Google is previewing a serverless Database Migration Service (DMS) to move SQL databases to its Cloud SQL. The serverless aspect means customers do not have to set up server instances to run the migration – DMS takes care of the underlying server infrastructure provisioning and operation.
DMS minimises downtime, Google says, and protects data during migration with support for multiple secure, private connectivity configurations. This isn’t a general database migration service as DMS is a SQL-to-SQL move and uses the source database’s own replication facilities. That feature helps to guarantee data and metadata fidelity. Supported databases are MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server and AWS RDS.
Andi Gutmans, Google Cloud engineering VP and GM for databases, blows the trumpet in the press statement:
“Database migration is a complex process for most businesses. With Database Migration Service, we’re delivering a simplified and highly compatible product experience so that, no matter where our customers are starting from, they have an easy, and secure way to migrate their databases to Cloud SQL.”
And John Santaferraro, research director at Enterprise Management Associates, chips in: “We have seen an acceleration in migrations across the board, including a wave of customers leaving AWS for other cloud service providers. This makes it vital for providers like Google Cloud to provide tools to streamline these migrations.”
Google cites a Gartner study which forecast 75 per cent of all databases will be on a cloud platform by 2023. This figure is surprisingly high and if the call is correct, bad news for hybrid IT vendors, as the on-premises side of any setup would be quite small.
Customers can migrate with DMS at no additional charge for native like-to-like migrations to Cloud SQL. Support for PostgreSQL is currently available for limited customers in preview, with SQL Server coming soon. A blog by Gutmans provides background information.
