Migrating from Oracle to PostgreSQL – All You Need to Know

There are many reasons you may want to migrate a database or application from Oracle to PostgreSQL

 

There are many reasons you may want to migrate a database or application from Oracle to PostgreSQL. Licensing costs, inconsistent customer support, breach in customer database, and audit risk are just some of the problems you might encounter in commercial solutions like Oracle. PostgreSQL eliminates these issues. 

If you have decided to migrate from Oracle to PostgreSQL for any reason, it is important that you do it properly, which is why you need the complete Oracle to PostgreSQL migration guide. Here are the important things you need to know about the process.

Potential Challenges

It is important to realize that you may experience challenges when migrating from Oracle to PostgreSQL. The process can be smooth if you take the proper steps, but you may experience several hiccups if you don’t address issues like:

  • Performance bugs

  • Package application

  • Large data volumes

  • Code migration issues

  • Version compatibility

Preliminary Checking

You need to be sure of what needs to be migrated and the right way to handle the migration. Systematic mapping and checking are required for this. It will be necessary to look for historical data you may need and not waste time replicating unnecessary data. If you have backup data and temporary tables from past maintenance procedures, they may be the perfect ones for migration.   

Migration Assessment

After preliminary checking, the next essential step is to analyze app and database objects to identify incompatibilities between databases. At this point, you will need such important tools as Ora2pg. This works perfectly with Oracle, hooking up seamlessly, scanning automatically, and extracting the data to generate a comprehensive database migration report. When conducted correctly, migration assessment will help you to accurately estimate the time and cost required for the actual migration process.

Data Type Mapping

When it comes to data types, Oracle and PostgreSQL have significant differences. It is important to realize this and address the differences, and that is where data type mapping comes in.  

Watch the Transactions

Oracle’s built-in transaction functionality will have to be activated manually in PostgreSQL. There are differences in how the transactions are executed in the two systems, also. In Oracle, it starts when executing any statement and ends with the COMMIT statement. But in PostgreSQL, it starts with BEGIN and ends with the COMMIT statement.

Recognize the Differences

There are differences between Oracle and PostgreSQL; your team needs to keep them in mind during the entire process of migration. The major ones to pay attention to include Dual Table, SYDATE, Empty String and NULL, SUBSTR, and the DELETE Statement. Your team also needs to keep the differences between PLSQL and PLPGSQL during the conversion.

Testing

To ensure smooth performance after your conversion, you have to conduct a test. If any issues are detected, they can be addressed immediately.

Automate

Automating your DevOps is necessary if you want optimal performance after migration from Oracle to PostgreSQL. This will address most challenges and allow you to enjoy the full benefits of PostgreSQL.

Endnote

PostgreSQL and Oracle are among the preferred options that many companies and organizations use for their database management. You may decide to migrate from Oracle to PostgreSQL to enjoy improved flexibility, cost savings, and other customization options. Hopefully, our migration from Oracle to PostgreSQL tutorial will be immensely helpful to achieve your migration objectives.

Disclaimer: Paid Article 


TAGS: Sponsored

 
News Corner