Synchronize Oracle to MaxCompute - Data Transmission Service

This topic describes how to synchronize data from a self-managed Oracle database to a MaxCompute project by using Data Transmission Service (DTS).

Prerequisites

MaxCompute is activated and a MaxCompute project is created. For more information, see Activate MaxCompute and DataWorks and Creates a MaxCompute project.
An IP address whitelist is configured on the MaxCompute client to allow access from DTS to MaxCompute. For more information, see Configure an IP address whitelist to allow access from Alibaba Cloud services to MaxCompute.
An AccessKey pair is created for the Alibaba Cloud account that owns the destination MaxCompute project. For more information, see Create an AccessKey pair.
Note
You can Create a RAM user and Set a RAM user as the super administrator for a MaxCompute project.
The self-managed Oracle database is running in ARCHIVELOG mode. Archived log files are accessible, and an appropriate retention period is set for archived log files. For more information, see Managing Archived Redo Log Files.
The supplemental logging feature is enabled for the self-managed Oracle database, and the SUPPLEMENTAL_LOG_DATA_PK and SUPPLEMENTAL_LOG_DATA_UI parameters are set to Yes. For more information, see Supplemental Logging.
You are familiar with the capabilities and limits of DTS when it is used to synchronize data from an Oracle database. Advanced Database & Application Migration (ADAM) is used to evaluate the feasibility and costs of database synchronization. This helps you smoothly synchronize data from Oracle to MaxCompute. For more information, see Prepare an Oracle database and Overview.

Precautions

Note

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

Type	Description
Limits on the source database	Requirements for the objects to be synchronized: The tables to be synchronized must have PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE constraints, and all fields must be unique. Otherwise, the destination database may contain duplicate data records. If the version of your Oracle database is 12c or later, the names of the tables to be synchronized cannot exceed 30 bytes in length. If you select tables as the objects to be synchronized and you want to edit the tables in the destination database, such as renaming tables or columns, you can synchronize up to 1,000 tables in a single data synchronization task. If you run a task to synchronize more than 1,000 tables, a request error occurs. In this case, we recommend that you split the tables and configure multiple tasks to synchronize the tables in batches or configure a task to synchronize the entire database. If the source database is an Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC) database connected over Express Connect, you must specify a virtual IP address (VIP) for the database when you configure the data synchronization task. If the self-managed Oracle database is an Oracle RAC database, you can only use a VIP rather than a Single Client Access Name (SCAN) IP address when you configure the data synchronization task. After you specify the VIP, node failover of the Oracle RAC database is not supported. The redo logging and archive logging features must be enabled. Note If you perform only incremental data synchronization, the redo logs and archive logs of the source database must be stored for more than 24 hours. If you perform both full data synchronization and incremental data synchronization, the redo logs and archive logs of the source database must be stored for at least seven days. Otherwise, DTS may fail to obtain the redo logs and archive logs and the task may fail. In exceptional circumstances, data inconsistency or loss may occur. After the full data synchronization is complete, you can set the retention period to more than 24 hours. Make sure that you set the retention period of redo logs and archive logs in accordance with the preceding requirements. Otherwise, the service reliability and performance stated in the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of DTS may not be guaranteed. If you perform a primary/secondary switchover on the source database when the data synchronization task is running, the task fails. If the data to be synchronized contains an empty string of the VARCHAR2 type (Oracle processes it as null) and the corresponding column in the destination database has a NOT NULL constraint, the data synchronization task fails. If the table to be synchronized has the Fine-Grained Audit (FGA) policy enabled, DTS cannot detect the `ORA_ROWSCN` pseudocolumn, which causes the synchronization task to fail. Note You can disable the FGA policy for the table to be synchronized, or exclude the table from synchronization. During data synchronization, do not update LONGTEXT fields. Otherwise, the data synchronization task fails. During schema synchronization and initial full data synchronization, do not perform DDL operations to change the schemas of databases or tables. Otherwise, the data synchronization task fails.
Other limits	During incremental data synchronization, you cannot use Oracle Data Pump to write data to the source database. Otherwise, data loss may occur. External tables cannot be synchronized. 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 full data synchronization, concurrent INSERT operations cause fragmentation in the tables of the destination database. After the full data synchronization is complete, the size of the used tablespace of the destination database is larger than that of the source database. DTS calculates synchronization latency based on the timestamp of the latest synchronized data in the destination database and the current timestamp in the source database. If no DML operation is performed on the source database for a long time, the synchronization latency may be inaccurate. If the latency of the synchronization task is excessively high, you can perform a DML operation on the source database to update the latency. Note If you select an entire database as the object to synchronize, you can create a heartbeat table. The heartbeat table is updated or receives data every second. MaxCompute does not support PRIMARY KEY constraints. If network errors occur, DTS may synchronize duplicate data records to the MaxCompute project. 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 an instance fails, DTS helpdesk will try to recover the instance within 8 hours. During the recovery process, operations such as restarting the instance and adjusting parameters may be performed. Note When parameters are adjusted, only the parameters of the DTS instance are modified. The parameters of the database are not modified. The parameters that may be modified include but are not limited to those described in Modify instance parameters.

