Synchronize data from an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to a Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance - Data Transmission Service

This topic describes how to synchronize data from an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to a ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance by using Data Transmission Service (DTS).

Prerequisites

The source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance and the destination ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance are created.
Note
- For more information about how to create an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance, see Create an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
- For more information about the supported instance versions, see Overview of data synchronization scenarios.
In the destination ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance, a topic is created to receive synchronized data. For more information, see Step 1: Create a topic.
The available storage space of the destination ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance is larger than the total size of data in the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.

Limits

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

Category	Description
Limits on the source database	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 you select tables as the objects to be synchronized and you need to edit the tables, 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, or configure a task to synchronize the entire database. The following requirements for binary logs must be met: The binary logging feature is enabled by default. The binlog_row_image parameter must be set to full. Otherwise, error messages are returned during precheck and the data synchronization task cannot be started. For more information, see Modify the parameters of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. Important If the source database is a self-managed MySQL database, you must enable the binary logging feature and set the binlog_format parameter to row and the binlog_row_image parameter to full. If the source database is a self-managed MySQL database deployed in a dual-primary cluster, you must set the log_slave_updates parameter to ON. This ensures that DTS can obtain all binary logs. For more information, see Create an account for a self-managed MySQL database and configure binary logging. If you perform only incremental data synchronization, the binary logs of the source database are retained for at least 24 hours. If you perform both full data synchronization and incremental data synchronization, the binary logs of the source database are retained for at least seven days. After full data synchronization is complete, you can set the retention period to more than 24 hours. Otherwise, DTS may fail to obtain the binary logs and the task may fail. In exceptional circumstances, data inconsistency or loss may occur. Make sure that you configure the retention period of binary logs in accordance with the preceding requirements. Otherwise, the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of DTS does not guarantee service reliability or performance. For more information about binary log files of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance, see View and delete the binary log files of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
Usage notes	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 read and write resources of the source and destination databases. This may increase the loads on the database servers. During initial full data synchronization, concurrent INSERT operations cause fragmentation in the tables of the destination database. After initial full data synchronization is complete, the size of the used tablespace of the destination database is larger than that of the source database. If you select one or more tables instead of an entire database as the objects to be synchronized, do not use tools such as pt-online-schema-change to perform DDL operations on the tables during data synchronization. Otherwise, data may fail to be synchronized. You can use Data Management (DMS) to perform online DDL operations. For more information, see Perform lock-free DDL operations. 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. For example, if you use tools other than DTS to write data to the destination database, data loss may occur in the destination database when you use DMS to perform online DDL operations. During data synchronization, if the destination Kafka database is scaled, you need to restart the instance.
Special cases	If the source database is a self-managed MySQL database, take note of the following items: If you perform a primary/secondary switchover on the source database when the data synchronization task is running, the task fails. 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 an extended period of 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 be synchronized, you can create a heartbeat table. The heartbeat table is updated or receives data every second. DTS executes the CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS 'test' statement in the source database as scheduled to move forward the binary log file position.

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.

Size limit of a single record

The maximum size of a single record that can be written to Kafka is 10 MB. Therefore, if a row of source data exceeds 10 MB, the relevant DTS task will be interrupted because DTS cannot write the record to Kafka. In this scenario, we recommend that you do not synchronize the whole tables that contain large fields and synchronize only some fields of the tables. When you configure a DTS task, you must exclude the records of these large fields. If tables that contain large fields are included in the objects of the task, you must remove the tables, add the tables to the objects again, and then set filter conditions to exclude the large fields.

Supported synchronization topologies

One-way one-to-one synchronization
One-way one-to-many synchronization
One-way many-to-one synchronization

For more information about the synchronization topologies that are supported by DTS, see Synchronization topologies.

SQL operations that can be synchronized

Operation type	SQL statement
DML	INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
DDL	CREATE TABLE, ALTER TABLE, DROP TABLE, RENAME TABLE, and TRUNCATE TABLE CREATE VIEW, ALTER VIEW, and DROP VIEW CREATE PROCEDURE, ALTER PROCEDURE, and DROP PROCEDURE CREATE FUNCTION, DROP FUNCTION, CREATE TRIGGER, and DROP TRIGGER CREATE INDEX and DROP INDEX

Procedure

Note This procedure is described based on the new version of the DTS console. In the event of discrepancies in operations between the DTS console and the DTS module in the Data Management Service (DMS) console, the DMS console takes precedence.

Go to the Data Synchronization page of the new DTS console.
Note
You can also log on to the Data Management (DMS) console. In the top navigation bar, click DTS. In the left-side navigation pane, choose DTS (DTS) > Data Synchronization.
In the upper-left corner of the page, select the region in which you want to create the data synchronization task.

Click Create Task. On the page that appears, configure the source and destination databases.

Warning

After you configure the source and destination databases, we recommend that you read the limits that are displayed in the upper part of the page. Otherwise, the task may fail or data inconsistency may occur.

