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    :Migrate self-managed databases to ApsaraDB RDS instances that run RDS High-availability Edition

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    :Migrate self-managed databases to ApsaraDB RDS instances that run RDS High-availability Edition

    Last Updated:May 15, 2026

    Migrate a self-managed MySQL database on an ECS instance to an ApsaraDB RDS High-availability Edition instance with Data Transmission Service (DTS).

    Prerequisites

    • A Server Load Balancer (SLB) instance is configured.
    • An ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that runs RDS High-availability Edition is created with multi-zone deployment.

    • An account is created for the RDS instance. For information about how to create an account for an RDS instance, see Create accounts and databases.

    • A non-root account is created for the self-managed database hosted on the ECS instance. The account is used for data migration by using Data Transmission Service (DTS).

      For example, you can run the following command to create an account whose username is dts and password is 123456 for a MySQL database: 

      grant all on *.*  to 'dts'@'%'  IDENTIFIED BY '123456';

    Background

    DTS migrates data between homogeneous and heterogeneous data sources with zero downtime. It supports ETL features such as data filtering and object name mapping at the database, table, and column levels. The source database continues to serve requests during migration. For supported database types, see Data migration.

    1. Navigate to the migration task list page for the destination region using one of the following methods.

      From the DTS console

      1. Log on to the Data Transmission Service (DTS) console.

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

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

      From the DMS console

      Note

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

      1. Log on to the Data Management (DMS) console.

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

      3. To the right of Data Migration Tasks, select the region where the migration instance is located.

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

    3. Configure the source and destination databases.

      Warning

      After you select the source and destination instances, we recommend that you carefully read the limits displayed at the top of the page. Otherwise, the task may fail or data inconsistency may occur.

      Section

      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

      In this example, you do not need to select an existing connection. Configure the following database information.

      Database Type

      Select MySQL.

      Access Method

      Select an access method based on the deployment location of your source database. This example uses Public IP Address.

      Note

      If your source database is a self-managed database, you must also complete the required preparations.

      Instance Region

      Select the region where the source MySQL database is located.

      Domain Name or IP

      Enter the endpoint of the source MySQL database. In this example, enter a public endpoint.

      Port Number

      Enter the service port for the source MySQL database. It must be accessible over the internet. The default is 3306.

      Database Account

      Enter the account for the source MySQL database. For the required permissions, see Permissions required for database accounts.

      Database Password

      Enter the password for the database account.

      Encryption

      Select Non-encrypted or SSL-encrypted as needed.

      • If SSL encryption is not enabled for the self-managed MySQL database, select Non-encrypted.

      • If SSL encryption is enabled for the self-managed MySQL database, select SSL-encrypted. You also need to upload a CA Certificate and enter the CA Certificate Password.

      Destination Database

      Select Existing Connection

      In this example, you do not need to select an existing connection. Configure the following database information.

      Database Type

      Select MySQL.

      Access Method

      Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.

      Instance Region

      Select the region where the destination ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance is located.

      Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts

      This example migrates data within the same Alibaba Cloud account. Select No.

      RDS Instance ID

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

      Database Account

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

      Database Password

      Enter the password for the database account.

      Encryption

      Select Non-encrypted or SSL-encrypted based on your database requirements. If you set this parameter to SSL-encrypted, you must enable SSL encryption for the RDS for MySQL instance beforehand. For more information, see Quickly enable SSL encryption using a cloud certificate.

    4. After you complete the configuration, click Test Connectivity and Proceed at the bottom of the page. In the CIDR Blocks of DTS Servers dialog box that appears, click Test Connectivity.

      Note

      Ensure that the IP address segments of the DTS service are 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.

    5. Configure the task objects.

      1. On the Configure Objects page, configure the objects that you want to migrate.

        Parameter

        Description

        Migration Types

        • If you only need to perform a full migration, select both Schema Migration and Full Data Migration.

        • To perform a migration with no downtime, select Schema Migration, Full Data Migration, and Incremental Data Migration.

        Note

        • If you do not select Schema Migration, you must ensure that a database and tables to receive the data exist in the destination database. You can also use the object name mapping feature in the Selected Objects box as needed.

        • If you do not select Incremental Data Migration, do not write new data to the source instance during data migration to ensure data consistency.

        Method to Migrate Triggers in Source Database

        Select a method to migrate triggers. You can skip this parameter if the migration does not involve triggers. For more information, see Configure a method to synchronize or migrate triggers.

        Note

        This parameter is available only if you select both Migration Types and Incremental Data Migration for Schema Migration.

        Enable Migration Assessment

        This feature assesses whether the schemas of the source and destination databases, such as index length, stored procedures, and dependent tables, meet the requirements. Select Yes or No based on your business requirements.

        Note

        • You can configure this parameter only if you select Schema Migration for Migration Types.

        • If you select Yes, the precheck may take longer. You can view the Assessment Result during the precheck. The assessment result does not affect the precheck result.

