All Products
Search
Document Center

Data Transmission Service:Migrate data from an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance to a MaxCompute project

Last Updated:Mar 21, 2025

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

Prerequisites

Limits

Note

DTS does not migrate foreign keys from the source to the destination database. As a result, operations like cascade and delete in the source database are not replicated to the destination database.

Limit type

Description

Limits on the source database

  • 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 want to edit the tables, such as renaming tables or columns, you can migrate up to 1,000 tables in a single data migration task. If you run a task to migrate more than 1,000 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.

  • The binary logging feature must be enabled for the ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. The binlog_format parameter must be set to row, and the binlog_row_image parameter must be set to full. For more information, see Modify instance parameters. Otherwise, error messages are returned during precheck and the data migration task cannot be started.

  • During schema migration and full data migration, do not perform DDL operations to change the schemas of databases or tables. Otherwise, the data migration task fails.

  • If you do not select Incremental Data Migration as a migration type, make sure that no data is written to the source database during data migration. Otherwise, data inconsistency may occur between the source and destination databases. To ensure data consistency, we recommend that you select Schema Migration, Full Data Migration, and Incremental Data Migration as the migration types.

  • 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.

Other limits

  • We recommend that you do not use tools such as pt-online-schema-change to perform DDL operations on objects during data migration. Otherwise, data migration may fail.

  • DTS uses the ROUND(COLUMN,PRECISION) function to retrieve values from columns of the FLOAT or DOUBLE data type. If you do not specify a precision, DTS sets the precision for the FLOAT data type to 38 digits and the precision for the DOUBLE data type to 308 digits. You must check whether the precision settings meet your business requirements.

  • 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 database, stop or release the data migration task. You can also execute the REVOKE statement to revoke the write permissions from the account used by DTS to access the destination database. Otherwise, the data in the source database overwrites the data in the destination database after the task is resumed.

  • 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

Task configuration fee

Internet traffic fee

Schema migration and full data migration

Free of charge

Charged only when data is migrated from Alibaba Cloud over the Internet. 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 required objects from the source database to MaxCompute. During schema synchronization, DTS adds the _base suffix to the end of the source table name. For example, if the name of the source table is customer, the name of the table in MaxCompute is customer_base.

  • Full data migration

    DTS migrates the historical data of the table from the source database to the destination table in MaxCompute. For example, the customer table in the source database is migrated to the customer_base table in MaxCompute. The data is the basis for subsequent incremental synchronization.

    Note

    The destination table that is suffixed with _base is known as a full baseline table.

  • Incremental data migration

    DTS creates an incremental data table in MaxCompute. The name of the incremental data table is suffixed with _log, such as customer_log. Then, DTS migrates the incremental data that was generated in the source database to the incremental data table.

    Note

    For more information, see Schema of an incremental data table.

SQL operations that can be migrated during incremental data migration

Operation type

SQL statement

DML

INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE

DDL

ADD COLUMN

Note

The ADD COLUMN operation that contains attribute columns cannot be migrated.

Permissions required for database accounts

Database

Schema migration

Full data migration

Incremental data migration

RDS MySQL

SELECT permission

SELECT permission

The SELECT permission on the objects to be migrated, the REPLICATION SLAVE permission, and the REPLICATION CLIENT permission. DTS automatically grants these permissions to the database account.

MaxCompute

Read and write permissions

For more information about how to create a database account and grant permissions to the database account of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance, see Create an account and Modify account permissions.

Procedure

  1. 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.

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

  3. Configure the source and destination databases. The following table describes the parameters.

    Section

    Parameter

    Description

    N/A

    Task Name

    The task name that DTS automatically generates. We recommend that you specify a descriptive name that makes it easy to identify. You do not need to specify a unique task name.

    Source Database

    Select Existing Connection

    The instance that you want to use. You can choose whether to use 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 use an existing instance, you must configure the database information below.

    Note

    Database Type

    The type of the source database. Select MySQL.

    Access Method

    The access method of the source database. Select Cloud Instance.

    Instance Region

    Select the region in which the source ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance resides.

    Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts

    In this example, a database instance of the current Alibaba Cloud account is used. Select No.

    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. For information about the permissions that are required for the account, see Permissions required for database accounts.

    Database Password

    The password that is used to access the database instance.

