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Data Transmission Service:Synchronize ApsaraDB for MongoDB to RDS for MySQL

Last Updated:Jun 21, 2026

Data Transmission Service (DTS) synchronizes data from MongoDB to a MySQL database. This topic describes how to synchronize data from an ApsaraDB for MongoDB replica set to an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

Prerequisites

  • If the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance is a sharded cluster, apply for an endpoint for each shard node and ensure they all use the same account and password. For more information, see Apply for a shard endpoint.

  • Create a target ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance with more storage space than is used by the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance. For instructions, see Create an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

    Note

    The target instance should have at least 10% more storage space than is used by the source database.

  • In the target ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance, create a database and a table with a primary key to store the data. For more information, see Manage databases.

    Important
    • Ensure the column data types in the target table are compatible with the source data. For example, if the _id field in the source MongoDB instance is an ObjectId, the corresponding column in the target ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance must be varchar.

    • Column names in the target ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL table cannot be _id or _value.

Notes

Type

Description

Source database limits

  • Bandwidth requirement: The server where your source database resides must have sufficient outbound bandwidth. Otherwise, synchronization speed may be affected.

  • To edit objects (such as rename collections), one synchronization task supports up to 1,000 collections. If you exceed this limit, the task fails with an error after submission. To resolve this, split the collections into batches and configure multiple tasks. Or configure a full-database synchronization task.

  • If your source MongoDB is a sharded cluster instance, the _id field in the collections to synchronize must have unique values. Otherwise, data inconsistency may occur.

  • If your source MongoDB is a sharded cluster instance, the number of Mongos nodes cannot exceed 10. Also ensure no orphaned documents exist in your MongoDB sharded cluster instance. Otherwise, data inconsistency or task failure may occur. For more information, see orphaned documents and How to clean orphaned documents in MongoDB (sharded cluster architecture).

  • If your source instance is a self-managed MongoDB sharded cluster:

    • Access Method supports only Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway and Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN).

    • If your MongoDB version is 8.0 or later and Migration Method is Oplog, ensure the Shard account used by the synchronization task has the directShardOperations permission. Add this permission using the command db.adminCommand({ grantRolesToUser: "username", roles: [{ role: "directShardOperations", db: "admin"}]}).

      Note

      Replace username in the command with the Shard account used by the synchronization task.

    • If Migration Method is Oplog and the task includes full data synchronization, ensure the Mongos account for your source MongoDB sharded cluster has permission to run the db.runCommand({"balancerStatus":1}) command. DTS checks whether the Balancer is disabled using this command during precheck.

  • Your source database does not support standalone MongoDB, Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB, or Amazon DocumentDB (elastic cluster).

  • Your source database must enable Oplog and retain Oplog for at least seven days. Or enable Change Streams and ensure DTS can subscribe to data changes in the last seven days through Change Streams. Otherwise, DTS may fail to capture data changes, causing task failure. In extreme cases, this may cause data inconsistency or loss. These issues are not covered by the DTS Service-level agreement (SLA).

    Important
    • We recommend using Oplog to capture data changes.

    • Only MongoDB 4.0 and later support Change Streams. Change Streams do not support two-way synchronization.

    • If your source database is Amazon DocumentDB (non-elastic cluster), manually enable Change Streams. When you configure the task, set Migration Method to ChangeStream and set Architecture to Sharded Cluster.

  • Source database operation limits:

    • During full data synchronization, do not change the schema of databases or collections (including array-type data updates). Otherwise, the synchronization task may fail or cause data inconsistency between the source and destination databases.

    • If your source MongoDB is a sharded cluster instance, while the synchronization instance is running, do not run commands that change data distribution on the objects to synchronize in the source database (for example, shardCollection, reshardCollection, unshardCollection, moveCollection, or movePrimary). Otherwise, data inconsistency may occur.

  • If your source MongoDB is a sharded cluster and the Balancer balances data, latency may occur.

  • DTS does not support connecting to MongoDB databases using SRV addresses.

Other limits

  • Only collection-level synchronization is supported.

  • The table in the destination RDS MySQL instance that receives data must have a unique primary key column (not a composite primary key). When you configure sync fields in the Selected Objects section, the Assignment for this primary key column must be bson_value("_id").

  • The table that receives data in the target RDS MySQL instance must not have fields named _id and _value, or synchronization fails.

  • If data types in the RDS MySQL instance are incompatible with MongoDB, the task will fail.

  • DTS does not support synchronizing data from the admin, config, and local databases.