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.

SQL operations that can be synchronized

Operation type	SQL statement
DML	INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
DDL	ADD COLUMN Note The ADD COLUMN operation that contains attribute columns cannot be synchronized.

Permissions required for database accounts

Database type	Required permissions	Account creation and authorization method
Self-managed Oracle database	Fine-grained permissions	Prepare a database account, CREATE USER, and GRANT.

Important

If you synchronize incremental data from an Oracle database, you must enable archive logging and supplemental logging for the Oracle database to obtain incremental data. For more information, see the Configure an Oracle database section of the "Prepare an Oracle database" topic.

Synchronization process

Initial schema synchronization.
DTS synchronizes the schemas of the required objects from the source database to MaxCompute. During initial schema synchronization, DTS adds the _base suffix to the end of the source table name. For example, if the name of the source table is customer, the name of the table in MaxCompute is customer_base.
Initial full data synchronization.
DTS synchronizes the historical data of the table from the source database to the destination table in MaxCompute. For example, the customer table in the source database is synchronized to the customer_base table in MaxCompute. The data is the basis for subsequent incremental synchronization.
Note
The destination table that is suffixed with _base is known as a full baseline table.
Incremental data synchronization.
DTS creates an incremental data table in MaxCompute. The name of the incremental data table is suffixed with _log, for example, customer_log. Then, DTS synchronizes the incremental data that was generated in the source database to the incremental data table.
Note
For more information about the structure of incremental data tables, see Structure definition of incremental data tables.

Procedure

Use one of the following methods to go to the Data Synchronization page and select the region in which the data synchronization instance resides.
DTS console
1. Log on to the DTS console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Data Synchronization.
3. In the upper-left corner of the page, select the region in which the data synchronization task resides.
DMS console
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.
1. Log on to the DMS console.
2. In the top navigation bar, move the pointer over Data + AI and choose DTS (DTS) > Data Synchronization.
3. From the drop-down list to the right of Data Synchronization Tasks, select the region in which the data synchronization instance resides.
Click Create Task to go to the task configuration page.

Configure the source and destination databases. The following table describes the parameters.

Section	Parameter	Description
N/A	Task Name	The name of the DTS task. DTS automatically generates a task name. We recommend that you specify an informative name that makes it easy to identify the task. You do not need to specify a unique task name.
Source Database	Select Existing Connection	If you use a database instance that is registered with DTS, select the instance from the drop-down list. DTS automatically populates the following database parameters for the instance. For more information, see Manage database connections. Note In the DMS console, you can select the database instance from the Select a DMS database instance drop-down list. If you fail to register the instance with DTS, or you do not need to use the instance that is registered with DTS, you must configure the following database information.
	Database Type	Select Oracle.
	Access Method	Select the access method based on the deployment location of the source database. In this example, Self-managed Database on ECS is selected. Note If you select other access methods, you must set up the environment that is required for the self-managed Oracle database. For more information, see Preparation overview.
	Instance Region	The region where the source Oracle database resides.
	ECS Instance ID	The ID of the ECS instance on which the source Oracle database is deployed.
	Port Number	The service port number of the source Oracle database. Default value: 1521.
	Oracle Type	Non-RAC Instance: If you select this option, you must specify the SID parameter. RAC or PDB Instance: If you select this option, you must specify the Service Name parameter. In this example, RAC or PDB Instance is selected and Service Name is specified.
	Database Account	The account of the self-managed Oracle database. For more information about the required permissions, see the Permissions required for database accounts section of this topic.
	Database Password	The password that is used to access the database instance.
Destination Database	Select Existing Connection	If you use a database instance that is registered with DTS, select the instance from the drop-down list. DTS automatically populates the following database parameters for the instance. For more information, see Manage database connections. Note In the DMS console, you can select the database instance from the Select a DMS database instance drop-down list. If you fail to register the instance with DTS, or you do not need to use the instance that is registered with DTS, you must configure the following database information.
	Database Type	Select MaxCompute.
	Access Method	Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
	Instance Region	The region in which the destination MaxCompute project resides.
	Project	The name of the destination MaxCompute project.
	AccessKey ID of Alibaba Cloud Account	Enter the AccessKey pair that you prepared in the Prerequisites section.
	AccessKey Secret of Alibaba Cloud Account

In the lower part of the page, click Test Connectivity and Proceed. In the CIDR Blocks of DTS Servers dialog box, click Test Connectivity.
Note
Make sure that the CIDR blocks of DTS servers can be automatically or manually added to the security settings of the source and destination databases to allow access from DTS servers. For more information, see Add DTS server IP addresses to a whitelist.
Click OK to grant permissions to your MaxCompute account. Click Test Connectivity and Proceed.

