You can use Data Transmission Service (DTS) to migrate data from a standalone MongoDB database to another MongoDB database of any available architecture.

Supported source and destination databases

Note The access methods of the source and destination databases must be the same. For example, both the source and destination databases are ApsaraDB for MongoDB instances.
Source database (standalone architecture)Destination database (any available architecture)
ApsaraDB for MongoDBApsaraDB for MongoDB
Self-managed database that is hosted on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instanceSelf-managed database that is hosted on an ECS instance
Self-managed database that is connected over Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access GatewaySelf-managed database that is connected over Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway
Self-managed database with a public IP addressSelf-managed database with a public IP address

This topic describes how to migrate data from a standalone ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance to another ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance that is deployed in any available architecture.You can also follow the procedure to configure data migration tasks for other types of MongoDB databases.

Prerequisites

  • The source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance of the standalone architecture and the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance are created. The destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance can be deployed in any available architecture. For more information, see Create a standalone instance, Create a replica set instance, and Create a sharded cluster instance.
    Note For more information about the supported database versions, see Overview of data migration scenarios.
  • The available storage space of the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance is 10% larger than the total size of the data in the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance. This is a recommended prerequisite.
  • If the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance is deployed in a sharded cluster architecture, you need to create databases and collections to be sharded in the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance and configure sharding based on your business requirements. For more information, see Configure sharding to maximize the performance of shards.
    Note After you configure sharding for a cluster, the migrated data will be distributed among different shards. This maximizes the performance of the sharded cluster.

Usage notes

CategoryDescription
Limits on the source database
  • Bandwidth requirements: The server on which the source database is deployed must have sufficient outbound bandwidth. Otherwise, the data migration speed decreases.
  • The collections 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 collections as the objects to be migrated and you need to edit collections (such as renaming collections), up to 1,000 collections can be migrated in a single data migration task. If you run a task to migrate more than 1,000 collections, a request error occurs. In this case, we recommend that you split the collections to be migrated, configure multiple tasks to migrate the collections, or configure a task to migrate the entire database.
  • Limits on operations to be performed on the source database:
    • During schema migration and full data migration, do not change the schemas of databases or collections. Otherwise, the data migration task fails.
    • Incremental data migration is not supported in this scenario. To ensure data consistency, we recommend that you do not write data to the source MongoDB database during full data migration.
Other limits
  • Only schema migration and full data migration are supported in this scenario. You cannot use Data Transmission Service (DTS) to migrate incremental data from a standalone MongoDB database because the oplog feature cannot be enabled for the database.
  • DTS cannot migrate data from the admin or local database.
  • Transaction information is not retained. When transactions are migrated to the destination database, they are converted into a single record.
  • To ensure compatibility, the version of the destination MongoDB database must be the same as or later than the version of the source MongoDB database. If the version of the destination database is earlier than the version of the source database, database compatibility issues may occur.
  • Before you migrate data, evaluate the impact of data migration on the performance of the source and destination databases. We recommend that you migrate data during off-peak hours. During full data migration, DTS uses the read and write resources of the source and destination databases. This may increase the loads on the database servers.
  • During full data migration, concurrent INSERT operations cause fragmentation in the collections of the destination database. After full data migration is complete, the storage space for collections of the destination database is larger than that of the source database.
  • Make sure that the precision settings for columns of the FLOAT or DOUBLE data type meet your business requirements. DTS uses the ROUND(COLUMN,PRECISION) function to retrieve values from columns of the FLOAT or DOUBLE data type. If you do not specify a precision, DTS sets the precision for the FLOAT data type to 38 digits and the precision for the DOUBLE data type to 308 digits.
  • DTS attempts to resume data migration tasks that failed within the last seven days. Before you switch workloads to the destination database, stop or release the failed tasks. You can also execute the REVOKE statement to revoke the write permissions from the accounts that are used by DTS to access the destination database. Otherwise, the data in the source database overwrites the data in the destination database after a failed task is resumed.
  • The data is concurrently written to the destination database. Therefore, the storage space occupied in the destination database is 5% to 10% larger than the size of the data in the source database.
  • You must use the db.$table_name.aggregate([{ $count:"myCount"}]) syntax to query the return value of a count operation on the destination MongoDB database.
  • Make sure that the destination MongoDB database does not have the same primary key as the source database. The default primary key is _id. Otherwise, data loss may occur in the destination database. If the destination database has the same primary key as the source database, clear the related data in the destination database without interrupting the services of DTS. If the same primary key is _id, you can delete the data in the destination database that has the same _id as the source database.
Special casesIf the source database is a self-managed MongoDB database, we recommend that you do not perform a primary/secondary switchover on the database when the data migration task is running. Otherwise, the task fails.

Billing

Migration typeInstance configuration feeInternet traffic fee
Schema migration and full data migrationFree of charge. Charged only when data is migrated from Alibaba Cloud over the Internet. For more information, see Billing overview.

Migration types

Migration typeDescription
Schema migrationDTS migrates the schemas of objects from the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance to the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.
Note DTS supports schema migration for databases, collections, and indexes.
Full data migrationDTS migrates full data of objects from the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance to the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.
Note DTS supports full data migration for databases, collections, and indexes.

Permissions required for database accounts

DatabaseSchema migrationFull data migration
Source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instanceRead permissions on the source database
Destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instancedbAdminAnyDatabase permission, read and write permissions on the destination database, and read permissions on the local database

For more information about how to create a database account and grant permissions to the database account for an ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance, see Manage user permissions on MongoDB databases.