  • Transaction information is not preserved. Transactions in the source database become individual records in the destination database.

  • If your data includes four-byte characters—such as rare Chinese characters or emojis—the destination database and table must use the utf8mb4 charset.

    Note

    If you use DTS to synchronize table schemas, set the character_set_server parameter at the instance level in the destination database to utf8mb4.

  • Evaluate the performance of both the source and destination databases before synchronization. Run synchronization during off-peak hours. Otherwise, full data synchronization consumes read and write resources, increasing database load.

  • Full data synchronization runs INSERT operations concurrently. This creates fragmentation in the destination database collection. After full synchronization, the collection storage space in the destination database is larger than in the source instance.

  • Confirm that DTS synchronization precision for FLOAT or DOUBLE columns meets your business expectations. DTS reads these columns using ROUND(COLUMN,PRECISION). If precision is not defined, DTS uses 38 digits for FLOAT and 308 digits for DOUBLE.

  • DTS attempts to recover failed synchronization tasks within seven days. Before switching traffic to the destination instance, end or release the task. Or use the revoke command to revoke write permissions for the DTS account on the destination instance. This prevents automatic recovery from overwriting destination data with source data.

  • DTS calculates incremental synchronization latency by comparing the timestamp of the last synchronized document with the current timestamp. If the source database has no updates for a long time, latency information may be inaccurate. If latency appears too high, run an update operation in the source database to refresh latency information.

  • DTS does not support synchronizing time-series collections introduced in MongoDB 5.0 and later.

  • If a task fails, DTS support staff will attempt to restore it within eight hours. During restoration, they may restart the task or adjust its parameters.

    Note

    Only DTS task parameters are modified—not database parameters. Parameters that may be adjusted include those listed in Modify instance parameters.

Billing

Type

Fee

Full data synchronization

Free.

Incremental data synchronization

Charged. For details, see Billing overview.

Synchronization type description

Type

Description

Full data synchronization

Synchronizes all existing data from the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance to the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

Incremental data synchronization

After full data synchronization, incremental updates from the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance are synchronized to the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

Note
  • Supports only the insert, update, and delete operations on documents in a collection.

  • For document updates, it replicates only operations that use the $set command.

Database account permissions

Database

Permissions

Actions

Source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance

Read permissions on the databases to be synchronized, the admin database, and the local database.

Account management

Target ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance

Read and write permissions on the target database.

Create an account and Modify account permissions

Steps

  1. Go to the data synchronization task list page in the destination region. You can do this in one of two ways.

    DTS console

    1. Log on to the DTS console.

    2. In the navigation pane on the left, click Data Synchronization.

    3. In the upper-left corner of the page, select the region where the synchronization instance is located.

    DMS console

    Note

    The actual steps may vary depending on the mode and layout of the DMS console. For more information, see Simple mode console and Customize DMS console layout and style.

    1. Log on to the DMS console.

    2. In the top menu bar, choose Data + AI > DTS (DTS) > Data Synchronization.

    3. To the right of Data Synchronization Tasks, select the region of the synchronization instance.

  2. Click Create Task to open the task configuration page.

  3. Configure the source and destination databases.

    Category

    Parameter

    Description

    N/A

    Task Name

    DTS automatically generates a task name. We recommend that you specify a descriptive name for easy identification. The name does not need to be unique.

    Source Database

    Select Existing Connection

    • Select the registered database instance with DTS from the drop-down list. The database information below is automatically configured.

      Note

      In the DMS console, this configuration item is Select a DMS database instance.

    • If you have not registered the database instance or do not need to use a registered instance, manually configure the database information below.

    Database Type

    Select MongoDB.

    Access Method

    Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.

    Instance Region

    Select the region of the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.

    Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts

    For this example, select No, as the database instance belongs to the current Alibaba Cloud account.

    Architecture

    In this example, select Replica Set.

    Note

    If your source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance is a Sharded Cluster, you must also specify the Shard account and Shard password.

    Migration Method

    Select a method for incremental data synchronization based on your requirements.

    • Oplog (Recommended):

      This option is available if Oplog is enabled for the source database.

      Note

      Oplog is enabled by default for self-managed MongoDB databases and ApsaraDB for MongoDB instances. This method offers lower latency for incremental synchronization tasks because logs are retrieved faster. We recommend selecting Oplog.

    • ChangeStream:

      This option is available if Change Streams are enabled for the source database.

