Migrate Data into Autonomous Database on Dedicated Exadata Infrastructure

Data migration is moving data with or without its schema from one system, location, or application to another. One classic example of data migration is when you decide to adopt Autonomous Database for your organization and move the existing historical data from the current database to Autonomous Database.

Data migration is different from loading sample data or a small volume of data into your database. It usually involves large volumes of data and can be a one-time activity or periodic activity depending on the requirement. See Data Loading Options to explore the different options available for loading sample data into Autonomous Database.

Data Migration Overview

Oracle provides several options to migrate your data to an Autonomous Database on Dedicated Exadata Infrastructure. Autonomous Database on Dedicated Exadata Infrastructure on dedicated infrastructure lets you perform manual data export and import from:
  • On-premise database, system, or data source
  • SaaS applications
  • Third-party data source
  • Data lakes (Hadoop)
  • Other Oracle Database Cloud Services

Description of data_migration.eps follows

When migrating to Autonomous Database, you can:
  • Use traditional tools such as Oracle SQL*Loader and Oracle Data Pump to migrate your source databases into Autonomous Database.
  • Use Data Migration Service (DMS) for simple data migration of large databases that require low migration downtime.
  • Use Zero Downtime Migration (ZDM) tool for secure migration to Autonomous Database on Public Cloud and Exadata Cloud@Customer.
  • Use Oracle Object Storage to manage, load, and upload large volumes of data.
  • Provide the source data in various formats such as SQL Loader text files, export-import dump files, CSV, JSON, Parquet files.
  • Load data into Autonomous Database by attaching external Network File System (NFS) devices provided by the customer or Oracle Cloud Infrastructure File System Service (OCI FSS) using DBMS_CLOUD_ADMIN.

Migration Prerequisites

As a prerequisite, it is recommended that you run the Cloud Premigration Advisor Tool (CPAT) to help you evaluate the compatibility of the source database with the Autonomous Database. CPAT identifies potential actions you may need to take before or during the migration, prioritizing their importance and suggesting resolutions. Some migration tools and services automatically run this advisor. Refer to Cloud Premigration Advisor Tool for more information.

Migration Options

There are multiple options available to move your data into an Autonomous Database on Dedicated Infrastructure in the public cloud as well as Cloud@Customer.

These options are listed below along with a table to pick the right option based on customer use case.
  • Oracle Database Migration Service: A fully managed cloud service that simplifies moving established databases from on-premise, third-party, or on Oracle Cloud to Autonomous Database.
  • Oracle GoldenGate: Oracle's data replication tool for one time data migration as well as data replication with change data capture.
  • Zero Downtime Migration (ZDM): A service with a command line interface that you install and run on a host that you provision. The server where the Zero Downtime Migration software is installed is called the Zero Downtime Migration service host. You can run one or more database migration jobs from the Zero Downtime Migration service host.
  • Network File Storage (NFS): Use your local Network File System (NFS) storage to move data in and out of Exadata Cloud@Customer deployments by attaching your Network File Storage (NFS) share to your Autonomous Database.
  • Oracle Data Pump: Database utility supporting high-speed bulk data and metadata movement between Oracle databases and Autonomous Database.
  • Oracle SQL*Loader: Database utility to load data from external files into Oracle Database.

Migration Use Cases

Depending on your source database, one or more of the above migration options can be used for migrating data to Autonomous Database on Public Cloud or Exadata Cloud@Customer deployments. Listed below are some of the most common migration use cases to help you pick the right option.
Migration Use Case Migration Option(s) Further Reference

Non-Oracle Database → ADB-D on Public Cloud or Exadata Cloud@Customer.


Use Case 1

  • Oracle SQL*Loader
  • Oracle GoldenGate
  • Using NFS storage to migrate data into Autonomous Database on Exadata Cloud@Customer
  • Using OCI File Storage to load data into Autonomous Database on Oracle Public Cloud

Oracle Database version 11.2.0.4 and above → ADB-D on Public Cloud


Use Case 2

  • Database Migration Service (DMS)
  • Zero Downtime Migration (ZDM) - Online or offline migration using OCI Object Storage
  • Oracle Data Pump
  • Oracle SQL*Loader
  • Oracle GoldenGate

Oracle Database version 11.2.0.4 and above → ADB-D on Exadata Cloud@Customer


Use Case 3

  • Zero Downtime Migration (ZDM) - Online or offline migration using OCI Object Storage
  • Using NFS storage to migrate data into Autonomous on Exadata Cloud@Customer
  • Oracle Data Pump using OCI Object Storage or Customer provided NFS Storage
  • Oracle GoldenGate

Oracle Database version below 11.2.0.4 → ADB-D on Public Cloud or Exadata Cloud@Customer


Use Case 4

  • Oracle SQL*Loader
  • Oracle Data Pump
  • Using NFS storage to migrate data into Autonomous on Exadata Cloud@Customer
  • Using OCI File Storage to load data into Autonomous Database on Oracle Public Cloud

OCI Database (VMDB, BMDB, ExaCS) → ADB-D on Public Cloud


Use Case 5

  • Database Migration Service (DMS)
  • Zero Downtime Migration (ZDM) - Online or offline migration using OCI Object Storage
  • Oracle Data Pump
  • Oracle SQL*Loader

OCI Database (VMDB, BMDB, ExaCS) → ADB-D on Exadata Cloud@Customer


Use Case 6

  • Zero Downtime Migration (ZDM) - Online or offline migration using OCI Object Storage
  • Oracle Data Pump
  • Oracle SQL*Loader

Autonomous Database Serverless → ADB-D on Public Cloud or Exadata Cloud@Customer


Use Case 7

  • Oracle GoldenGate Extract configured to capture from the source Autonomous Database.
  • Oracle Data Pump

3rd Party Cloud Vendors (AWS, Azure) → ADB-D on Public Cloud or Exadata Cloud@Customer


Use Case 8

  • Oracle Data Pump
  • Zero Downtime Migration (ZDM 21.2) supports RDS and AWS

Autonomous Database on Dedicated Exadata Infrastructure → Autonomous Database on Dedicated Exadata Infrastructure


Use Case 9

  • Oracle GoldenGate Replicat configured to apply to the target Autonomous Database.
  • Oracle Data Pump
Note

Deciding the migration tool or utility to use depends on multiple factors such as your source database, source data format, data volume and complexity. To help you identify the most optimal solution for migrating your data to Autonomous Database, Oracle provides an advisory utility called Oracle Cloud Migration Advisor. See www.oracle.com/goto/move for more information about this utility.