        Processing Mode of Conflicting Tables

        • Precheck and Report Errors: Checks whether tables with the same names exist in the destination database. If no tables with the same names exist, the precheck is passed. If tables with the same names exist, an error is reported during the precheck, and the data migration task does not start.

          Note

          If a table in the destination database has the same name but cannot be easily deleted or renamed, you can change the name of the table in the destination database. For more information, see Object name mapping.

        • Ignore Errors and Proceed: Skips the check for tables with the same names.

          Warning

          Selecting Ignore Errors and Proceed may cause data inconsistency and business risks. For example:

          • If the table schemas are consistent and a record in the destination database has the same primary key value as a record in the source database:

            • During full migration, DTS keeps the record in the destination database. The record from the source database is not migrated.

            • During incremental migration, DTS does not keep the record in the destination database. The record from the source database overwrites the record in the destination database.

          • If the table schemas are inconsistent, only some columns of data may be migrated, or the migration may fail. Proceed with caution.

        Whether to migrate Event

        Select whether to migrate events from the source database based on your requirements. If you select Yes, you must also follow the relevant requirements and perform additional steps. For more information, see Synchronize or migrate events.

        Capitalization of Object Names in Destination Instance

        You can configure the case sensitivity policy for the names of migrated objects, such as databases, tables, and columns, in the destination instance. By default, DTS default policy is selected. You can also choose to keep the case sensitivity consistent with the default policy of the source or destination database. For more information, see Case sensitivity of object names in the destination database.

        Source Objects

        Select one or more objects from the Source Objects section. Click the Rightwards arrow icon and add the objects to the Selected Objects section.

        Note

        The granularity for selecting migration objects is database, table, and column. If you select only tables or columns as migration objects, other objects such as views, triggers, and stored procedures are not migrated to the destination database.

        Selected Objects
        Note

        • Using the object name mapping feature may cause migrations for dependent objects to fail.

        • To filter data by using a WHERE condition, right-click the table to be migrated in the Selected Objects section and configure the filter condition in the dialog box that appears. For more information, see Filter data to be migrated.

        • To select the SQL operations to be migrated at the database or table level, right-click the migration object in the Selected Objects section and select the desired SQL operations in the dialog box that appears.

      2. Click Next: Advanced Settings to configure advanced parameters.

        Parameter

        Description

        Dedicated Cluster for Task Scheduling

        By default, DTS schedules tasks on a shared cluster. You do not need to select one. If you want more stable tasks, you can purchase a dedicated cluster to run DTS migration tasks.

        Copy the temporary table of the Online DDL tool that is generated in the source table to the destination database.

        If you use Data Management (DMS) or gh-ost to perform online DDL changes in the source database, you can choose whether to migrate the data from the temporary tables generated by the online DDL changes.

        Important

        • DTS tasks do not support using tools such as pt-online-schema-change to perform online DDL changes. Otherwise, the DTS task fails.

        • The processing methods for each phase are as follows: The Schema Migration and Full Data Migration phases do not allow DDL operations that change the database or table structure. Therefore, they are not controlled by the online DDL policy.

          • Schema Migration: Not controlled by the online DDL policy. Related temporary tables are created.

          • Full Data Migration: Not controlled by the online DDL policy. The migration of temporary tables is not included in the full migration objects. All tables whose names match the regular expression (^_(.+)_(?:gho|new)$ or ^_(.+)_(?:ghc|del|old)$) are filtered out.

          • Incremental Data Migration: Controlled by the online DDL policy.

            • Yes: Migrates data changes from temporary tables (for example, _table_name_gho) generated by online DDL operations.

            • No, Adapt to DMS Online DDL and No, Adapt to gh-ost: Filters out data changes from temporary tables (for example, _table_name_gho) generated by tools such as gh-ost based on regular expression rules.

        • Yes: Migrates the data from the temporary tables generated by online DDL changes.

          Note

          If online DDL changes generate a large amount of data in temporary tables, it may cause task latency.

        • No, Adapt to DMS Online DDL: Does not migrate the data from the temporary tables generated by online DDL changes. It only migrates the original DDL statements executed using Data Management (DMS).

          Note

          This option causes tables in the destination database to be locked.

        • No, Adapt to gh-ost: Does not migrate the data from the temporary tables generated by online DDL changes. It supports custom filtering rules. DTS filters out data changes from temporary tables (for example, _table_name_gho) generated by tools such as gh-ost based on regular expression rules. You can modify the default regular expressions used to match shadow and useless tables as needed:

          • Shadow table: ^_(.+)_(?:gho|new)$

          • Useless table: ^_(.+)_(?:ghc|del|old)$

          Note

          This option causes tables in the destination database to be locked.

        Whether to Migrate Accounts

        Select whether to migrate account information from the source database based on your requirements. If you select Yes, you must also select the accounts to be migrated and confirm their permissions.