      Note
      • If the source database is an Amazon DocumentDB (non-elastic cluster) instance, you can select only ChangeStream.

      • If you set Architecture of the source database to Sharded Cluster, you do not need to specify Shard account and Shard password.

    Instance ID

    Select the ID of the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance.

    Authentication Database

    Enter the name of the database to which the database account belongs in the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance. The default value is admin.

    Database Account

    Enter the database account of the source ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance. For information about the required permissions, see Permissions required for database accounts.

    Database Password

    Enter the password for the specified database account.

    Encryption

    DTS supports three connection methods: Non-encrypted, SSL-encrypted, and Mongo Atlas SSL. The options for Encryption vary based on the selected Access Method and Architecture. The options displayed in the console prevail.

    Note
    • A MongoDB database where the Architecture is Sharded Cluster and the Migration Method is Oplog does not support SSL-encrypted.

    • If the source is a self-managed MongoDB database (Access Method is not Alibaba Cloud Instance) with a Replica Set architecture, and you select SSL-encrypted, DTS also allows you to upload a CA certificate to verify the connection.

    Destination Database

    Select Existing Connection

    • Select the registered database instance with DTS from the drop-down list. The database information below is automatically configured.

      Note

      In the DMS console, this configuration item is Select a DMS database instance.

    • If you have not registered the database instance or do not need to use a registered instance, manually configure the database information below.

    Database Type

    Select MySQL.

    Access Method

    Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.

    Instance Region

    Select the region of the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

    Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts

    For this example, select No, as the database instance belongs to the current Alibaba Cloud account.

    RDS Instance ID

    Select the ID of the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

    Database Account

    Enter the database account for the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. For information about the required permissions, see Permissions required for database accounts.

    Database Password

    Enter the password for the specified database account.

    Encryption

    Select Non-encrypted or SSL-encrypted as needed. If you set this to SSL-encrypted, you must enable SSL encryption for the RDS for MySQL instance beforehand. For more information, see Use a cloud certificate to quickly enable SSL link encryption.

  4. After completing the configuration, click Test Connectivity and Proceed at the bottom of the page.

    Note
    • Ensure that you add the CIDR blocks of the DTS servers (either automatically or manually) to the security settings of both the source and destination databases to allow access. For more information, see Add the IP address whitelist of DTS servers.

    • If the source or destination is a self-managed database (i.e., the Access Method is not Alibaba Cloud Instance), you must also click Test Connectivity in the CIDR Blocks of DTS Servers dialog box.

  5. Configure the task objects.

    1. On the Configure Objects page, specify the objects to synchronize.

      Parameter

      Description

      Synchronization Types

      By default, Incremental Data Synchronization is selected, which supports only Full Data Synchronization. Schema Synchronization is not supported. After the precheck is complete, DTS initializes the synchronization objects in the destination cluster with data from the source instance. This initial data serves as the baseline for subsequent incremental synchronization.

      Processing Mode of Conflicting Tables

      • Precheck and Report Errors: Checks if the destination database contains collections with the same names. If a collection with a duplicate name is found, an error is reported during the precheck phase and the data synchronization task does not start. Otherwise, the precheck is successful.

        Note

        If you cannot delete or rename the collection with the same name in the destination database, you can use the object name mapping feature to change the collection name in the destination database. For more information, see Set the name of a synchronization object in the destination instance.

      • Ignore Errors and Proceed: Skips checking for collections with the same name in the destination database.

        Warning

        Selecting Ignore Errors and Proceed may cause data inconsistency and put your business at risk. For example:

        • If a record in the destination database has the same primary key or unique key value as a record in the source database, the record in the destination database is retained. The record from the source database is not synchronized to the destination database.

        • Data initialization may fail, only some data may be synchronized, or the synchronization may fail.

      Capitalization of Object Names in Destination Instance

      You can configure the case policy for database and collection object names in the destination instance. By default, the DTS default policy is selected. Alternatively, you can match the default policy of the source or destination database. For more information, see Case policy for destination object names.

      Source Objects

      In the Source Objects box, click the objects, and then click 向右 to move them to the Selected Objects box.

      Note

      You can select objects only at the collection level.

      Selected Objects

      1. Map database names.

        1. In the Selected Objects box, right-click the database that contains the collections to be synchronized.

        2. Change the Schema Name to the name of the destination database in the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

        3. Click OK.

      2. Map table names.

        1. In the Selected Objects box, right-click the collection to be synchronized.

          In this example, the tree path of the destination object is dtsdb > Table > class.