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	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 MySQL.
	Access Method	The access method of the source database. Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
	Instance Region	The region in which the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance resides.
	Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts	Specifies whether to synchronize data across Alibaba Cloud accounts. In this example, No is selected.
	RDS Instance ID	The ID of the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
	Database Account	The database account of the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. The account must have read permissions on the objects to be synchronized.
	Database Password	The password of the database account.
	Encryption	Specifies whether to encrypt the connection to the database. Select Non-encrypted or SSL-encrypted based on your business requirements. If you select SSL-encrypted, you must enable SSL encryption for the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance before you configure the data synchronization task. For more information, see Configure SSL encryption for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
Destination Database	Select an existing DMS database instance	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 Kafka.
	Access Method	The access method of the destination database. Select Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway. Note You cannot select ApsaraMQ for Kafka as the instance type. You can use Message Queue for Apache Kafka as a self-managed Kafka instance to configure data synchronization.
	Instance Region	The region in which the destination ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance resides.
	Connected VPC	The ID of the virtual private cloud (VPC) to which the destination ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance belongs. To obtain the VPC ID, perform the following operations: Log on to the Message Queue for Apache Kafka console and go to the Instance Details page of the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance. In the Configuration Information section, view the VPC ID.
	IP Address	An IP address that is included in the Default Endpoint parameter of the ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance. Note To obtain an IP address, perform the following operations: Log on to the Message Queue for Apache Kafka console and go to the Instance Details page of the ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance. In the Endpoint Information section, obtain an IP address from the Default Endpoint parameter.
	Port Number	The service port number of the destination ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance. The default port number is 9092.
	Database Account	The username of the database account of the destination ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance. Note If the ApsaraMQ for Kafka instance is a VPC-connected instance, you do not need to set the Database Account or Database Password parameter.
	Database Password	The password of the database account.
	Kafka Version	The version of the destination Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance.
	Encryption	Specifies whether to encrypt the connection. Select Non-encrypted or SCRAM-SHA-256 based on your business and security requirements.
	Topic	Select a topic from the drop-down list.
	Topic That Stores DDL Information	The topic used to store the DDL information. Select a topic from the drop-down list. If you do not specify this parameter, the DDL information is stored in the topic that is specified by the Topic parameter.
	Use Kafka Schema Registry	Specifies whether to use Kafka Schema Registry, which provides a serving layer for your metadata. It provides a RESTful API for storing and retrieving your Avro schemas. Valid values: No: does not use Kafka Schema Registry. Yes: uses Kafka Schema Registry. In this case, you must enter the URL or IP address that is registered in Kafka Schema Registry for your Avro schemas.

If a whitelist is configured for your self-managed database, add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the whitelist. Then, click Test Connectivity and Proceed.
Note 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.

Configure objects to synchronize and advanced settings.

Basic Settings

Parameter	Description
Synchronization Type	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 selected objects from the source instance to the destination instance. The historical data is the basis for subsequent incremental synchronization.
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 You can use the object name mapping feature to rename the tables that are synchronized to the destination database. You can use this feature if the source and destination databases contain identical table names and the tables 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 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 schemas, and a data record has the same primary key value as an existing data record in the destination 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, only some columns are synchronized, or the data synchronization task fails. Operate with caution. 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 collections that have identical collection names, the precheck is passed. Otherwise, an error is returned during the precheck and the data synchronization task cannot be started. Note You can use the object name mapping feature to rename the collections that are synchronized to the destination database. You can use this feature if the source and destination databases contain collections that have identical names and the collections in the destination database cannot be deleted or renamed. For more information, see Rename an object to be synchronized. 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 synchronize data records that have the same primary key values as data records in the destination database. Data may fail to be initialized, only some columns are synchronized, or the data synchronization task fails. 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. 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 schemas, and a data record has the same primary key value as an existing data record in the destination 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, only some columns are synchronized, or the data synchronization task fails. Operate with caution.
Data Format in Kafka	The format in which data is stored in the Message Queue for Apache Kafka instance. If you select DTS Avro, data is parsed based on the schema definition of DTS Avro. For more information, visit GitHub. If you select Canal Json, data is stored in the Canal JSON format. For more information about the related parameters and examples, see the "Canal JSON" section in Data formats of a Kafka cluster.
Policy for Shipping Data to Kafka Partitions	Select a synchronization policy for data synchronized to Kafka partitions based on your business requirements. For more information, see the Specify the policy for migrating data to Kafka partitions section of this topic.
Select 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.
Rename Databases and Tables	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 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.
Filter data	You can specify WHERE conditions to filter data. For more information, see Use SQL conditions to filter data.
Select the SQL operations to be synchronized	In the Selected Objects section, right-click an object. In the dialog box that appears, select the DML and DDL operations that you want to synchronize. For more information, see SQL operations that can be synchronized.

Advanced Settings

Parameter	Description
Set Alerts	Specifies whether to configure alerting for the data synchronization task. If the task fails or the synchronization latency exceeds the specified threshold, alert contacts will receive notifications. Valid values: No: does not configure alerting. Yes: configures alerting. In this case, you must also configure the alert threshold and alert contacts. For more information, see Configure monitoring and alerting when you create a DTS task.
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.
Specify the retry time range 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 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 synchronization task. Otherwise, the data synchronization task fails. Note If you set different retry time ranges for multiple DTS tasks that have the same source or destination database, the shortest retry time range that is set 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.

Click Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck in the lower part of the page.
You can move the pointer over Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck and click Preview OpenAPI parameters to view the parameter settings of the API operation that is called to configure the instance.
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 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.
Wait until the success rate becomes 100%. Then, click Next: Purchase Instance.

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

Section	Parameter	Description
New Instance Class	Billing Method	Subscription: You pay for the instance when you create an 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 charged 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 instance, you can release the pay-as-you-go instance to reduce costs.
	Resource Group	The resource group on which the instance is run. Default value: default resource group. For more information, see What is Resource Management?.
	Instance Class	DTS provides various synchronization specifications that provide different performance. The synchronization speed varies based on the synchronization specifications that you select. You can select a synchronization specification based on your business scenario. For more information, see Specifications of data synchronization instances.
	Subscription Duration	If you select the subscription billing method, set the subscription duration and the number of 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 the check box to agree to the Data Transmission Service (Pay-as-you-go) Service Terms.
Click Buy and Start to start the data synchronization task. You can view the progress of the task in the task list.