        Retry Time for Failed Connections

        After the migration task starts, if the connection to the source or destination database fails, 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 1440 minutes. We recommend that you set the duration to more than 30 minutes. If DTS reconnects to the source and destination databases within the specified duration, the migration task automatically resumes. Otherwise, the task fails.

        Note

        • For multiple DTS instances that share the same source or destination, the network retry time is determined by the setting of the last created task.

        • Because you are charged for the task during the connection retry period, we recommend that you customize the retry time based on your business needs, or release the DTS instance as soon as possible after the source and destination database instances are released.

        Retry Time for Other Issues

        After the migration task starts, if a non-connectivity issue, such as a DDL or DML execution exception, occurs in the source or destination database, DTS reports an error and immediately begins to retry the operation. The default retry duration is 10 minutes. You can customize the retry time to a value from 1 to 1440 minutes. We recommend that you set the duration to more than 10 minutes. If the related operations succeed within the specified retry duration, the migration task automatically resumes. Otherwise, the task fails.

        Important

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

        Enable Throttling for Full Data Migration

        During full migration, DTS consumes read and write resources on the source and destination databases, which may increase the database load. If required, you can enable throttling for the full migration task. You can set Queries per second (QPS) to the source database, RPS of Full Data Migration, and Data migration speed for full migration (MB/s) to reduce the load on the destination database.

        Note

        • This configuration item is available only if you select Full Data Migration for Migration Types.

        • You can also adjust the full migration speed after the migration instance is running.

        Enable Throttling for Incremental Data Migration

        If required, you can also choose to set speed limits for the incremental migration task. You can set RPS of Incremental Data Migration and Data migration speed for incremental migration (MB/s) to reduce the load on the destination database.

        Note

        • This configuration item is available only if you select Incremental Data Migration for Migration Types.

        • You can also adjust the incremental migration speed after the migration instance is running.

        Environment Tag

        You can select an environment tag to identify the instance. In this example, you do not need to select one.

        Whether to delete SQL operations on heartbeat tables of forward and reverse tasks

        Choose whether DTS writes heartbeat SQL information to the source database while the instance is running.

        • Yes: Does not write heartbeat SQL information to the source database. The DTS instance may display latency.

        • No: Writes heartbeat SQL information to the source database. This may interfere with source database operations like physical backups and cloning.

        Configure ETL

        Based on your business needs, select whether to configure the ETL feature to process data.

        • Yes: Configures the ETL feature. You must also enter data processing statements in the text box.

        • No: Does not configure the ETL feature.

        Monitoring and Alerting

        Select whether to set alerts and receive alert notifications based on your business needs.

        • No: Does not set an alert.

        • Yes: Configure alerts by setting an alert threshold and an alert notifications. If a migration fails or the latency exceeds the threshold, the system sends an alert notification.

      3. Click Next: Data Validation to configure a data validation task.

        For more information about the data validation feature, see Configure data validation.

    6. Save the task and run a precheck.

      • To view the parameters for configuring this instance when you call the API operation, move the pointer over the Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck button and click Preview OpenAPI parameters in the bubble that appears.

      • If you do not need to view or have finished viewing the API parameters, click Next: Save Task Settings and Precheck at the bottom of the page.

      Note

      • Before the migration task starts, DTS performs a precheck. The task starts only after it passes the precheck.

      • If the precheck fails, click View Details next to the failed check item, fix the issue based on the prompt, and then run the precheck again.

      • If a warning is reported during the precheck:

        • For check items that cannot be ignored, click View Details next to the failed item, fix the issue based on the prompt, and then run the precheck again.

        • For check items that can be ignored, you can click Confirm Alert Details, Ignore, OK, and Precheck Again to skip the alert item and run the precheck again. If you choose to ignore a warning, it may cause issues such as data inconsistency and pose risks to your business.

    7. Purchase the instance.

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

      2. On the Purchase page, select the link specification for the data migration instance. For more information, see the following table.

        Category

        Parameter

        Description

        New Instance Class

        Resource Group Settings

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

        Instance Class

        DTS provides migration specifications with different performance levels. The link specification affects the migration speed. You can select a specification based on your business scenario. For more information, see Data migration link specifications.

      3. After the configuration is complete, read and select 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 view the progress of the task on the Migration Tasks page.

        Note

        • If the migration task does not include incremental migration, it stops automatically after the full migration is complete. After the task stops, its Status changes to Completed.

        • If the migration task includes incremental migration, it does not stop automatically. The incremental migration task continues to run. While the incremental migration task is running, the Status of the task is Running.

        • If you need to switch workloads, do so during off-peak hours when the migration instance has low or no latency. For more information, see Switch workloads.

    Next steps

    Configure the endpoint, account, and password of the RDS instance in your applications. You can use Data Management (DMS) or the MySQL client to manage the instance. See Connect to an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.