        2. Change the Table Name to the name of the table that will receive data in the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

        3. Optional: Set filter conditions for full data synchronization. For more information, see Set filter conditions.

          For ApsaraDB for MongoDB, the syntax for filter conditions is different from standard SQL WHERE clauses. For example, to filter by user ID, enter {"_id": {$gt:"user100844658590795**",$lte:"user101674868045948**"}}. In this example, gt means "greater than", and lte means "less than or equal to".

        4. Optional: In the Select DDL and DML Operations to Be Synchronized area, select the operations for incremental data synchronization.

          The selectable DML operations include insert, update, and delete. The selectable DDL operations include CREATE TABLE, DROP TABLE, and ALTER TABLE.

      3. Configure the fields to be synchronized from MongoDB.

        DTS automatically maps the data of the collections to be synchronized and configures an expression in the Parameter Value column. You must check whether the expression meets your requirements and configure parameters such as Column Name, Type, Length, and Precision.

        Important
        • You must assign the value bson_value("_id") to the primary key column of the destination table.

        • When you configure a bson_value() expression, you must specify the path down to the lowest-level subfield in the hierarchy. Otherwise, data loss or task failure may occur.

        1. In the bson_value() expression in the Parameter Value column, view the name of the field in MongoDB.

          The field name within "" is the field name in MongoDB. For example, if the expression is bson_value("age"), the corresponding field in MongoDB is age.

        2. Optional: Delete the fields that you do not need to synchronize.

          Note

          To delete a field that you do not want to synchronize, click image in the row for that field.

        3. Configure the fields to be synchronized.

          Follow the steps below that correspond to your bson_value() expression.

          Valid expressions

          1. Enter a Column Name.

            Note

            This is the column name in the destination table of the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

          2. Select a data Type for the column.

            Important

            Make sure that the data type of the destination table is compatible with the source MongoDB data. For information about data type mappings, see Data type mapping.

          3. Optional: Configure the Length and Precision of the column data.

          4. Repeat the preceding steps to map all relevant fields.

          Invalid expressions

          Note

          For example, fields with a hierarchical (parent-child) structure.

          1. In the Operation column, click image in the row for the field.

          2. Click + Add Column.

          3. Configure the Column Name, Type, Length, and Precision.

          4. In the text box under Parameter Value, enter a bson_value() expression. For more information, see Value assignment examples.

          5. Repeat the preceding steps to map all relevant fields.

      4. Click OK.

    2. Click Next: Advanced Settings.

      Parameter

      Description

      Dedicated Cluster for Task Scheduling

      By default, DTS uses a shared cluster for tasks, so you do not need to make a selection. For greater task stability, you can purchase a dedicated cluster to run the DTS synchronization task. For more information, see What is a DTS dedicated cluster?.

      Retry Time for Failed Connections

      If the connection to the source or destination database fails after the synchronization task starts, DTS reports an error and immediately begins to retry the connection. The default retry duration is 720 minutes. You can customize the retry time to a value from 10 to 1,440 minutes. We recommend a duration of 30 minutes or more. If the connection is restored within this period, the task resumes automatically. Otherwise, the task fails.

      Note
      • If multiple DTS instances (e.g., Instance A and B) share a source or destination, DTS uses the shortest configured retry duration (e.g., 30 minutes for A, 60 for B, so 30 minutes is used) for all instances.

      • DTS charges for task runtime during connection retries. Set a custom duration based on your business needs, or release the DTS instance promptly after you release the source/destination instances.

      Retry Time for Other Issues

      If a non-connection issue (e.g., a DDL or DML execution error) occurs, DTS reports an error and immediately retries the operation. The default retry duration is 10 minutes. You can also customize the retry time to a value from 1 to 1,440 minutes. We recommend a duration of 10 minutes or more. If the related operations succeed within the set retry time, the synchronization task automatically resumes. Otherwise, the task fails.

      Important

      The value of Retry Time for Other Issues must be less than that of Retry Time for Failed Connections.

      Enable Throttling for Full Data Synchronization

      During full data synchronization, DTS consumes read and write resources from the source and destination databases, which can increase their load. To mitigate pressure on the destination database, you can limit the migration rate by setting Queries per second (QPS) to the source database, RPS of Full Data Migration, and Data migration speed for full migration (MB/s).

      Note

      Only one data type for primary key _id in a table of the data to be synchronized

      Specifies whether the primary key _id has a single, consistent data type within each collection to be synchronized.

