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Data Transmission Service:Migrate from PolarDB-X 2.0 to Elasticsearch

Last Updated:Feb 13, 2026

This topic describes how to use Data Transmission Service (DTS) to migrate data from PolarDB-X 2.0 to an Elasticsearch instance.

Prerequisites

  • A source PolarDB-X 2.0 instance is created.

  • A destination Elasticsearch instance is created. For more information, see Create an Alibaba Cloud Elasticsearch instance.

  • For the versions supported by the source and destination instances, see Overview of migration scenarios.

  • The storage space of the destination Elasticsearch instance must be larger than that of the source PolarDB-X 2.0 instance.

Notes

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 constraint checks and foreign key cascade operations at the session level. If cascade update or delete operations occur in the source database while the task is running, data inconsistency may occur.

Type

Description

Source database limits

  • Bandwidth requirements: The server that hosts the source database must have sufficient outbound bandwidth. Otherwise, the data migration speed is affected.

  • Read-only instances of PolarDB-X 2.0 Enterprise Edition are not supported as the source.

  • The tables to be migrated must have primary keys or UNIQUE constraints, and the fields must be unique. Otherwise, duplicate data may appear in the destination database.

  • If you migrate data at the table level and need to edit the tables, such as mapping column names, a single data migration task supports a maximum of 1,000 tables. If you exceed this limit, an error is reported when you submit the task. In this case, split the tables into multiple batches and configure a separate task for each batch, or configure a task to migrate the entire database.

  • For incremental migration, binary logs:

    • Binary logging must be enabled, and the binlog_row_image parameter must be set to full. Otherwise, an error is reported during the precheck, and the data migration task cannot start.

    • For an incremental migration task, Data Transmission Service (DTS) requires that the binary logs on the source database are retained for at least 24 hours. For a task that includes both full migration and incremental migration, DTS requires that the binary logs on the source database are retained for at least 7 days. After the full migration is complete, you can change the retention period to 24 hours or more. If the retention period is shorter than required, the DTS task may fail because it cannot obtain the binary logs. In extreme cases, data inconsistency or data loss may occur. Issues caused by a binary log retention period that is shorter than the required period are not covered by the Service-Level Agreement (SLA).

  • If the names of tables to be migrated in the PolarDB-X 2.0 instance contain uppercase letters, only schema migration is supported.

  • Source database operation limits:

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

      Note

      During full migration, DTS queries the source database. This creates a metadata lock, which may block DDL operations on the source database.

    • To switch the network type of the PolarDB-X 2.0 instance during migration, update the network connection information for the migration link after the switch is successful.

    • If you perform only full data migration, do not write new data to the source instance. Otherwise, data inconsistency occurs between the source and destination. To maintain real-time data consistency, select Schema Migration, Full Data Migration, and Incremental Data Migration.

  • Migration of table groups and databases or tables that have the Locality property is not supported.

  • Migration of tables whose names are reserved words, such as select, is not supported.

  • In a PolarDB-X 2.0 instance, synchronization of database partitions in DRDS mode is not supported.

Other limits

  • To add a column to a table to be migrated from the source database, first modify the mapping of the corresponding table in the Elasticsearch instance. Then, perform the corresponding DDL operation in the source database. Finally, pause and restart the migration task.

  • You cannot migrate data to an index that has a parent-child relationship or a Join field type mapping in the destination instance. Otherwise, the task may become abnormal or data queries in the destination instance may fail.

  • Development and test specifications of Elasticsearch instances are not supported.

  • Evaluate the performance of the source and destination databases before migration. Migrate data during off-peak hours. During full data migration, DTS consumes read and write resources on the source and destination databases. This may increase the database load.

  • Full data migration involves concurrent INSERT operations. This causes fragmentation in the tables of the destination database. As a result, the storage space used by the tables in the destination database is larger than that in the source instance after full migration is complete.

  • DTS attempts to resume failed migration tasks that are less than seven days old. Before you switch your business to the destination instance, you must end or release the task. You can also revoke the write permissions of the account that DTS uses to access the destination instance using the revoke command. This prevents the source data from overwriting the data in the destination instance if the task is automatically resumed.

  • If a task fails, DTS support staff will attempt to restore it within eight hours. During restoration, they may restart the task or adjust its parameters.

    Note

    Only DTS task parameters are modified—not database parameters. Parameters that may be adjusted include those listed in Modify instance parameters.

Other notes

DTS periodically updates the `dts_health_check`.`ha_health_check` table in the source database to advance the binary log offset.

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 schema definitions of the migration objects from the source database to the destination database.

  • Full migration

    DTS migrates all historical data of the specified migration objects from the source database to the destination database.

  • Incremental migration

    After a full migration is complete, DTS migrates incremental data updates from the source database to the destination database. Incremental migration lets you smoothly migrate data without interrupting your self-managed applications.

SQL operations supported by incremental migration

Operation type

SQL statement

DML

INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE

Note

Operations that use the UPDATE statement to remove fields are not supported.

Account permissions

Database

Schema migration

Full migration

Incremental migration

Source PolarDB-X 2.0 instance

SELECT permission

SELECT permission

REPLICATION SLAVE, REPLICATION CLIENT, and SELECT permissions on the objects to be migrated.

Note

For more information about how to grant permissions, see Account permission issues during data synchronization.

Destination Elasticsearch instance

The database account must have read and write permission. Typically, this is the elastic account.

Data type mappings

  • Because source databases and Elasticsearch instances support different data types, data types cannot always be mapped directly. During initial schema synchronization, DTS maps data types based on the types that the destination Elasticsearch instance supports. For more information, see Data type mappings for initial schema synchronization.

