Your company likely operates various infrastructure and databases to support different aspects of your IT operations. Often, the need to reduce capital and operational expenses drives businesses to migrate their operations and systems to the cloud. Amazon Web Services (AWS) stands out as the most popular cloud computing provider globally and is often the preferred destination for database migrations. However, this migration process comes with its challenges and complexities.
AWS, being a powerhouse in the industry, continuously evolves its products and services with regular introductions of new features. Staying up-to-date with AWS developments can be challenging if your IT department lacks recent experience in handling such tasks. Consequently, designing and building the most performant and cost-efficient AWS cloud infrastructure for your databases and systems can be daunting without prior expertise.

There are three primary approaches to AWS database migration:

1. In-house expertise: Hiring the necessary talent internally involves recruiting specialists who can accomplish the project requirements and provide long-term value. However, this approach carries risks such as lengthy hiring processes, the potential for recruiting subpar administrators, and ongoing expenses or termination costs.
2. AWS customer support: Delegating the task to AWS customer support engineers, who possess deep knowledge of AWS products and services, is an option. However, AWS support tends to prioritize AWS services over open-source alternatives unless directed otherwise. Without a clear understanding of your specific needs, relying solely on AWS support may not yield optimal results.
3. Third-party IT services provider: Engaging a Managed Services Provider like IT-Outsource.co ensures access to a DevOps team proficient in both vendor-specific and open-source cloud-based tools and services. Such a team can craft the best combination of modules and tools to facilitate a seamless and error-free AWS database migration for your project.

Database migration to AWS typically involves updating the database to the oldest version supported by the cloud platform (subsequently updating to the latest version in the cloud), creating a database dump, uploading it to the cloud, and restoring it to the new system.
At IT-Outsource.co, we possess extensive experience in both types of database migration methods: dump/restore and migrate/update. While the latter demands more effort, selecting the most suitable database for your project and migrating your data to AWS in the most cost-efficient manner is crucial for a successful cloud migration process.

Use Cases of Amazon Database Migration Service
There are various scenarios for AWS database migration, depending on the specific needs of the project. Below is a typical roadmap for migrating databases from Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to Amazon Web Services (AWS).
List of AWS Databases:

• Amazon Aurora
• Amazon RDS
• Amazon Redshift
• Amazon DynamoDB
• Amazon ElastiCache
• Amazon Neptune
• Amazon Timestream
• Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB)
• Amazon DocumentDB (with MongoDB compatibility)
• AWS Database Migration Service (DMS)

List of GCP Databases:

• Cloud Spanner
• Cloud SQL
• Cloud Bigtable
• Cloud Firestore
• Firebase Realtime Database
• Cloud Memorystore

Commonly Used Databases:

• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• Redis
• Amazon Aurora
• Amazon Redshift
• MongoDB

This comprehensive list encompasses various databases available on both AWS and GCP platforms, including widely used options like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, Amazon Aurora, Amazon Redshift, and MongoDB. Each database offers distinct features and functionalities tailored to specific use cases, allowing businesses to select the most suitable option for their requirements.

MySQL Database Migration Services Offered by IT-Outsource.co
MySQL stands as one of the most widely used databases, and at IT-Outsource.co, we provide comprehensive migration solutions tailored to various scenarios:

1. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS EC2 to AWS RDS
2. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS EC2 to on-premise
3. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS EC2 to Google Compute Engine
4. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS EC2 to Google CloudSQL
5. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS RDS to AWS EC2
6. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS RDS to on-premise
7. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS RDS to Google Compute Engine
8. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS RDS to Google CloudSQL
9. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from on-premise to AWS EC2
10. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from on-premise to AWS RDS
11. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from on-premise to Google Compute Engine
12. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from on-premise to Google CloudSQL
13. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS RDS to AWS RDS in another AWS region
14. Migrate MySQL RDBMS from AWS RDS, AWS EC2, on-premise, Google Compute Engine, Google CloudSQL to Percona XtraDB Cluster

With expertise in handling diverse migration paths, we ensure seamless transitions for MySQL databases across different environments, including cloud platforms and on-premise setups.

Typical Database Migration Scenario:

1. Halt incoming traffic to the database.
2. Perform a dump of the old database, copying all necessary data.
3. Upload the dump to the new infrastructure and restore it to the new database.
4. Validate functionality to ensure everything operates as intended; copy any data not automatically transferred.
5. Transition the application to utilize the new database and decommission the old database.

Adaptations Using AWS DMS:

• For MySQL databases on Amazon RDS, migrate easily between instances by replicating them as master-slave setups, promoting the new database to master, and subsequently shutting down the old instance.
• Move MySQL RDS instances to different AWS Availability Zones or regions utilizing the replica-slave-to-master approach.
• Migrate self-hosted MySQL databases to the cloud following a similar replication strategy.
• PostgreSQL databases can typically migrate between RDS instances without complications through dump/restore processes.
• Transfer MariaDB databases to new instances by creating a dump of the old database, activating master replica, and restoring it to the new instance, progressing through master-slave and then master-master setups before decommissioning the old instance.
• For MongoDB databases, even without replicas, migration to new instances is feasible through straightforward dump/restore operations, especially if version differences are negligible.

When significant disparities between database versions or a switch to a different database type are at play, the migration process undergoes notable adjustments:

1. Establish a mirror of the existing database and attempt migration to the new database.
2. Utilize differential tools to assess errors and inconsistencies in the database.
3. Remove faulty or deprecated data from the migration scope.
4. Create a dump of error-free data and restore it to the new database.
5. Manually configure remaining data not transferable via dump.
6. Transition the application to the new database and deactivate the old database instance.

In some cases, custom solutions are necessary. For instance, migrating PostgreSQL from bare metal servers to Amazon RDS required addressing issues with owner role rights, necessitating reconfiguration. Likewise, migrating MongoDB to Atlas involved transferring collections individually due to compatibility limitations, followed by index rebuilding. Migrating Oracle DB demanded scripting for automated replication.
For reliable AWS database migration services, turn to IT-Outsource.co! With extensive experience in diverse migration scenarios, we offer tailored solutions and ready scenarios to enhance your IT operations. Whether migrating to or from AWS, count on us for efficient database migration services tailored to your needs.