      Important
      • Select an option based on your actual data. An incorrect selection may lead to data loss.

      • This parameter is available only if Synchronization Types includes Full Data Synchronization.

      • Yes: The data types are unique. During the full synchronization phase, DTS does not scan the data types of the primary keys in the source data. For each collection, DTS synchronizes only the data corresponding to one primary key data type.

      • No: The data types are not unique. During the full synchronization phase, DTS scans the data types of the primary keys in the source data and synchronizes all the data.

      Enable Throttling for Incremental Data Synchronization

      You can also limit the incremental synchronization rate to reduce pressure on the destination database by setting RPS of Incremental Data Synchronization and Data synchronization speed for incremental synchronization (MB/s).

      Environment Tag

      You can select an environment tag to identify the instance based on your business requirements. This parameter is not required in this example.

      Configure ETL

      Choose whether to enable the extract, transform, and load (ETL) feature. For more information, see What is ETL? Valid values:

      Monitoring and Alerting

      Choose whether to set up alerts. If the synchronization fails or the latency exceeds the specified threshold, DTS sends a notification to the alert contacts.

  6. Save the task and perform a precheck.

    • To view the parameters for configuring this instance via an API operation, hover over the Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck button and click Preview OpenAPI parameters in the tooltip.

    • If you have finished viewing the API parameters, click Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck at the bottom of the page.

    Note
    • Before a synchronization task starts, DTS performs a precheck. You can start the task only if the precheck passes.

    • If the precheck fails, click View Details next to the failed item, fix the issue as prompted, and then rerun the precheck.

    • If the precheck generates warnings:

      • For non-ignorable warning, click View Details next to the item, fix the issue as prompted, and run the precheck again.

      • For ignorable warnings, you can bypass them by clicking Confirm Alert Details, then Ignore, and then OK. Finally, click Precheck Again to skip the warning and run the precheck again. Ignoring precheck warnings may lead to data inconsistencies and other business risks. Proceed with caution.

  7. Purchase the synchronization instance.

    1. When the Success Rate reaches 100%, click Next: Purchase Instance.

    2. On the Purchase page, select the billing method and link specifications for the data synchronization instance. For more information, see the following table.

      Category

      Parameter

      Description

      New Instance Class

      Billing Method

      • Subscription: You pay upfront for a specific duration. This is cost-effective for long-term, continuous tasks.

      • Pay-as-you-go: You are billed hourly for actual usage. This is ideal for short-term or test tasks, as you can release the instance at any time to save costs.

      Resource Group Settings

      The resource group to which the instance belongs. The default is default resource group. For more information, see What is Resource Management?.

      Instance Class

      DTS offers synchronization specifications at different performance levels that affect the synchronization rate. Select a specification based on your business requirements. For more information, see Data synchronization link specifications.

      Subscription Duration

      In subscription mode, select the duration and quantity of the instance. Monthly options range from 1 to 9 months. Yearly options include 1, 2, 3, or 5 years.

      Note

      This option appears only when the billing method is Subscription.

    3. Read and select the checkbox for Data Transmission Service (Pay-as-you-go) Service Terms.

    4. Click Buy and Start, and then click OK in the OK dialog box.

      You can monitor the task progress on the data synchronization page.

Data Type Mapping

MongoDB Data Type

MySQL Data Type

ObjectId

VARCHAR

String

VARCHAR

Document

VARCHAR

DbPointer

VARCHAR

Array

VARCHAR

Date

DATETIME

TimeStamp

DATETIME

Double

DOUBLE

32-bit integer (BsonInt32)

INTEGER

64-bit integer (BsonInt64)

BIGINT

Decimal128

DECIMAL

Boolean

BOOLEAN

Null

VARCHAR

Value Configuration Examples

Source MongoDB Data Structure

{
  "_id":"62cd344c85c1ea6a2a9f****",
  "person":{
    "name":"neo",
    "age":26,
    "sex":"male"
  }
}

Destination MySQL Table Structure

Column Name

Type

mongo_id

varchar

Note

Primary key column.

person_name

varchar

person_age

decimal

New Column Configuration

Important

You must specify the full hierarchical path in the bson_value() expression to prevent data loss or task failure. For example, if you set the expression to bson_value("person"), DTS cannot synchronize incremental data from the subfields of the person object (such as name, age, and sex) to the destination.

Column Name

Type

Assignment

mongo_id

STRING

bson_value("_id")

person_name

STRING

bson_value("person","name")

person_age

DECIMAL

bson_value("person","age")