Migrate data from an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to an Elasticsearch cluster - Data Transmission Service

This topic describes how to migrate data from an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to an Elasticsearch cluster by using Data Transmission Service (DTS).

Prerequisites

The destination Elasticsearch cluster is created. For more information, see Create an Alibaba Cloud Elasticsearch cluster.
The available storage space of the destination Elasticsearch cluster is larger than the total size of the data in the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. This ensures successful full data migration.

Limits

Note

During schema migration, DTS migrates foreign keys from the source database to the destination database.
During full data migration and incremental data migration, DTS temporarily disables the constraint check and cascade operations on foreign keys at the session level. If you perform the cascade update and delete operations on the source database during data migration, data inconsistency may occur.

Category	Description
Limits on source	The tables to be migrated 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 migrated and you need to modify the tables in the destination cluster, such as renaming tables or columns, you can migrate up to 5,000 tables in a single data migration task. If you run a task to migrate more than 5,000 tables, a request error occurs. In this case, we recommend that you configure multiple tasks to migrate the tables in batches or configure a task to migrate the entire database. If you want to migrate incremental data, the following requirements for binary logs must be met: The binary logging feature is enabled. The binlog_format parameter is set to row and the binlog_row_image parameter is set to full. Otherwise, error messages are returned during the precheck and the data migration task fails to be started. Important 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. The binary logs of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance must be stored for at least three days. We recommend that you store the binary logs seven days. The binary logs of a self-managed MySQL database must be stored for at least seven days. 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 based on the preceding requirements. Otherwise, the service reliability or performance stated in the Service Level Agreement (SLA) of DTS may not be guaranteed. Note For more information about how to set Retention Period of the binary logs of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance, see Configure parameters based on which the system automatically deletes the binary log files of an RDS instance. Limits on operations: During schema migration, do not perform DDL operations to change the schemas of databases or tables. Otherwise, the data migration task fails. In incremental data migration, an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that does not record transaction logs, such as a read-only ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL V5.6 instance, cannot be used as the source database. The data generated by change operation of binary logs, such as data restored from a physical backup or data from a cascade operation, is not recorded and migrated to the destination database when the data migration instance is running. Note If the change data is not recorded and migrated to the destination database, you can migrate full data again on the premise that your business is not affected. If the source database is MySQL database 8.0.23 or later, and the data to be migrated includes invisible columns, the data of the columns cannot be obtained and data loss occurs. Note To make the columns visible, run the `ALTER TABLE <table_name> ALTER COLUMN <column_name> SET VISIBLE;` command. For more information, see Invisible Columns. Tables that do not have primary keys automatically generate invisible primary keys. You need to make the invisible primary keys visible. For more information, see Generated Invisible Primary Keys.
Others	DTS does not support migrating INDEX, PARTITION, VIEW, PROCEDURE, FUNCTION, TRIGGER, and FK. If you want to add columns to a table in the source instance, modify the mappings of the index that corresponds to the table in the Elasticsearch cluster. Then, perform DDL operations on the source table, pause the data migration task, and then start the task again. Before you migrate data, evaluate the impact of data migration on the performance of the source and destination databases. We recommend that you migrate data during off-peak hours. During full data migration, 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 migration, concurrent INSERT operations cause fragmentation in the tables of the destination database. After full data migration is complete, the size of used tablespace of the destination database is larger than that of the source database. DTS attempts to resume data migration tasks that failed within the last seven days. Before you switch workloads to the destination instance, stop or release the failed task, or execute the `revoke` statement to revoke the write permissions from the accounts that are used by DTS to access the destination instance. Otherwise, the data in the source database overwrites the data in the destination instance after the failed task is resumed. If a table that you want to migrate contains empty strings, the data that contains empty strings in the table is written to the Elasticsearch cluster as data of the LONG type. In this case, the data migration task fails. If a table that you want to migrate contains latitude and longitude values that are stored in reverse, an error occurs when the data in the table is written to the Elasticsearch cluster. You cannot synchronize data from a MySQL database to an Elasticsearch cluster with development and test specifications or an Elasticsearch cluster for which HTTPS is enabled. If the source database is an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance for which the EncDB feature is enabled, full data migration cannot be performed. Note ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances that have the Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) feature enabled support schema migration, full data migration, and incremental data migration. If a DTS task fails to run, DTS technical support will try to restore the task within 8 hours. During the restoration, the task may be restarted, and the parameters of the task may be modified. Note Only the parameters of the task may be modified. The parameters of databases are not modified. The parameters that may be modified include but are not limited to the parameters in the "Modify instance parameters" section of the Modify the parameters of a DTS instance topic.
Special cases	If the source database is a self-managed MySQL database, take note of the following limits: If you perform a primary/secondary switchover on the source database when the data migration task is running, the task fails. DTS calculates migration latency based on the timestamp of the latest migrated 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 migration latency may be inaccurate. If the latency of the data migration 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 migrated, 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. If the source database is an Apsara RDS for MySQL instance, take note of the following limit: In incremental data migration, an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that does not record transaction logs, such as a read-only ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL V5.6 instance, cannot be used as the source database. 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

Migration type	Instance configuration fee	Internet traffic fee
Schema migration and full data migration	Free of charge.	When the Access Method parameter of the destination database is set to Public IP Address, you are charged for Internet traffic. For more information, see Billing overview.
Incremental data migration	Charged. For more information, see Billing overview.

