DMS
Definition
Database Migration Service - AWS service for migrating databases to the cloud with minimal downtime, ensuring data integrity and efficiency.
Use Cases
- Amazon.com: Migrating and modernizing internal database workloads to reduce operational overhead and improve scalability. — Used AWS migration tooling (including AWS DMS for replication-based moves) to transition database workloads to managed AWS database services while keeping applications running during cutover windows. (Reduced time spent on database infrastructure management and improved ability to scale and iterate on services.)
- Expedia Group: Moving database-backed applications to the cloud while minimizing downtime for customer-facing systems. — Adopted AWS migration patterns that commonly use AWS DMS for continuous replication during transitions from self-managed databases to managed targets (such as Amazon RDS/Aurora). (Faster migration execution with reduced service disruption risk during cutovers.)
Provider Equivalents
- AWS: AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS)
- Azure: Azure Database Migration Service (Azure DMS)
- GCP: Database Migration Service
- OCI: OCI Database Migration
Frequently Asked Questions
- What's the difference between AWS DMS and AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT)?
- AWS DMS moves the data (and can keep it in sync using continuous replication). AWS SCT converts database schemas and some code (like stored procedures) when you’re changing database engines (for example, Oracle to PostgreSQL). In many projects, you use SCT first to prepare the target schema, then DMS to migrate and replicate the data.
- When should I use AWS DMS?
- Use AWS DMS when you need to migrate a database to AWS with minimal downtime, especially if you want continuous replication while you test the new environment. It’s a good fit for lift-and-shift migrations (same engine) and for heterogeneous migrations (different engines) when combined with schema conversion. It’s also useful for ongoing replication use cases, such as feeding analytics systems or maintaining a secondary copy for transition periods.
- How much does AWS DMS cost?
- AWS DMS pricing is mainly based on the replication instance you run (size and hours), plus any additional resources you use (storage, data transfer, source/target database costs, and logging/monitoring). Costs increase with higher change rates, larger datasets, longer replication windows, and larger replication instances. A common cost-control approach is to right-size the replication instance, stop it when not needed, and minimize the duration of parallel run/replication.
Category: data
Difficulty: advanced
Related Terms
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