Database migration is a critical yet often daunting task for many enterprises that operate on legacy systems like Oracle, MySQL, or SQL Server. As these organizations strive to modernize their infrastructure and scale operations, transitioning to a distributed SQL database like CockroachDB presents a compelling opportunity – offering the consistency and familiar SQL structure of traditional databases while delivering the scalability, resilience, and performance first pioneered in NoSQL databases.
Cockroach Labs’ MOLT Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) accelerates data migration by automating schema translation while minimizing trial-and-error. With SCT, enterprises can confidently transition to CockroachDB, unlocking the benefits of a globally distributed, cloud-native database with significantly reduced complexity.
Database Migration Challenges
There are multiple parts of the migration journey for customers:
Prepare your databases
Export, modify, and import your schema (this is where MOLT SCT comes in)
Import your data
Assuming everything looks good, cutover to your new database (but also have failback options)
And if all goes well, finish the migration
NOTE: When we say “finish the migration,” we recognize that data migration initiatives only finish when you are confident that your data has been securely and accurately ported over.
Introduction to MOLT (Migrate Off Legacy Tools)
While the above process sounds simple, we know that migrating databases can involve a number of challenges, unique to your particular architecture and industry:
Manual Schema Conversion: Traditionally, legacy database architectures have required going through schemas one-by-one, a slow and error-prone manual activity.
Complexity in Diverse Environments: Managing multiple unique schemas across different database environments adds significant complexity, requiring careful coordination and validation.
Scalability Issues: Administrators struggle to scale monolithic architectures, making efficient architecture designs crucial.
Each of these challenges can create bottlenecks and slow down migration efforts. That’s why having the right tools and strategies in place is essential for a smooth and efficient transition.
Cockroach Labs’ MOLT (Migrate Off Legacy Tools) suite is a set of robust tools (MOLT SCT, MOLT Fetch, and MOLT Verify) designed to simplify and streamline database migrations to CockroachDB. Within the suite, MOLT SCT stands out by providing automated schema conversion, saving time and reducing the likelihood of errors.
Why we built MOLT SCT (Schema Conversion Tool)
Schema conversion is often a significant hurdle during database migration. Particularly when your starting point is a legacy database, your database likely relies on traditional, inefficient database migration practices such as manual schema translation, which requires a lot of engineering effort.
At Cockroach Labs, we put our customers first, which is why we set out to build a solution that delivers accurate, efficient, and user-friendly schema conversions. Enter MOLT Schema Conversion Tool (SCT)—designed to eliminate the bulk of manual work and dramatically accelerate the migration process. What once took days or hours can now be completed in hours or minutes.
MOLT SCT can efficiently translate your database schemas in a format-optimized way for CockroachDB, while maintaining data integrity. Our GUI makes it easy to identify incompatibilities, implement suggested changes, and learn about best practices via relevant documentation.
Key Features of MOLT SCT
Automated Schema Translation: MOLT SCT can auto-translate schemas from major legacy databases to a CockroachDB-optimized format. Currently MOLT SCT supports schema conversion from PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, and Microsoft SQL Server.
Simple User Interface: The tool features an easy-to-use web application interface that minimizes the need for extensive manual steps.
Accurate and Detailed Reporting: MOLT SCT identifies incompatibilities and suggests best practices to ensure seamless integration. Clear reporting in the GUI lists any conversion issues, recommendations, and relevant documentation—ensuring transparency and correctness.
Quick and Efficient: Field engineering feedback indicates that MOLT SCT can convert schemas for hundreds of tables within minutes, significantly reducing setup time.
To read more about MOLT SCT, check out our docs.
Why Choose MOLT Over Other Options?
While there are several database migration tools on the market, MOLT has distinct advantages:
CockroachDB-Native Schema Conversion: Unlike AWS DMS, which provides basic schema translation, MOLT SCT intelligently optimizes schemas for CockroachDB, leveraging native function, multi-region capabilities, and performance best-practices
Tailored Performance and Scalability Enhancements: MOLT does more than convert schemas; it recommends CockroachDB-native optimizations to ensure efficient, high-performance workloads post-migration.
User-Friendly Interface: While TiDB and Yugabyte require complex setups, MOLT provides an intuitive web interface and smooth integration with CockroachDB Cloud, eliminating friction in the migration process.
Expert Support for CockroachDB Migrations – Unlike generic migration tools, MOLT is backed by CockroachDB’s world-class support team, ensuring specialized guidance and continuous improvements tailored to CockroachDB users.
Tips When Migrating to CockroachDB
Plan and Test in a Non-Production Environment: As with any other important release, testing is essential to ensure a smooth transition to any new database.
Stored Procedures and User-Defined Functions: Can you move some UDFs into the application layer itself?
Understand Application Patterns: During migration, it's crucial to understand your application’s data access patterns to effectively manage schema transformations at the database level. Make sure you understand this before you start!
Utilize UUIDs over serialized IDs: Due to the distributed nature of CockroachDB, we recommend utilizing UUIDs for optimized performance.
Analyze your Indices: Help the cost-based optimizer make better decisions about query execution plans
Quickstart: MOLT SCT in Action
Follow-along with this demo to jump start your migration:
Prepare Your Schema: Have your source database schema ready for conversion.
Upload to MOLT SCT: Use the web application to upload and analyze your schema.
Review Recommendations: Examine the detailed reports and implement suggested modifications.
Finalize Migration: Once the schema is converted and optimized, proceed with migrating the data into CockroachDB via MOLT Fetch. MOLT Fetch can bulk ingest data, and then also offers continuous migration from your source database, as needed. Lastly, you can check with MOLT Verify to check that your migration has been successful.
For in-depth tutorials on how to migrate to CockroachDB, check out our docs.
Try MOLT SCT Today
Migrating to CockroachDB can significantly enhance your application's scalability and resilience. With MOLT SCT, Cockroach Labs offers a powerful, user-friendly tool to streamline your database migration process, making it faster, more reliable, and less error-prone.
As you plan your migration, check out MOLT SCT for an efficient, accurate, and modern approach to database schema conversion, ensuring a seamless transition to CockroachDB. If you’d like to learn more about the rest of the MOLT suite, watch the demo below from Technical Evangelist Rob Reid, who uses MOLT Verify to validate the migration from his PostgreSQL database to CockroachDB:
Get started with CockroachDB Cloud today. We’re offering $400 of free credits to help kickstart your CockroachDB journey, or get in touch today to learn more.
