances, you must manually add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the security group rules of each ECS instance. 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 IP address whitelist of the database to allow DTS to access the database. For more information, see the CIDR blocks of DTS servers section of the Add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers topic.
Warning
If the public CIDR blocks of DTS servers are automatically or manually added to the whitelist of a database instance or to the security group rules of an ECS instance, security risks may arise. Therefore, before you use DTS to migrate 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 security group rules and forbidding unauthorized CIDR blocks, or connecting the database instance to DTS by using Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway.

Configure the objects to be migrated and advanced settings. The following table describes the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Migration Types	To perform only full data migration, select Schema Migration and Full Data Migration. To ensure service continuity during data migration, select Schema Migration, Full Data Migration, and Incremental Data Migration. Note If you do not select Incremental Data Migration, we recommend that you do not write data to the source database during data migration. This ensures data consistency between the source and destination databases.
Processing Mode of Conflicting Tables	Precheck and Report Errors: checks whether the destination database contains tables that use 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 migration task cannot be started. Note If the source and destination databases contain tables with identical names and the tables in the destination database cannot be deleted or renamed, you can use the object name mapping feature to rename the tables that are migrated to the destination database. 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 the following potential risks: If the source and destination databases have the same schema, DTS does not migrate data records that have the same primary keys as data records in the destination database. If the source and destination databases have different schemas, only specific columns are migrated or the data migration task fails. Proceed with caution.
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 make sure that the capitalization of object names is consistent with that of 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 migrated. If you select tables or columns as the objects to be migrated, DTS does not migrate other objects, such as views, triggers, or stored procedures, to the destination database.
Selected Objects	To rename an object that you want to migrate 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 If you use the object name mapping feature to rename an object, other objects that are dependent on the object may fail to be migrated. To specify WHERE conditions to filter data, right-click a table 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.

Data Verification Settings
For more information about how to use the data verification feature, see Configure data verification.

Advanced Settings

Parameter	Description
Select the dedicated cluster used to schedule the task	By default, DTS schedules the task to a shared cluster. You do not need to configure this parameter. If you want to improve the stability of data migration tasks, purchase a dedicated cluster. For more information, see What is a DTS dedicated cluster.
Retry Time for Failed Connections	The retry time range for failed connections. If the source or destination database fails to be connected after the data migration task is started, DTS immediately retries a connection within the retry 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 is reconnected to the source and destination databases within the specified retry time range, DTS resumes the data migration task. Otherwise, the data migration task fails. Note If you specify different retry time ranges for multiple data migration tasks that share the same source or destination database, the value that is specified later 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 the earliest opportunity after the source database and destination instance are released.
The wait time before a retry when other issues occur in the source and destination databases.	The retry time range for other issues. For example, if DDL or DML operations fail to be performed after the data migration task is started, DTS immediately retries the operations within the retry time range. Valid values: 1 to 1440. Unit: minutes. Default value: 10. We recommend that you set the parameter to a value greater than 10. If the failed operations are successfully performed within the specified retry time range, DTS resumes the data migration task. Otherwise, the data migration task fails. Important The value of the The wait time before a retry when other issues occur in the source and destination databases. parameter must be smaller than the value of the Retry Time for Failed Connections parameter.
Enable Throttling for Full Data Migration	Specifies whether to enable throttling for full data migration. During full data migration, DTS uses the read and write resources of the source and destination databases. This may increase the loads of the database servers. You can enable throttling for full data migration based on your business requirements. To configure throttling, you must configure the Queries per second (QPS) to the source database, RPS of Full Data Migration, and Data migration speed for full migration (MB/s) parameters. This reduces the loads of the destination database server. Note You can configure this parameter only if you select Full Data Migration for the Migration Types parameter.
Enable Throttling for Incremental Data Migration	Specifies whether to enable throttling for incremental data migration. To configure throttling, you must configure the RPS of Incremental Data Migration and Data migration speed for incremental migration (MB/s) parameters. This reduces the loads of the destination database server. Note You can configure this parameter only if you select Incremental Data Migration for the Migration Types parameter.
Environment Tag	The environment tag that is used to identify the DTS instance. You can select an environment tag based on your business requirements. In this example, you do not need to configure this parameter.
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.
Monitoring and Alerting	Specifies whether to configure alerting for the data migration task. If the task fails or the migration latency exceeds the specified threshold, the alert contacts receive notifications. Valid values: No: does not configure alerting. Yes: configures alerting. In this case, you must also configure the alert threshold and alert notification settings. For more information, see Configure monitoring and alerting for a new DTS task.

Save the task settings and run a precheck.
- To view the parameters to be specified when you call the relevant API operation to configure the DTS task, move the pointer over Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck and click Preview OpenAPI parameters.
- If you do not need to view or have viewed the parameters, click Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck in the lower part of the page.
Note
- Before you can start the data migration task, DTS performs a precheck. You can start the data migration 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 analyze the causes based on the check results, troubleshoot the issues. Then, run a precheck again.
- If an alert is generated for an item during the precheck, perform the following operations based on the scenario:
  If the alert item cannot be ignored, click View Details next to the failed item and troubleshoot the issues. Then, run a precheck again.
  If the 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 Instance Class parameter for the data migration instance. The following table describes the parameters.

Section	Parameter	Description
New Instance Class	Resource Group Settings	The resource group to which the data migration instance belongs. Default value: default resource group. For more information, see What is Resource Management?
New Instance Class	Instance Class	DTS provides instance classes that vary in the migration speed. You can select an instance class based on your business scenario. For more information, see Specifications of data migration instances.

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