    Encryption

    Specifies whether to encrypt the connection to the source database instance. 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

    The instance that you want to use. You can choose whether to use 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 use an existing instance, you must configure the database information below.

    Note

    Database Type

    The type of the destination database. Select MaxCompute.

    Access Method

    The access method of the destination database. Select Alibaba Cloud Instance.

    Instance Region

    The region in which the destination MaxCompute project resides.

    Project

    The name of the MaxCompute project.

    AccessKey ID of Alibaba Cloud Account

    The AccessKey ID and secret of the Alibaba Cloud account to which the destination MaxCompute project belongs. For more information, see the section Prerequisites of this topic.

    AccessKey Secret of Alibaba Cloud Account

  4. 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.

  5. Click OK to grant permissions to your MaxCompute account.

  6. Configure the objects to be migrated.

    1. 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.

      Naming Rules of Additional Columns

      After DTS migrates data to MaxCompute, DTS adds additional columns to the destination table. You can select New Rule or Previous Rule for this parameter based on your business requirements.

      Warning

      Before you specify this parameter, check whether additional columns and existing columns in the destination table have name conflicts. For more information, see the Naming rules for additional columns section of the Modify the naming rules for additional columns topic.

      Partition Definition of Incremental Data Table

      Select the partition names based on your business requirements. For more information, see Partition.

      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.

      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. Click the Rightwards arrow icon and add the objects to the Selected Objects section.

      Note

      You can select tables as the objects to be migrated.

      Selected Objects

      • To rename an object that you want to migrate 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.

      Note
      • If you use the object name mapping feature to rename an object, other objects that are dependent on the object may fail to be migrated.

      • To specify WHERE conditions to filter data, right-click a table in the Selected Objects section. In the dialog box that appears, specify the conditions. For more information, see Specify filter conditions.

      • To select SQL operations performed on a specific database or table, right-click an object in the Selected Objects section. In the dialog box that appears, select the SQL operations that you want to migrate. For more information, see the SQL operations that can be incrementally synchronized section of this topic.

    2. 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.

      Enable Throttling for Full Data Migration

      Specifies whether to enable throttling for full data migration. During full data migration, DTS uses the read and write resources of the source and destination databases. This may increase the loads of the database servers. You can enable throttling for full data migration based on your business requirements. To configure throttling, you must configure the Queries per second (QPS) to the source database, RPS of Full Data Migration, and Data migration speed for full migration (MB/s) parameters. This reduces the loads of the destination database server.

      Note

      You can configure this parameter only if you select Full Data Migration for the Migration Types parameter.

      Enable Throttling for Incremental Data Migration

      Specifies whether to enable throttling for incremental data migration. To configure throttling, you must configure the RPS of Incremental Data Migration and Data migration speed for incremental migration (MB/s) parameters. This reduces the loads of the destination database server.

      Note

      You can configure this parameter only if you select Incremental Data Migration for the Migration Types parameter.

      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.

      Environment Tag

      The environment tag that is used to identify the DTS 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:

      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:

  7. 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.

  8. Purchase an instance.

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

    2. 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?

      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.

    3. Read and agree to Data Transmission Service (Pay-as-you-go) Service Terms by selecting the check box.

    4. Click Buy and Start. In the message that appears, click OK.

      You can view the progress of the task on the Data Migration page.

Schema of an incremental data table

Note

You must run the set odps.sql.allow.fullscan=true; command in MaxCompute to allow full table scan for the MaxCompute project.

DTS migrates incremental data that is generated in the source MySQL database to the incremental data table in MaxCompute. The incremental data table stores incremental data and specific metadata. The following table shows the schema of an incremental data table.

Field

Description

record_id

The record ID of the incremental log, which is the unique identifier of the log.

Note
  • The ID auto-increments for each new log entry.

  • If an UPDATE operation is performed, DTS generates two incremental log entries to record the pre-update and post-update values. The values of the record_id field in the two incremental log entries are the same.

operation_flag

The operation type. Valid values:

  • I: an INSERT operation.

  • D: a DELETE operation.

  • U: a UPDATE operation.

utc_timestamp

The operation timestamp in UTC. It is also the timestamp of the binary log file.

before_flag

Indicates whether the column values are pre-update values. Valid values: Y and N.

after_flag

Indicates whether the column values are post-update values. Valid values: Y and N.