Data Transmission Service:Synchronize data from a self-managed MySQL database hosted on ECS to an Elasticsearch cluster

Usage notes

• DTS uses read and write resources of the source and destination RDS instances during initial full data synchronization. This may increase the loads of the RDS instances. If the instance performance is unfavorable, the specification is low, or the data volume is large, database services may become unavailable. For example, DTS occupies a large amount of read and write resources in the following cases: a large number of slow SQL queries are performed on the source RDS instance, the tables have no primary keys, or a deadlock occurs in the destination RDS instance. Before data synchronization, evaluate the impact of data synchronization on the performance of the source and destination RDS instances. We recommend that you synchronize data during off-peak hours. For example, you can synchronize data when the CPU utilization of the source and destination RDS instances is less than 30%.

• DTS does not synchronize DDL operations. If a DDL operation is performed on a table in the source database during data synchronization, you must perform the following operations: Remove the table from the objects to be synchronized, delete the index for the table from the Elasticsearch cluster, and then add the table to the objects to be synchronized. For more information, see Remove an object from a data synchronization task and Add an object to a data synchronization task.

• To add columns to a table that you want to synchronize, perform the following operations: Modify the mappings of the table in the Elasticsearch cluster, perform DDL operations in the source MySQL database, and then pause and start the data synchronization task.

• If a table that you want to synchronize 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 synchronization task fails.

• If a table that you want to synchronize 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.

Billing

SQL operations that can be synchronized

INSERT, DELETE, and UPDATE

Data type mappings

The data types of MySQL databases and Elasticsearch clusters do not have one-to-one correspondence. During initial schema synchronization, DTS converts the data types of the source database into the data types of the destination cluster. For more information, see Data type mappings for initial schema synchronization.

Before you begin

Create an account for a self-managed MySQL database and configure binary logging

Procedure

1. Purchase a data synchronization instance. For more information, see Purchase a DTS instance.

   Note

   On the buy page, set the Source Instance parameter to MySQL, set the Destination Instance parameter to Elasticsearch, and then set the Synchronization Topology parameter to One-Way Synchronization.

2. Log on to the DTS console.

   Note

   If you are redirected to the Data Management (DMS) console, you can click the icon in the to go to the previous version of the DTS console.

3. In the left-side navigation pane, click Data Synchronization.

4. In the upper part of the Synchronization Tasks page, select the region in which the destination instance resides.

5. Find the data synchronization instance and click Configure Task in the Actions column.

6. Configure the source and destination instances.

   

   Section	Parameter	Description
   N/A	Synchronization Task Name	The task name that DTS automatically generates. We recommend that you specify a descriptive name that makes it easy to identify the task. You do not need to use a unique task name.
   Source Instance Details	Instance Type	The access method of the source database. Select User-Created Database in ECS Instance.
   	Instance Region	The source region that you selected on the buy page. The value of this parameter cannot be changed.
   	ECS Instance ID	The ID of the ECS instance on which the self-managed MySQL database is deployed.
   	Database Type	The value of this parameter is set to MySQL and cannot be changed.
   	Port Number	The service port number of the self-managed MySQL database.
   	Database Account	The account of the self-managed MySQL database. Note The account must have the SELECT permission on the objects to be synchronized, the REPLICATION CLIENT permission, the REPLICATION SLAVE permission, and the SHOW VIEW permission.
   	Database Password	The password of the database account.
   Destination Instance Details	Instance Type	The value of this parameter is set to Elasticsearch and cannot be changed.
   	Instance Region	The destination region that you selected on the buy page. The value of this parameter cannot be changed.
   	Elasticsearch	The ID of the Elasticsearch cluster.
   	Database Account	The account that is used to connect to the Elasticsearch cluster. The default account is elastic.
   	Database Password	The password of the account.

7. In the lower-right corner of the page, click Set Whitelist and Next.

   If the source or destination database is an Alibaba Cloud database instance, such as an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL or ApsaraDB for MongoDB instance, DTS automatically adds the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the IP address whitelist of the instance. If the source or destination database is a self-managed database hosted on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, DTS automatically adds the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the security group rules of the ECS instance, and you must make sure that the ECS instance can access the database. If the self-managed database is hosted on multiple ECS instances, you must manually add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the security group rules of each ECS instance. If the source or destination database is a self-managed database that is deployed in a data center or provided by a third-party cloud service provider, you must manually add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers to the IP address whitelist of the database to allow DTS to access the database. For more information, see Add the CIDR blocks of DTS servers.

   Warning

   If the CIDR blocks of DTS servers are automatically or manually added to the whitelist of the database or instance, or to the ECS security group rules, security risks may arise. Therefore, before you use DTS to synchronize data, you must understand and acknowledge the potential risks and take preventive measures, including but not limited to the following measures: enhancing the security of your username and password, limiting the ports that are exposed, authenticating API calls, regularly checking the whitelist or ECS security group rules and forbidding unauthorized CIDR blocks, or connecting the database to DTS by using Express Connect, VPN Gateway, or Smart Access Gateway.