    Note

    DTS does not set the mapping parameter in the dynamic during schema migration. The behavior of this parameter depends on your Elasticsearch instance settings. If your source data is in JSON format, ensure that the values for the same key have the same data type across all rows in a table. Otherwise, DTS may report synchronization errors. For more information, see dynamic.

  • The following table describes the mappings between Elasticsearch and relational databases.

    Elasticsearch

    Relational database

    Index

    Database

    Type

    Table

    Document

    Row

    Field

    Column

    Mapping

    Database schema

Procedure

  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.

    Category

    Configuration

    Description

    None

    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

    • To use a database instance that has been added to the system (created or saved), select the desired database instance from the drop-down list. The database information below will be automatically configured.

      Note

      In the DMS console, this parameter is named Select a DMS database instance..

    • If you have not registered the database instance with the system, or do not need to use a registered instance, manually configure the database information below.

    Database Type

    Select PolarDB-X 2.0.

    Connection Type

    Select Cloud Instance.

    Instance Region

    Select the region where the source PolarDB-X 2.0 instance resides.

    Replicate Data Across Alibaba Cloud Accounts

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

    Instance ID

    Select the ID of the source PolarDB-X 2.0 instance.

    Database Account

    Enter the database account of the source PolarDB-X 2.0 instance. For permission requirements, see Account permissions.

    Database Password

    Enter the password for the database account.

    Destination Database

    Select Existing Connection

    • To use a database instance that has been added to the system (created or saved), select the desired database instance from the drop-down list. The database information below will be automatically configured.

      Note

      In the DMS console, this parameter is named Select a DMS database instance..

    • If you have not registered the database instance with the system, or do not need to use a registered instance, manually configure the database information below.

    Database Type

    Select Elasticsearch.

    Connection Type

    Select Cloud Instance.

    Instance Region

    Select the region where the destination Elasticsearch instance resides.

    Type

    Select Cluster or Serverless based on your needs.

    Instance ID

    Select the ID of the destination Elasticsearch instance.

    Database Account

    Enter the database account of the destination Elasticsearch instance (the default account is elastic). For permission requirements, see Account permissions.

    Database Password

    Enter the password for the database account.

    Encryption

    Select HTTP or HTTPS as needed.

  4. After you complete the configuration, click Test Connectivity and Proceed at the bottom of the page.

    Note
    • Ensure that the IP address segment of the DTS service is 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.

    • If the source or destination database is a self-managed database (the Access Method is not Alibaba Cloud Instance), you must also click Test Connectivity in the CIDR Blocks of DTS Servers dialog box that appears.

  5. Configure the task objects.

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

      Configuration

      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.

      Index Name

      • Table Name

        If you select Table Name, the index name created in the destination Elasticsearch instance matches the table name. In this example, the index name is order.

      • Database_Table

        If you select Database_Table, the index name created in the destination Elasticsearch instance is database_table. In this example, the index name is dtstest_order.

      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.

      Capitalization of Object Names in Destination Instance

      You can configure the case policy for database, table, and column names of migration objects in the destination instance. By default, DTS Default Policy is selected. You can also select a policy that matches the source or destination database. For more information, see Case conversion policy for destination object names.

      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 schema, 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

      • 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 Individual table column mapping.

      • 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
      • Index and type names support only underscores (_) as special characters.

      • If you use the object name mapping feature, migration of other objects that depend on this object may fail.

      • To filter data using a WHERE clause, right-click the table to be migrated in Selected Objects and set filter conditions in the dialog box that appears. For more information, see Filter task data using SQL conditions.

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

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

      Configuration

      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.

      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

      Select an environment tag to identify the instance based on your needs. This example does not require a selection.

      Shard Configuration

      Set the number of primary and replica shards for indexes based on the maximum shard configuration of indexes in the destination Elasticsearch instance.

      String Index

      Specify how strings are indexed when migrated to the destination Elasticsearch instance.

      • analyzed: Analyze the string before indexing. You must also select a specific analyzer. For analyzer types and functions, see Analyzers.

      • not analyzed: Do not analyze the string. Index the original value directly.

      • no: Do not index the string.

      Time Zone

      When DTS migrates time-type data (such as DATETIME and TIMESTAMP) to the destination Elasticsearch instance, you can specify the time zone.

      Note

      If time-type data in the destination instance does not require a time zone, set the document type (type) for this time-type data in the destination instance before migration.

      DOCID

      By default, DOCID is the primary key of the table. If the table has no primary key, DOCID is the ID column automatically generated by Elasticsearch.

      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

      Choose whether to enable the extract, transform, and load (ETL) feature. For more information, see What is ETL? Valid values:

      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. After you complete the preceding configurations, click Next: Configure Database and Table Fields at the bottom of the page to set the `_routing` policy and `_id` value for the tables to be migrated in the destination Elasticsearch instance.

      Type

      Description

      Set _routing

      Setting _routing can route and store documents on a specific shard of the destination Elasticsearch instance. For more information, see _routing.

      • Select Yes to use custom columns for routing.

      • Select No to use the _id for routing.

      Note

      If the destination Elasticsearch instance is version 7.x, you must select No.

      Value of _id

      • Primary key column of the table

        A composite primary key is merged into a single column.

      • Business primary key

        If you select Business primary key, you must also set the corresponding Business primary key column.

  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. In the OK dialog box that appears, click OK.

      You can view the progress of the migration task on the Data Migration Tasks list 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.

View migrated indexes and data

After the data migration task enters the Running state, use the data visualization tool Kibana to connect to the Elasticsearch instance and verify that the created indexes and migrated data meet your business expectations. For logon methods, see Log on to the Kibana console.

Note

If the results do not meet your business expectations, delete the index and its data, and reconfigure the data migration task.