A Complete Review of Migrating SQL Server to Postgres

This post will take you through the intricacies of migrating SQL Server to Postgres including what is Microsoft SQL Server, Postgres, advantages of the migration, and the procedure. We will also see the downsides of manually migrating databases from SQL Server to Postgres and the advantages that automatic migration brings to the table. 

Also Read: FintechZoom.com DAX40: A Complete Guide for Investors

What is Microsoft SQL Server

SQL Server is a Relational Database Management System that handles massive volumes of data and supports hundreds of running cores and petabyte-scale storage. It also integrates well with reporting solutions like BI and has a robust querying layer for business analysis. SQL Server also has a very intuitive and user-friendly interface. With enterprise-level support and security measures in place, it is popular for businesses that have strict compliance requirements.      

However, there are downsides too that make migrating databases from SQL Server to Postgres such an attractive proposition for business. SQL Server has a high cost of ownership for large databases and a stringent licensing policy. 

What is Postgres

Postgres or PostgreSQL is a free and open-source database management system. It supports SQL, stores data using structured objects, and has a monolithic structure where its all components work in a logical order. Postgres is an advanced enterprise-level database providing support to both non-relational (JSON) and relational (SQL) querying.  

The USP of Postgres is its accuracy, performance, reliability, stability, and resilience. It also supports advanced data types and performance optimization that are critical to large organizations and commercial databases. These are the facets why it makes sense to migrate databases from SQL Server to Postgres. 

Cutting-edge Benefits of Postgres

There are several benefits of PostgreSQL that make moving data from SQL Server to Postgres worth the effort.

• Compliance and reliability: Postgres as a database is a highly fault-tolerant database primarily due to its write-ahead logging. It follows ACID principles and supports various types of views, triggers, joints, and stored procedures in several languages.  
• Open-source license: You can use, modify, and implement the source code of Postgres per your requirements as it is available without costs under an open-source license. As against the cost of using the SQL Server that is dependent on the number of users and the database size, there are no licensing costs for using PostgreSQL and the possibility of over-deployment is absent. 
• Powerful extensions: There are several powerful features, leading to a need to migrate databases from SQL Server to Postgres. These include granular access controls, online backups, point-in-time recovery, and tablespaces. It can also handle language-specific formatting and sorting and being scalable, can accommodate large numbers of users simultaneously executing intricate queries without a fall in database performance. 
• Flexibility and diversity: Postgres can be extensively customized to meet various requirements and handle a wide range of data and document types. It can be used with different operating systems such as Linux, BSD, Solaris, and Windows. 
• Open-source community support: Postgres has the foundation of a very large open-source community of developers globally which offers plenty of documentation, resources, and user support. This community is constantly fixing bugs that increase the overall performance and security of the database.  
• Public Cloud availability: Postgres has flexible open-source licensing and quick access to public cloud providers like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Service.   
• Unlimited open-source add-ons and Plugins: You get the benefit of unlimited open-source plugins to enhance the performance of your database. These are free and open-source add-ons that are packed with numerous cutting-edge features.             
• Federated Hub Database: PostgreSQL’s support for JSON and foreign data wrappers enables it to link with other data stores, including NoSQL types, making it an excellent federated hub for polyglot database systems.
• Geospatial database: Postgres syncs with geographic objects and functions as a geospatial data store for GIS and location-based services when used with the PostGIS extension.  
• Resilience: Postgres offers several fool-proof redundancies that ensure robust storage reliability.  

Migrating Databases From SQL Server to Postgres

Drawbacks of manual migration

You can migrate databases from SQL Server to Postgres either manually or automatically. However, it is always preferable to undertake this procedure with automatic tools as the manual process is not only very time-consuming but also quite cumbersome. There are many obstacles and hurdles that crop up during the manual migration of SQL Server to Postgresprocess. 

Here are some of the reasons why you should avoid manual movement of data. 

• You cannot carry out data standardization such as data transformation and cleaning in manual methods. 
• You have to create a custom code for importing data from CSV files whenever new data is available. Only then will you get data in real-time. 
• You have to allocate a part of your engineering setup to continually maintain and manage the data flow. Only then can you ensure reliable and loss-free transfer of data. 

Migrating a database from SQL Server to Postgres manually requires a fair amount of coding apart from being complex and time-consuming. Manual conversion of databases is both slow and expensive and the outcomes may not always be accurate, leaving open the chance of data loss or corruption. 

Advantages of using automated tools for migration

 Despite the downsides of manual database migration from SQL Server to Postgres,you can optimize the process with tools that are automated for the process. They enable seamless transfer of data with minimal effort between the two database management systems. Users can complete the migration in a few clicks only through the user-friendly interface of the tools.  

Since the tools are completely automated, no coding is required at any step of the process including extraction. Most importantly, these tools replicate data in real-time from SQL sources with a range of Data Capture options.