AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is a new, fully managed service that enables migration of production Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, MariaDB, and PostgreSQL databases from on-premises data centers to AWS with virtually no downtime. DMS is a heterogeneous migration solution, meaning that migrations can be between like databases, e.g., Oracle to Oracle, or alternatively between two different databases, e.g., Oracle to PostgreSQL. If there are advanced schema objects that need to be moved, the AWS Schema Conversion Tool can be leveraged to automate this.
In the past, a migration to the cloud involved a difficult choice: either take a database out of service while copying the data (losing revenue and traffic in the process), or purchase migration tools that typically cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The AWS Database Migration Service solves this problem by reducing the complexity, cost, and downtime of database migration, making it possible to migrate terabyte-sized on-premises Oracle, SQL Server, and open source databases to the Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) or to a database running on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) for as little as $3/TB and with virtually no downtime. Basic migrations can be set up in less than 10 minutes, and DMS handles all of the tasks involved in moving data and completing the migration. DMS can also be used to move data between databases in the cloud or alternatively from the AWS cloud back to an on-premise system.
The AWS Database Migration Service can perform migrations between databases without having to install or configure any complex software. DMS monitors the progress of a replication and migration, notifies end users of any network or host failures, and automatically provisions a host replacement in the event of a failure. DMS has a complete API which supports the AWS CLI and SDK including Java, .NET, Python, and other languages. This support provides endless integration options to automate the movement of data between systems. Like most other AWS services, DMS is charged using a simple hourly fee for the compute resources used during migration.
The AWS Database Migration Service can be accessed using the AWS Management Console. It is currently available in the US East (N. Virginia), US West (Oregon), US West (N. California), EU (Ireland), EU (Frankfurt), Asia-Pacific (Singapore), Asia-Pacific (Sydney), and Asia-Pacific (Tokyo) regions and will expand to additional regions in the coming months.
This article is from IOUG Cloud Strategies E-Briefing, an information resource prepared by Database Trends and Applications Magazine and published in cooperation with the Independent Oracle Users Group. To subscribe, click here.