Migration types

Schema migration
DTS migrates the schemas of the selected objects from the source database to the destination database.
Full data migration
DTS migrates the historical data of required objects from the source database to the destination database.
Incremental data migration
After full data migration is complete, DTS migrates incremental data from the source database to the destination database. Incremental data migration allows data to be migrated smoothly without interrupting the services of self-managed applications during data migration.

SQL operations that support incremental data migration

Operation type	SQL statement
DML	INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE Note DTS does not support migrating operations that use UPDATE statements to remove fields.

Data type mappings

The data types supported by the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance and those supported by the Elasticsearch cluster are different. Therefore, the data types in the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance and those in the Elasticsearch cluster do not have one-to-one mapping relationships. During initial schema migration, DTS converts the data types of the source database into the data types of the destination database. For more information, see Data type mappings between heterogeneous databases.

The following table lists the mapping between terms in Elasticsearch and relational databases.

Elasticsearch	Relational database
index	database
type	table
document	row
field	column
mapping	schema

Permissions required for database accounts

Database	Schema migration	Full data migration	Incremental data migration	References
ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance	SELECT permission	SELECT permission	REPLICATION CLIENT, REPLICATION SLAVE, SHOW VIEW, and SELECT permissions	Create an account
Elasticsearch cluster	The database account must have the read and write permissions on the objects to migrate, which is usually an elastic account.

Procedure

Use one of the following methods to go to the Data Migration page and select the region in which the data migration instance resides.
DTS console
1. Log on to the DTS console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Data Migration.
3. In the upper-left corner of the page, select the region in which the data migration instance resides.
DMS console
Note
The actual operation 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 > DTS (DTS) > Data Migration.
3. From the drop-down list to the right of Data Migration 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.

Category	Parameter	Description
N/A	Task Name	The name of the DTS task. DTS automatically generates a task name. 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 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 MySQL.
	Access Method	Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
	Instance Region	Select the region where the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance resides.
	Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts	In this example, data is migrated within the same Alibaba Cloud account. Select No.
	RDS Instance ID	Select the ID of the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
	Database Account	Enter the database account of the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. For information about the permissions that are required for the account, see the Permissions required for database accounts section of this topic.
	Database Password	The password that is used to access the database.
	Encryption	Specifies whether to encrypt the connection to the database. You can select Non-encrypted or SSL-encrypted based on your business requirements. If you want to set this parameter to SSL-encrypted, you must enable SSL encryption for the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance before you configure the DTS task. For more information, see Use a cloud certificate to enable SSL encryption.
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 Elasticsearch.
	Access Method	Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.
	Instance Region	Select the region where the destination Elasticsearch cluster resides.
	Type	Based on your actual situation, select Cluster or Serverless.
	Instance ID	Select the ID of the destination Elasticsearch cluster.
	Database Account	Enter the account that is used to connect to the Elasticsearch cluster. This account is the Username parameter that you specified when you created the Elasticsearch cluster. The default account is elastic.
	Database Password	The password that is used to access the database.
	Encryption	Based on your actual situation, select HTTP or HTTPS.

In the lower part of the page, click Test Connectivity and Proceed.
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 the CIDR blocks of DTS servers.
- If the source or destination database is a self-managed database and its Access Method is not set to Alibaba Cloud Instance, click Test Connectivity in the CIDR Blocks of DTS Servers dialog box.

Configure the objects to be migrated.

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

Parameter	Description
Migration Types	To perform only full data migration, select Schema Migration and Full Data Migration. To ensure service continuity during data migration, select Schema Migration, Full Data Migration, and Incremental Data Migration. Note If you do not select Schema Migration, make sure a database and a table are created in the destination database to receive data and the object name mapping feature is enabled in Selected Objects. If you do not select Incremental Data Migration, we recommend that you do not write data to the source database during data migration. This ensures data consistency between the source and destination databases.
Processing Mode of Conflicting Tables	Precheck and Report Errors: checks whether the destination database contains tables that use 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 migration 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 migrated 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 the following potential risks: If the source and destination databases have the same schema, and a data record has the same primary key as an existing data record in the destination database, the following scenarios may occur: During full data migration, DTS does not migrate the data record to the destination database. The existing data record in the destination database is retained. During incremental data migration, DTS migrates 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, only specific columns are migrated or the data migration task fails. Proceed with caution.
Index Name	If you select Table Name, the index created in the destination Elasticsearch cluster uses the same name as the table in the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. If you select Database Name_Table Name, the index created in the destination Elasticsearch cluster is concatenated in the format of Database name_Table name. Note The index name mapping rule takes effect for all tables.
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 make sure that the capitalization of object names is consistent with that of 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.
Selected Objects	To modify the names of the migrated fields, right-click the name of the table in the Selected Objects section. In the dialog box that appears, specify the index name and type name of the table in the destination Elasticsearch cluster, and then click OK. For more information, see Map the name of a single object. Note You can specify filter conditions to filter data. Only the data records that meet the specified conditions are migrated to the destination instance. For more information, see Filter the data to be migrated.

