Data Transmission Service:Migrate a self-managed SQL Server database to the cloud using a physical gateway

Step 1: Open the Data Migration page

Use one of the following methods to open the Data Migration page, then select the region where the migration instance resides.

DTS console

1. Log on to the DTS console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Data Migration.

3. In the upper-left corner, select the region where the migration instance resides.

DMS console

The actual navigation may vary based on your DMS console mode and layout. See Simple mode and Customize the layout and style of the DMS console.

1. Log on to the DMS console.

2. In the top navigation bar, move the pointer over Data + AI > DTS (DTS) > Data Migration.

3. From the drop-down list to the right of Data Migration Tasks, select the region where the migration instance resides.

Step 2: Configure the migration task

1. Click Create Task.

2. Configure the source and destination databases using the parameters in the following table.

   Warning

   After configuring the source and destination databases, read the Limits displayed at the top of the page. Skipping this step may cause task failure or data inconsistency.

   Section	Parameter	Description
   N/A	Task Name	The name of the DTS task. DTS generates a name automatically. Specify a descriptive name to identify the task. The name does not need to be unique.
   Source Database	Select a DMS database instance	Select an existing database instance to auto-populate parameters, or leave blank to configure manually.
   	Database Type	Select SQL Server.
   	Access Method	Select Physical Protocol.
   	Instance Region	The region where the source SQL Server database resides.
   	Physical Protocol Gateway (DBS Backup Gateway)	The physical protocol gateway to use. To install one, see Appendix: Create a physical protocol gateway.
   	Hostname or IP address	The hostname or IP address of the source SQL Server database. Default: localhost.
   	Port Number	The service port of the source SQL Server database. Default: 1433.
   Destination Database	Select a DMS database instance	Select an existing instance to auto-populate parameters, or leave blank to configure manually.
   	Database Type	Default: SQL Server.
   	Access Method	Default: Alibaba Cloud Instance.
   	Instance Region	The region where the destination ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance resides.
   	Instance ID	The ID of the destination ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.
   	Database Account	The database account for the destination instance. See Create a privileged account or a standard account and Modify the permissions of an account.
   	Database Password	The password for the destination database account.

3. Click Test Connectivity and Proceed.

4. In the CIDR Blocks of DTS Servers dialog box, click Test Connectivity and Proceed. DTS automatically adds its CIDR blocks to the IP address whitelist or security group rules of Alibaba Cloud database instances and ECS-hosted databases. For databases hosted across multiple ECS instances, or databases in data centers or on third-party cloud servers, manually add the DTS CIDR blocks. See Add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers.

   Warning

   Adding public CIDR blocks of DTS servers to a database whitelist or ECS security group introduces security risks. Before proceeding, take preventive measures such as strengthening credentials, limiting exposed ports, authenticating API calls, auditing whitelist rules regularly, and blocking unauthorized CIDR blocks. Alternatively, connect DTS to your database using Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway.

5. Select the objects to migrate and configure the following settings.

   Parameter	Description
   Task Stages	Select Full Data Migration (required) for a one-time migration. Select both Full Data Migration and Incremental Data Migration to keep data in sync during migration and minimize downtime. Note If you do not select Incremental Data Migration, stop writing data to the source during migration to ensure data consistency.
   Source Objects	Select one or more objects from the Source Objects section and click the right arrow icon to move them to Selected Objects. You can migrate a single database, multiple databases, or the entire instance.
   Selected Objects	The objects to migrate.

6. Click Next: Advanced Settings and configure the following settings.

   Parameter	Description
   Monitoring and Alerting	Configure alerting for the migration task. If the task fails or migration latency exceeds the threshold, alert contacts receive notifications. Select No to skip, or Yes to configure the alert threshold and notification settings. See Configure monitoring and alerting when you create a DTS task.
   Retry Time for Failed Connection	The retry duration after a connection fails. Valid values: 10–1440 minutes. Default: 720 minutes. Set a value greater than 30 minutes. If DTS reconnects within the retry window, the migration resumes. Otherwise, the task fails. Note If multiple tasks share the same source or destination database, the shortest retry time applies. DTS instance charges accrue during retries — set the retry window to match your business requirements.

Step 3: Save and precheck

1. Click Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck.

   DTS runs a precheck before starting migration. The task cannot start until it passes all checks. If a check fails, click the info icon next to the failed item to view the cause, fix the issue, and run the precheck again. You can also ignore the failed items and start a new precheck.

2. After Success Rate reaches 100%, click Next: Purchase Instance.

Step 4: Purchase and start

1. On the buy page, read and accept the terms of service.

2. Click Buy and Start, then click Confirm to start the migration task.

To view migration progress, click the task ID on the Data Migration Tasks page and open the Task Management tab.

You can also track progress in the ApsaraDB RDS console. Go to the Instances page, click the instance name, then click Backup and Restoration.

Step 5: Switch workloads to the cloud

1. When full migration reaches 100% and incremental migration is in the Running state, go to Task Management > Incremental Data Migration and click the button to switch workloads to the cloud.

2. In the confirmation dialog, click Start Now and wait for the switchover to complete.

   To ensure data consistency, stop writing data to the source instance before initiating the switchover. The switchover takes several minutes.

Prerequisites

Assign the sysadmin role to the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account by running the following SQL statement on the source server:

ALTER SERVER ROLE [sysadmin] ADD MEMBER [NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM]
GO

Usage notes

AliyunDBSAgent sets the recovery model of the migrated database to Full. If data is continuously written to the database during migration, this consumes disk space on the source server. After migration completes, run the following statement to reset the recovery model:

ALTER DATABASE <database_name> SET RECOVERY Simple;

Installation steps

1. On the Configure Source and Destination Databases page, click Create Physical Protocol Gateway.

2. In the Installation Command dialog box, configure the Region of Backup Gateway and Network Type of Backup Gateway parameters. Then copy the installation command and download the installation package.

   Select Public Network to access Data Disaster Recovery using a public IP address. Select ECS Private Network/VPC to access Data Disaster Recovery using an Alibaba Cloud leased line.

3. Install AliyunDBSAgent on the Windows server where the source database runs: To confirm that the gateway installed successfully, check the log file at C:\Program Files\aliyun\dbs_agent\logs\agent.log. A heartbeat message in the log indicates a successful installation.

   1. Double-click the setup.exe file from the downloaded package.

   2. Select the installation language, click OK, then click Next.

   3. Accept the license agreement and click Next.

   4. Select Physical Protocol Gateway (DBS Backup Gateway) and click Next.

   5. Select an installation directory, click Next, then click Yes.

   6. Confirm the region in the Agent Region field, enter the AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret, then click Next. > Important: The region must match the region of the destination RDS instance. The AccessKey pair is stored in plaintext in .\config\dbs-agent.conf in the installation directory.

   7. Confirm the component packages to install and click Next. Installation takes approximately 1–5 minutes.

   8. Click Done.

4. In the Installation Command dialog box, click Installed.

5. Verify that the AliyunDBSAgent service is running:

   1. Open the Run dialog box, type services.msc, and click OK.

   2. In the Services manager, check whether AliyunDBSAgent is running. If not, right-click AliyunDBSAgent and select Start.

   The system starts the backup gateway service automatically. You can also start or stop it manually in the Services manager.

6. Confirm the gateway appears in the Data Disaster Recovery console: on the Backup Gateways page, click Refresh in the upper-right corner. The newly created gateway name starts with DTS_.