Behind the Scenes: Crafting a Next-Level Data Pipeline with DBConvert Streams

Get Ready: The Future of Data Migration is Almost Here!

DBConvert Streams (DBS) is on the verge of something big—a brand-new release with a slick Web UI that's going to make data migration even smoother. Before we dive into what's coming next, let's talk about the backbone of DBConvert Streams and why it matters for anyone dealing with data migration and real-time Change Data Capture (CDC) replication.

DBConvert Streams is built to move your data effortlessly between databases—whether you're migrating to the cloud, syncing between on-prem systems, or anything in between. It’s flexible, scalable, and powerful enough to meet your data needs without the headaches.

What Makes DBConvert Streams Stand Out?

• Simple Migrations: Connect different databases with ease, wherever they are.
• Smart Schema Mapping: No manual work; it handles schemas for you.
• Powerful Filters and Rules: Customize what data goes where, and how it gets transformed.
• Built to Scale: Handle big data without breaking a sweat.
• High Availability: It’s distributed, fault-tolerant, and ready for prime time.
• Vault Security: HashiCorp Vault is deployed on the customer's infrastructure, ensuring that sensitive information is securely stored and managed by you, maintaining full control over your data.
• Easy Integration: Fits smoothly into your existing IT setup.

Under the Hood: A Peek at DBConvert Streams Architecture

At the core of DBConvert Streams is a robust pipeline system that moves data efficiently across different locations. Here's the gist of how it works:

1. Source Reader: Pulls data smartly from your databases.
2. NATS Messaging System: Keeps data flowing between different components.
3. Target Writer: Ensures data lands where it should—accurately and efficiently.

The pipeline is more than just three parts, though. Every step works in concert to keep your data moving smoothly.

Frontend with Dashboard

In addition to the powerful backend, DBConvert Streams includes a frontend dashboard that gives you full visibility and control over your data pipelines. The user-friendly interface allows you to:

• Quick Actions and Overview: The dashboard's Quick Actions section allows users to create streams, manage connections, and monitor usage, making it easy to start a migration with just a few clicks.
• Account Overview & System Status: Stay on top of your subscription and data usage with a clean display showing current limits and remaining capacity. The System Status section keeps you informed about the health of each component, which makes troubleshooting straightforward.

• Manage Connections and Streams: The Connections and Streams sections enable you to manage database links and stream configurations visually. Users can view, edit, clone, or delete connections and streams directly from the card-based or table view interface, emphasizing simplicity and control.
• Editing Streams Configurations: Configure stream details like source tables, custom queries, and reporting intervals right from the Edit Stream page. Fine-tune your data transfers easily without needing to dive into scripts.

• Monitor Data Transfers in Detail: The Monitoring page provides real-time statistics on nodes, progress bars for stream states, and insights into throughput, allowing you to keep everything running smoothly or quickly identify and resolve any issues.
• Visual Insights: Easily see throughput, bottlenecks, and overall pipeline health.

In addition to using the Web UI, users can also leverage the DBConvert Streams API to handle streams programmatically, offering more flexibility for integrating data migration processes directly into existing workflows.

The Workflow in Action

• Meta-structure Retrieval: The Source Reader starts by pulling the table and index metadata.
• Communication via NATS: This metadata moves seamlessly through NATS, our messaging hero.
• Target Writer Engaged: A target writer gets to work on creating structures in the destination database.
• Building the Foundation: The writer configures tables and indexes before the actual data flow begins.
• Notifying the Team: Once ready, the lead writer gives the green light to the workers to proceed.
• Data Transfer in Batches: Data is transferred in manageable chunks for optimized performance.
• Monitoring: Logging and monitoring make sure everything stays on track.
• Finishing Up: When it’s all done, the writer sends a completion signal, making sure nothing's left hanging.

Deployment Options to Match Your Needs

DBConvert Streams is ready to work wherever you need it:

• Local Machine: Set it up on your desktop or server.
• Docker: Deploy it easily in containerized environments.
• Cloud Platforms: Use AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure—wherever your data lives.

Two Modes for Maximum Power

Real-Time CDC Mode

Want to keep two databases in sync without any delay? Change Data Capture (CDC) mode streams every change (inserts, updates, deletes) in near real-time, ensuring your target is always up to date.

The CDC configuration screen allows you to select specific events to capture, such as inserts, updates, or deletes, giving you granular control over what changes get replicated. You can also customize data bundle sizes and set limits for events or elapsed time, optimizing the stream to match your exact requirements. This is perfect for:

• Real-Time Replication: Keep systems synchronized without delay.
• Up-to-Date Analytics: Ensure reporting systems are always current.
• Data Warehousing: Streamline data into your warehouse for instant access.

Conversion Mode

Need a full migration? The Conversion Mode is your go-to for transferring data quickly:

• Large Table Support: Smart slicing techniques handle large tables like a breeze.
• Speed Optimized: It’s built for efficiency, even with tons of data.
• All Locations Welcome: Migrate between on-prem and cloud databases without the hassle.

Overcoming Real-World Challenges

When we moved DBS from the lab to real-world use—particularly with cloud-hosted databases—we hit some walls. Here’s what we learned:

The Cloud Migration Headache

Moving 50 million records from a local MySQL server to a cloud-hosted PostgreSQL? Yeah, it was challenging. Here’s why:

• Connections are Fragile: Cloud providers limit connections and introduce security timeouts.
• Asynchronous Data Handling: NATS ensures messages are always delivered, but network hiccups mean handling retries without missing a beat.
• Performance Hits: Latency, throttling, and memory management are always on our radar.

How We Nailed It

To overcome these challenges, we beefed up DBConvert Streams:

• Connection Management: Dynamic pooling, retry mechanisms, and health checks keep things smooth.
• Data Consistency: Exactly-once processing ensures no duplicate records, even if the network goes wonky.
• Optimized Throughput: We’ve tuned everything to minimize the impact of latency and ensure high performance, no matter the scenario.

What’s Next?

We’re not stopping here. With the new Web UI, DBConvert Streams is about to get even better. Our team is working on:

• Enhanced Monitoring: More insights and control at your fingertips.
• Optimized Performance: Pushing the limits for even faster processing.
• More Databases: Expanding the list of supported databases.
• Better Automation: Making data migration even easier with fewer manual steps.

Final Thoughts

DBConvert Streams is all about taking the headache out of data migration. Whether you’re syncing data between different systems or moving to the cloud , DBS has the tools to get the job done right—quickly, reliably, and at scale. Stay tuned for our upcoming release and see how our new Web UI can transform your data game!

Coming Soon

The new version with deployment scripts and the Web UI will be available soon. Stay tuned for more updates and get ready to experience an even more powerful and user-friendly DBConvert Streams!