Click Next: Advanced Settings to configure advanced settings.

Parameter	Description
Dedicated Cluster for Task Scheduling	By default, DTS schedules the data migration task to the shared cluster if you do not specify a dedicated cluster. If you want to improve the stability of data migration tasks, 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 migration task is started, DTS immediately retries a connection within the retry time range. Valid values: 10 to 1,440. Unit: minutes. Default value: 720. We recommend that you set the parameter to a value greater than 30. If DTS is reconnected to the source and destination databases within the specified retry time range, DTS resumes the data migration task. Otherwise, the data migration task fails. Note If you specify different retry time ranges for multiple data migration tasks that share the same source or destination database, the value that is specified later 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 the earliest opportunity after the source database and destination instance are released.
Retry Time for Other Issues	The retry time range for other issues. For example, if DDL or DML operations fail to be performed after the data migration task is started, DTS immediately retries the operations within the retry time range. Valid values: 1 to 1440. Unit: minutes. Default value: 10. We recommend that you set the parameter to a value greater than 10. If the failed operations are successfully performed within the specified retry time range, DTS resumes the data migration task. Otherwise, the data migration 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.
Shard Configuration	Set the number of primary shards and replica shards based on the maximum shard configuration of indexes in the destination Elasticsearch cluster.
String Index	The method used to compile strings to the indexes of the destination Elasticsearch cluster. analyzed: The strings are analyzed before indexing. You must select a specific analyzer. For more information about the analyzer types and functions, see Built-in analyzer reference. not analyzed: The strings are indexed with the original values. no: The strings are not indexed.
Time Zone	When DTS migrates date and time data types (such as DATETIME and TIMESTAMP) to the destination Elasticsearch cluster, you can select the time zone to include. Note If the date and time data types in the destination cluster do not need a time zone, you must specify the document type for the date and time data types in the destination cluster in advance.
DOCID	The default value of this parameter is the primary key of the table in the Elasticsearch cluster. If the table does not have a primary key, the value of this parameter is the ID column that is automatically generated by Elasticsearch.
Environment Tag	The environment tag that is used to identify the instance. You can select an environment tag based on your business requirements. In this example, no environment tag is selected.
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.
Whether to delete SQL operations on heartbeat tables of forward and reverse tasks	Specifies whether to write SQL operations on heartbeat tables to the source database while the DTS instance is running. Valid values: Yes: does not write SQL operations on heartbeat tables. In this case, a latency of the DTS instance may be displayed. No: writes SQL operations on heartbeat tables. In this case, features such as physical backup and cloning of the source database may be affected.
Monitoring and Alerting	Specifies whether to configure alerting for the data migration task. If the task fails or the migration latency exceeds the specified threshold, the alert contacts receive notifications. Valid values: No: does not configure 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.

After the preceding configuration is complete, click Next: Configure Database And Table Fields at the bottom of the page. On the page that appears, set the _routing policy and _id value for the tables that you want to migrate to the destination Elasticsearch cluster.

Category	Description
Set _routing	Specifies whether to store a document on a specific shard of the destination Elasticsearch cluster. For more information, see _routing. If you select Yes, you can specify custom columns for routing. If you select No, the _id value is used for routing. Note If the version of the destination Elasticsearch cluster is 7.x, you must select No.
_routing Column	The column that is used for routing. Note This parameter is required only if the Set _routing parameter is set to Yes.
Value Of _id	The column that is used to store the IDs of documents.

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 migration task, DTS performs a precheck. You can start the data migration 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 analyze the causes based on the check results, troubleshoot the issues. Then, 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 the 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 an instance.

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

On the Purchase Instance page, configure the Instance Class parameter for the data migration instance. The following table describes the parameters.

Section	Parameter	Description
New Instance Class	Resource Group	The resource group to which the data migration instance belongs. Default value: default resource group. For more information, see What is Resource Management?
New Instance Class	Instance Class	DTS provides instance classes that vary in the migration speed. You can select an instance class based on your business scenario. For more information, see Instance classes of data migration instances.

Read and agree to Data Transmission Service (Pay-as-you-go) Service Terms by selecting the check box.
Click Buy and Start. In the message that appears, click OK.
You can view the progress of the task on the Data Migration page.
Note
- If a data migration task cannot be used to migrate incremental data, the task automatically stops. The Completed is displayed in the Status section.
- If a data migration task can be used to migrate incremental data, the task does not automatically stop. The incremental data migration task never stops or completes. The Running is displayed in the Status section.