[Video] Oracle Database Migration To Cloud (Lift & Shift): Overview & Methodology

Database Migration (Lift & Shift) is the process of migrating an Oracle Database from On-Premise to Cloud (Oracle Cloud, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure etc). This post covers the Overview, Methodology and Database Concepts that are important related to Migration like Version, Character-set, Big/Little Endian, Multi-Tenant Architecture (PDB & CDB), DB Size, DB Options etc.

If you are just starting out in Cloud then I highly recommend you to go through these posts first

Cloud for Beginners (Facebook Live): SaaS | PaaS | IaaS and which one is right for DBAs
12 Point Checklist for DBA for Beginner to Expert Cloud DBA (Facebook Live)
If you are confused to pick Amazon AWS or Oracle Cloud then check this
Check tasks performed by Oracle DBAs in Cloud here

Note: Above Video is from lesson 1 of Lift & Shift (Migration) Module in our Cloud DBA Certification 1Z0-160 Training
(For List of Step By Step Hands-On Guide you must perform for Oracle Cloud DBA Certification, refer this post).

Migration Methodology

Note: Listen from 4:18 in above Video about Migration Methodology and why is this important.

Supported Versions (DBCS/DBaaS Migration)

Supported version for migration to Oracle DBaaS currently (as of March 2018) are

11G On-Premise Database to 11G Database on Cloud
11G On-Premise Database to 12C PDB on Cloud
12C Non-CDB On-Premise Database to 12C PDB (Pluggable Database) on Cloud
12C PDB On-Premise Database to 12C PDB (Pluggable Database) on Cloud

Where PDB Stands for Pluggable Database and CDB stands for Container Database in Multi-Tenant Architecture of 12c Database.

Migration Methods

There are multiple migrations possible depending on things like, Source & Destination Database version, Endian, Characterset, Options, Downtime etc . Methods to migrate Oracle Database to Cloud includes

Conventional Export/Import and Data Pump
Transportable Tablespace Data Pump
Full Transportable Data Pump
Unplug/Plug (12c Only)
Remote Cloning (PDB and non-CDB)
Recovery Manager (RMAN)
SQL* Loader
Oracle GoldenGate

Lets Deep-Dive into each Migration Methods we have:

**Original* Export/Import**

Traditional oldest Method to Migrate Data
Very SlowNot designed for large Database (100GB+)
Must be used for 9i or previous versions
Not fit to Migrate to Cloud

Data Pump Export/Import

Introduced in 10g Database
Designed to Handle large volume of data
Very data is very large (few hundred GBs)
From Performance point of view, Transportable Tablespace method could be quicker
Nothing to worry about Character set or Endian
Can be used for 11g on-premise to 11g/12c PDB Cloud Migration
Can be used for 12c Non-CDB/PDB on-premise to 12c PDB Cloud Migration

Data pump Transportable Tablespace

Fastest Method to migrate Data
Entire Datafiles in a Tablespace are moved from source to Target Database
Moving of Datafiles is quick compared to each object hence this method is
quicker than Data Pump Export/Import
Requires some configuration and setup to migrate using Transportable
Tablespaces could be complex
Can be used for 11g on-premise to 11g/12c PDB Cloud Migration
Can be used for 12c Non-CDB/PDB on-premise to 12c PDB Cloud Migration

Data Pump Full Transportable

Introduced in 12c, make migration to 12c Database Easy & Quick
12c can be configured as Non CDB or CDB/PDB
Can be used to migrate to both Non-CDB or PDB
Moves all of System, User, and Application Metadata without complex setup
required in Transportable Tablespace Method
Combines ease of Data-pump and speed of Transportable Tablespaces
Can be used for 11.2.0.3+ on-premise to 12c PDB Cloud Migration
Can be used for 12c Non-CDB/PDB on-premise to 12c PDB Cloud Migration
Use this method to migrate from Non-CDB to PDB
One PDB to another PDB

READ 1Z0-160 Oracle Database Cloud Service Certification for DBAs : OCA & OCP

Unplug/Plug

Uses 12c Multitenant feature of Pluggable Database(PDB)
Supported from
12c Non-CDB on Premise to PDB on Cloud
12c PDB on Premise to PDB on Cloud
If TDE is enabled, export TDE master encryption key on source before migration and
Import TDE Master key in CDB on target (If no key store in CDB then create it)

Remote Cloning

Uses 12c Multitenant feature of Pluggable Database(PDB) Supported from
12c Non-CDB on Premise to New PDB on Cloud
12c PDB on Premise to New PDB on Cloud
Target database on DBCS must be new PDB (You can’t clone to an existing PDB)
During migration on-premise database must be Read Only
After migration, on-premise can be changed to Read Write and can be used

RMAN Convert Transport Tablespace With Data Pump

RMAN Convert TTS + expdp for
11g on-premise to 11g Cloud Migration
12c Non CDB or PDB on-premise to new or Existing PDB Cloud Migration
Copy Dump & Image File to Cloud Compute
Import (impdp) to Cloud 11g Database

RMAN TTS with Data Pump

RMAN Backup TS + expdp: 11g on-premise to 12c PDB on Cloud
Copy Dump & data file to Cloud Compute
Restore + impdp to Cloud PDB
Very Similar to RMAN Convert TTS plus Data pump

RMAN Cross-Platform Transportable Tablespace Backup Sets

RMAN Backup To Platform: 12c Non-CDB/PDB on-premise to 12c PDB on
Cloud
If Endian Conversion is required RMAN BACKUP TO PLATFORM DATAPUMP TABLESPACE
Copy Backup Set & Dump File
Restore Foreign Tablespace Dump File to Cloud PDB

RMAN Cross-Platform Transportable PDB

RMAN Un-Plug/Plug: 12c PDB on-premise to 12c PDB on Cloud
If Endian Conversion is Required
Unplug PDB + RMAN BACKUP FOR TRANSPORT PLUGGABLE DATABASE
Copy PDB to Compute Cloud
RMAN RESTORE ALL FOREIGN DATAFILES + Plug PDB

SQL Developer

SQL Developer to migrate data to Cloud has two options
DDL statement + SQL*loader control & Data File
DDL statement + Insert Statement (Use SQL Developer)
User SQL Developer

Migration Support Matrix

Migration to Cloud: Step By Step Activity Guides

Note: Above Post & Video is from Lift & Shift (Migration) Module in our Cloud DBA Certification 1Z0-160 Training You can get Step By Step Hands-On Activity Guides you must perform for Oracle Cloud DBA Certification here).

Did You Start Your Cloud Journey?

Download our Step By Step Guide to Create Oracle Cloud Account and Create Your first Oracle Database on Cloud. If you need any help then post comments below

Note: If you found above post useful, you’ll also like 10 Things You Must Consider before Migrating to Cloud