Migrating to MySQL

Sanjay Majumder

Migrating data to MySQL is quite a difficult task. If you want to migrate data from MS-SQL Server or Oracle to MySQL then you first need to write a SQL script to extract data to a text file and then import the same to MySQL. Here is one migration toolkit that simplifies this process. It takes you step-by-step through a wizard for migrating data including schema objects such as tables and views.

Installation
Install this tool kit using 'mysql-gui-tools-5.0-r3-win32.msi' setup file on your Windows machine and restart it once. Launch the toolkit from Start>programs. You will get a window screen divided in two parts. On the left, you will be shown the entire migration plan, while the wizard on the right can be used to initiate the migration process.

Migrating data
To start migration, click on 'Next' in the right window. On the subsequent screen, select the 'Direct Migration' option and click on Next. Select the source database connection, MS-SQL in this case, and set the source database connection parameters (which include host name, user name and password). 

Click on Next. Now you need to set the target connect parameter, which is your MySQL database (as our MySQL was on the local machine, we selected localhost and gave the required username and password). Click on Next again. Now you will see the entire database inside MS-SQL. For testing the toolkit we selected the 'Northwind.dbo' database (which is the default database with MS-SQL) and clicked on Next twice. Now select the object type that you want to migrate (here deselect MS-SQL View and MS-SQL Routine as selecting these might give errors in the migration process) and click on Next. 

Now in the next screen you need to change the parameters for 'Migration of type MS-SQL table' by clicking on the 'Set parameters' button. Here you would be shown the parameters that you can change. Select 'Data Consistency/Multilingual' and click on Next. Keep clicking on it till you get the 'Data Mapping option.' Here select Transfer Data Online, which will start the migration process. Once the entire process gets completed, click on Finish. It will show you the data that has been migrated at the end of the entire process, so that you can verify whether it has been migrated successfully or not.

Source: PCQuest