In mid-July, I blogged about the exciting updates and additions we had made to the Azure Database Migration Service (DMS) and our data migration tools. Since that time, we have noticed increased usage of our database migration offerings. In August 2018, we helped migrate over 15,000 databases and since January 2018, we have assisted with the migration of more than 107,000 databases to Azure. We have also been hard at work in the interim, continuing to deliver functionality to address customer feedback and enhance the value of our database migration service and tools. Below is information about our latest updates.

Azure Database Migration Service (DMS)

Azure DMS is a fully managed service designed to enable seamless migrations from multiple database sources to Azure Data platforms with minimal downtime. In recent months, we have added the following improvements:

• Online (minimal downtime) migrations. Customers can now use Azure DMS preview support for online migrations of:
  • SQL Server databases running on-premises or on virtual machines to Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Database Managed Instance.
  • MySQL databases running on-premises or on virtual machines to Azure Database for MySQL.
  • PostgreSQL databases running on-premises or on virtual machines to Azure Database for PostgreSQL.
• SKU changes and additions. The Basic 1 and 2 vCore SKUs for the Azure Database Migration Service have been renamed to General Purpose 1 and 2 vCore, and a General Purpose 4 vCore SKU has been added. In addition, a new Business Critical 4 vCore SKU is available for migrating business critical workloads.
• Save Project and Run Activity: Azure DMS now supports the ability to create a migration project and perform a specific migration activity in a single workflow. This ensures that customers can perform migrations with fewer clicks, making the migration process more efficient.
• Using existing backup files for migration: Azure DMS now supports using existing SQL Server backup files for migrations from SQL Server to Azure SQL DB Managed Instance.

Data Migration Assistant (DMA)

DMA enables you to upgrade to a modern data platform by detecting compatibility issues as well as feature parities between source and target database environments, which can impact database functionality on your new version of SQL Database. It allows you to not only move your schema and data, but also logins from your source server to your target server.

We have recently released DMA v4.0 and v4.1.

What's new in v4.1?

Version 4.1 provides preview assessment support for migrating on-premises SQL Server databases to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance. Customers can now use DMA to assess SQL Server on-premises or use a provided PowerShell script to collect metadata about their database schema, detect the blockers, and partially supported or unsupported features that affect migration to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance and to gain detailed guidance on how to resolve the issues after the migration.

What's new in v4.0?

Version 4.0 introduces the Azure SQL Database SKU Recommendations feature, which allows users to identify the minimum recommended Azure SQL Database SKU based on performance counters that are collected from the computer(s) hosting the source databases. This feature provides recommendations related to pricing tier, compute level, and max data size, as well as estimated cost per month. It also offers the ability to provision all your databases to Azure in bulk.

This functionality is currently available only via the Command Line Interface (CLI). Support for this feature via the DMA user interface is planned for delivery later this year.

SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA)

SSMA for Oracle, MySQL, SAP ASE (formerly SAP Sybase ASE), DB2, and Access allow users to convert a database schema to a Microsoft SQL Server schema, upload the schema, and then migrate data to the target SQL Server.

We have recently released SSMA v7.9 and v7.10.

What's new in v7.10?

Version 7.10 introduces the following updates:

• Each flavor of SSMA 7.10 has been enhanced with targeted fixes designed to provide additional security and privacy protections to meet changes in global requirements.
• SSMA 7.10 for Oracle includes a conversion improvement related to hierarchical queries.
• SSMA 7.10 for DB2 includes a fix for conversion of begin-end blocks.
• SSMA 7.10 for MySQL includes a fix for conversion of spaces between function name and arguments list.

What's new in v7.9?

Version 7.9 brings a variety of updates, including:

• Each flavor of SSMA has been enhanced with targeted fixes that improve quality and auto conversion rates. Some of the changes that were implemented with this release include:
  • Partial support for migrating spatial data types from MySQL to Azure SQL Database.
  • Support for migrating “Continue” statements from Oracle to SQL Server.
  • Support in SSMA command line to alter Data Type mapping and Project Preferences.
• SSMA 7.9 for Oracle, MySQL, SAP ASE, and DB2 also provide the option to migrate data by using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). After converting the schema, it will be possible to create an SSIS package by using the right-click context menu option Save as SSIS package.
• The Azure SQL Database connection dialog in SSMA has also been altered to specify the fully qualified server name. In previous versions of SSMA, the Azure SQL Database prefix had to be explicitly mentioned inside projects settings.

Database Experimentation Assistant (DEA)

DEA is a A/B testing solution for SQL Server upgrades that assists in evaluating a targeted version of SQL Server for a given workload. Customers upgrading from SQL Server 2005 and later to any new version of SQL Server can use the analysis metrics provided to help build with higher confidence for a successful upgrade/migration experience.

We have recently released DEA v2.6.

What's new in v2.6?

The v2.6 release of DEA has the following improvements:

• Capture and replay of production database(s) workloads through automated set up.
• Support for server-side traces and XEvents.
• Perform statistical analysis on traces and/or XEvents collected using both old and new instances.
• Visualize data through analysis report via rich user experience.
• Use SQL Authentication to both capture and replay.
• An Inbuilt replay tool in addition to already supported SQL Server Distributed Replay for simple workloads.
• Removes the dependencies of R and R-Interop.
• Capture and replay workloads to Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and SQL Server on Linux.
• Reporting enhancements:
  • New error categorization chart to easily find upgrade/migration blockers.
  • New error pie chart grouped by error id to easily identify the root cause of the errors.
• Bug fixes and other performance improvements.

Azure Database Migration Guide (DMG)

The Azure Database Migration Guide is a one stop shop that provides step by step guidance for modernizing data assets. We recently announced a new intuitive UX that will help customers more easily choose source/target pairs to define their migration scenario. We have also onboarded several specialty partners who can help with assessments and migrations.

Additional resources for database migration tools and services

If you are currently working with one of these tools or services, you might find the following links useful:

• Azure Database Migration Service
  • Service information
  • Documentation
  • Feedback forum
  • Sign up to participate in a preview of upcoming migration scenarios.
  • Sign up for a free account on Azure.
• Data Migration Assistant
  • Documentation
  • Feedback
• SQL Server Migration Assistant
  • Documentation
  • Feedback
• Database Experimentation Assistant
  • Documentation
  • Feedback
• Azure Database Migration Guide

Summary

I hope that you enjoy working with the latest features and functionality available in our migration tools and services. Please share your impressions through User Voice: Azure Database Migration Service, by using the feedback links at the bottom of each article in our documentation, or by reaching out to the Data Migration Team directly. Also be sure to follow us on Twitter @Data_Migrations, #msdatamigration, for the latest news and announcements.