Configure the objects to be synchronized.

In the Configure Objects step, configure the objects that you want to synchronize.

Parameter	Description
Synchronization Types	The synchronization types. 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 the selected objects from the source database to the destination cluster. The historical data is the basis for subsequent incremental synchronization.
Naming Rules of Additional Columns	After DTS synchronizes data to MaxCompute, DTS adds additional columns to the destination table. If an additional column has the same name as an existing column in the destination table, the data synchronization task fails and data loss can occur. You can select New Rule or Previous Rule for this parameter based on your business requirements. Warning Before you specify this parameter, check whether additional columns and existing columns in the destination table have name conflicts. For more information, see Naming rules for additional columns.
Partition Definition of Incremental Data Table	Select the partition names based on your business requirements. For more information, see Partition.
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 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 synchronized 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 potential risks. If the source and destination databases have the same schema and a data record in the destination database has the same primary key value or unique key value as a data record in the source 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. In this case, only some columns are synchronized, or the data synchronization instance 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 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 only tables as the objects to be synchronized.
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 the "Map the name of a single object" section of the Map object names topic. To rename multiple objects at a time, click Batch Edit in the upper-right corner of the Selected Objects section. For more information, see the "Map multiple object names at a time" section of the Map object names topic. Note To use a new name for the table to be synchronized after the table is synchronized to the destination project, right-click the table in the Selected Objects section and specify the name. For more information, see Map object names. To filter data, right-click the table that you want to synchronize in the Selected Objects section. In the dialog box that appears, set filter conditions. For more information, see Specify filter conditions. If you use the object name mapping feature to rename an object, other objects that are dependent on this object may fail to be synchronized.

Click Next: Advanced Settings to configure advanced settings.

Parameter	Description
Dedicated Cluster for Task Scheduling	By default, DTS schedules the task to the shared cluster if you do not specify a dedicated cluster. If you want to improve the stability of data synchronization instances, 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 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 this 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 specify different retry time ranges for multiple data synchronization tasks that have the same source or destination database, the shortest retry time range 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.
Retry Time for Other Issues	The retry time range for other issues. For example, if the DDL or DML operations fail to be performed after the data synchronization task is started, DTS immediately retries the operations within the time range. Valid values: 1 to 1440. Unit: minutes. Default value: 10. We recommend that you set this parameter to a value greater than 10. If the failed operations are successfully performed within the specified time range, DTS resumes the data synchronization task. Otherwise, the data synchronization task fails. Important The value of the Retry Time for Other Issues parameter must be smaller than the value of the Retry Time for Failed Connections parameter.
Enable Throttling for Full Data Synchronization	During full data synchronization, DTS uses the read and write resources of the source and destination databases. This may increase the load on the database servers. You can 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 for full data synchronization tasks to reduce the load on the destination database server. Note You can configure this parameter only if Full Data Synchronization is selected for the Synchronization Types parameter.
Enable Throttling for Incremental Data Synchronization	Specifies whether to enable throttling for incremental data synchronization. You can enable throttling for incremental data synchronization based on your business requirements. To configure throttling, you must configure the RPS of Incremental Data Synchronization and Data synchronization speed for incremental synchronization (MB/s) parameters. This reduces the load on the destination database server.
Actual Write Code	The encoding format in which data is written to the destination database. Select an encoding format based on your business requirements.
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, no environment tag is added.
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 synchronization instance. If the task fails or the synchronization latency exceeds the specified threshold, alert contacts will receive notifications. Valid values: No: does not enable alerting. Yes: configures alerting. In this case, you must also configure the alert threshold and alert notification settings. For more information, see the "Configure monitoring and alerting when you create a DTS task" section of the Configure monitoring and alerting topic.

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 synchronization task, DTS performs a precheck. You can start the data synchronization task only after the task passes the precheck.
- If the data synchronization task fails the precheck, click View Details next to each failed item. After you analyze the causes based on the check results, troubleshoot the issues. Then, rerun the precheck.
- 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 issue. 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.

Purchase a data synchronization instance.

Wait until the Success Rate becomes 100%. Then, click Next: Purchase Instance.

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

Section	Parameter	Description
New Instance Class	Billing Method	Subscription: You pay for a subscription when you create a data synchronization 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 billed 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 data synchronization instance, you can release the instance to reduce costs.
	Resource Group Settings	The resource group to which the data synchronization instance belongs. Default value: default resource group. For more information, see What is Resource Management?
	Instance Class	DTS provides instance classes that vary in synchronization speed. You can select an instance class based on your business requirements. For more information, see Instance classes of data synchronization instances.
	Subscription Duration	If you select the subscription billing method, specify the subscription duration and the number of data synchronization 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 Data Transmission Service (Pay-as-you-go) Service Terms.
Click Buy and Start. In the dialog box that appears, click OK.
You can view the progress of the task in the task list.

Structure definition of incremental data tables