Procedure

  1. Go to the Data Migration 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 Migration.
    Note
  2. From the drop-down list next to Data Migration Tasks, select the region in which the data migration instance resides.
    Note If you use the new DTS console, you must select the region in which the data migration instance resides in the upper-left corner.
  3. Click Create Task. On the page that appears, configure the source and destination databases.
    Warning After you select the source and destination instances, we recommend that you read the limits displayed at the top of the page. This helps ensure that the task properly runs or prevent data inconsistency.
    SectionParameterDescription
    N/ATask Name

    The name of the task. DTS automatically generates a task name. We recommend that you specify an informative name to identify the task. You do not need to specify a unique task name.

    Source DatabaseSelect Instance
    Select whether to use an existing instance.
    • If you select an existing instance, DTS automatically applies the parameter settings of the instance. You do not need to configure the corresponding parameters again.
    • If you do not use an existing instance, you must configure parameters for the source database.
    Database TypeThe type of the source database. Select MongoDB.
    Access MethodThe access method of the source database. Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
    Instance RegionThe region in which the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance resides.
    ArchitectureThe architecture in which the source instance is deployed. Select Replica Set for a standalone ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.
    • Replica Set: You can deploy multiple types of nodes on a replica set instance to achieve high availability and read/write splitting. For more information, see Replica set instances.
    • Sharded Cluster: A sharded cluster instance consists of three types of components: mongos, shard, and Configserver nodes. You can customize the configurations and number of mongos and shard nodes. For more information, see Sharded cluster instances.
    Instance IDThe ID of the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.
    Authentication DatabaseThe name of the authentication database to which the objects to be migrated in the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance belong. If you did not change the name before, the default value is admin.
    Database AccountThe database account of the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance. For information about the permissions that are required for the account, see Permissions required for database accounts.
    Database Password

    The password of the database account.

    Destination DatabaseSelect Instance
    Select whether to use an existing instance.
    • If you select an existing instance, DTS automatically applies the parameter settings of the instance. You do not need to configure the corresponding parameters again.
    • If you do not use an existing instance, you must configure parameters for the source database.
    Database TypeThe type of the destination database. Select MongoDB.
    Access MethodThe access method of the destination database. Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
    Instance RegionThe region in which the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance resides.
    ArchitectureThe architecture in which the destination instance is deployed. Select an architecture based on your business requirements. Valid values:
    • Replica Set: You can deploy multiple types of nodes on a replica set instance to achieve high availability and read/write splitting. For more information, see Replica set instances.
    • Sharded Cluster: A sharded cluster instance consists of three types of components: mongos, shard, and config server nodes. You can customize the configurations and number of mongos and shard nodes. For more information, see Sharded cluster instances.
    Instance IDThe ID of the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.
    Authentication DatabaseThe name of the authentication database to which the objects to be migrated in the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance belong. If you did not change the name before, the default value is admin.
    Database AccountThe database account of the destination ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance. For information about the permissions that are required for the account, see Permissions required for database accounts.
    Database Password

    The password of the database account.

  4. 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 make sure 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 about the CIDR blocks of DTS servers, 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 a database or an 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: enhance the security of your username and password, limit the ports that are exposed, authenticate API calls, regularly check the whitelist or ECS security group rules and forbid unauthorized CIDR blocks, or connect the database to DTS by using Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway.
  5. Configure objects to migrate and advanced settings.
    ParameterDescription
    Migration Type
    Select both Schema Migration and Full Data Migration.
    Note In this scenario, DTS does not support incremental data migration. To ensure data consistency, we recommend that you do not write data to the source instance during data migration.

    For more information, see Migration types.

    Processing Mode of Conflicting Tables
    • Precheck and Report Errors: checks whether the destination database contains collections that have the same names as collections in the source database. If the source and destination databases do not contain identical collection names, the precheck is passed. Otherwise, an error is returned during the precheck, and the data migration task cannot be started.
      Note You can use the object name mapping feature to rename the collections that are migrated to the destination database. You can use this feature if the source and destination databases contain identical collection names and the collections 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 collection 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.
      • DTS does not migrate data records that have the same primary keys as data records in the destination database.
      • Data may fail to be initialized, only some columns are migrated, or the data migration task fails.
    Capitalization of Object Names in Destination InstanceSpecify the capitalization of database names and collection 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 ObjectsSelect one or more objects from the Available section. Click the Rightwards arrow icon and add the objects to the Selected section.
    Note You can select databases or collections as the objects to be migrated.
    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 an object in the Selected Objects section. In the dialog box that appears, specify the conditions. For more information, see Use SQL conditions to filter data.
  6. Click Next: Advanced Settings to configure advanced settings.
    ParameterDescription
    Set Alerts
    Specifies whether to set alerts for the data migration task. If the task fails or the migration latency exceeds the threshold, the alert contacts will receive notifications. Valid values:
    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 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 migration task. Otherwise, the data migration task fails.
    Note
    • If you set different retry time ranges for multiple data migration tasks that share the same source or destination database, the value that is set later takes precedence.
    • If DTS retries a connection, you are charged for the operation of the DTS instance. We recommend that you specify the retry time based on your business needs and release the DTS instance at your earliest opportunity after the source and destination instances are released.
    Configure ETLSelect Yes or No based on your business requirements. If you select Yes, you must enter domain-specific language (DSL) statements in the code editor. For more information, see Configure ETL in a data migration or data synchronization task.
  7. In the lower part of the page, click Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck.
    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 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.
  8. Wait until the Success Rate value becomes 100%. Then, click Next: Purchase Instance.
  9. On the Purchase Instance page, specify the Instance Class parameter for the data migration instance. The following table describes the parameter.
    SectionParameterDescription
    ParametersInstance Class

    DTS provides several 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.

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