8. Configure the index name, the processing mode of identical index names, and the objects to be synchronized.

   

   Parameter or setting	Description
   Index Name	Table Name If you select Table Name, the name of the index that is created in the Elasticsearch cluster is the same as the name of the table. In this example, the index name is customer. DatabaseName_TableName If you select DatabaseName_TableName, the name of the index that is created in the Elasticsearch cluster is <Database name>_<Table name>. In this example, the index name is dtstestdata_customer.
   Processing Mode In Existed Target Table	Pre-check and Intercept: checks whether the destination cluster contains indexes that have the same names as the source tables. If the destination cluster does not contain indexes that have the same names as the source tables, the precheck is passed. Otherwise, an error is returned during the precheck and the data synchronization task cannot be started. Note If indexes in the destination cluster have the same names as the source tables and cannot be deleted or renamed, you can use the object name mapping feature. For more information, see Rename an object to be synchronized. Ignore: skips the precheck for indexes in the destination cluster that have the same names as the source tables. Warning If you select Ignore, data inconsistency may occur and your business may be exposed to potential risks. If the source database and destination cluster have the same mappings and the primary key of a record in the destination cluster is the same as that in the source database, the record remains unchanged during initial data synchronization. However, the record is overwritten during incremental data synchronization. If the source database and destination cluster have different mappings, initial data synchronization may fail. In this case, only some columns are synchronized or the data synchronization task fails.
   Select the objects to be synchronized	Select one or more objects from the Available section and click the icon to add the objects to the Selected section. You can select tables or databases as the objects to be synchronized.
   Rename Databases and Tables	You can use the object name mapping feature to rename the objects that are synchronized to the destination instance. For more information, see Object name mapping.
   Replicate Temporary Tables When DMS Performs DDL Operations	If you use DMS to perform online DDL operations on the source database, you can specify whether to synchronize temporary tables generated by online DDL operations. Yes: DTS synchronizes the data of temporary tables generated by online DDL operations. Note If online DDL operations generate a large amount of data, the data synchronization task may be delayed. No: DTS does not synchronize the data of temporary tables generated by online DDL operations. Only the original DDL data of the source database is synchronized. Note If you select No, the tables in the destination database may be locked.
   Retry Time for Failed Connections	By default, if DTS fails to connect to the source or destination database, DTS retries within the next 720 minutes (12 hours). You can specify the retry time based on your needs. If DTS reconnects to the source and destination databases within the specified time, DTS resumes the data synchronization task. Otherwise, the data synchronization task fails. Note When DTS retries a connection, you are charged for the DTS instance. We recommend that you specify the retry time based on your business needs. You can also release the DTS instance at your earliest opportunity after the source and destination instances are released.

9. In the Selected section, move the pointer over a table and select Edit. In the Edit Table dialog box, configure parameters for the table in the Elasticsearch cluster, such as the index name and type name.

   

   Parameter or setting	Description
   Index Name	For more information, see Terms. Warning An index name or a type name can contain only underscores (_) as special characters. To synchronize multiple source tables with the same schema to a destination object, you must repeat this step to set the same index name and type name for the tables. Otherwise, the data synchronization task fails or data loss occurs.
   Type Name
   Filter	The SQL conditions that you specify to filter data. Only the data records that meet the specified conditions are synchronized to the destination cluster. For more information, see Set filter conditions.
   IsPartition	Specifies whether to configure partitions. If you select Yes, you must also specify the partition key column and number of partitions.
   Settings_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 7.4, you must select No.
   _id value	Primary key column Multiple columns are merged into one composite primary key. Business key If you select a business key, you must also specify the business key column.
   add param	You can click add param to add a row. In each row, specify the column parameter and parameter value. For more information, see Mapping parameters in the Elasticsearch documentation. Note DTS supports only the parameters that are displayed in the column param drop-down list.

10. In the lower-right corner of the page, click Precheck.

    Note

    • Before you can start the data synchronization task, DTS performs a precheck. You can start the data synchronization task only after the task passes the precheck.

    • If the task fails to pass the precheck, you can click the icon next to each failed item to view details.

      • After you troubleshoot the issues based on the details, initiate a new precheck.

      • If you do not need to troubleshoot the issues, ignore the failed items and initiate a new precheck.

11. Close the Precheck dialog box after the following message is displayed: Precheck Passed. Then, the data synchronization task starts.

12. Wait until initial synchronization is complete and the data synchronization task enters the Synchronizing state.

    You can view the status of the data synchronization task on the Synchronization Tasks page.

Check the index and data

If the data synchronization task is in the Synchronizing state, you can connect to the Elasticsearch cluster by using the Elasticsearch-Head plug-in. Then, you can check whether the index is created and data is synchronized as expected. For more information, see Use Cerebro to access an Elasticsearch cluster.