Google Cloud launches Database Migration Service preview

Google Cloud has launched its serverless Database Migration Services (DMS) tool into preview, allowing users to move databases over to Cloud SQL.

With the service, users can migrate databases that are on-premises or already in the cloud, as well as those managed by other clouds, to Cloud SQL for MySQL.  

"As organisations modernise their infrastructure and advance their digital transformation strategies, migrating mission-critical operational databases that power their business success is crucial," said Andi Gutmans, general manager and vice president of engineering and databases at Google Cloud. 

As the service is serverless, users do not need to provision, manage or monitor migration-specific resources, Gutmans added. As a result, data, schema and other database features can be replicated to the Cloud SQL destination at scale without user intervention. 

DMS also offers multiple secure private connectivity methods to protect sensitive data during migrations. 

The service works through log shipping to replicate data at “super-low” latencies from the source database to the destination, according to Gutmans. 

“It streams the initial snapshot of data, then catches up and continuously replicates new data as it arrives in the source,” he said. “The source and destination are continuously up to date because they rely on the databases’ own native replication capabilities. This replication technique maximises the fidelity of data transferred with very low latency. 

“That means you can decide when you’re ready to promote your database, then just point your application to Cloud SQL as the primary database, with minimal downtime.” 

DMS is available now in preview through the Google Cloud console, with migrations running no additional charges for native like-to-like migrations to Cloud SQL. Additionally, support for PostgreSQL is available for limited users, with SQL Server coming soon.