Migration from DB2 to PostgreSQL made x3 times faster

Being a part of the extensive projects, the customer received a customized version of Ispirer Toolkit for automated migration of more than 2 TB, 1000 tables, and 40500 Lines of Code.

Results

Background

Headquartered in the USA, our customer is an international company that provides a range of medical products and services to healthcare providers and manufacturers. It is a pharmaceutical distributor, healthcare product manufacturer, and provider of distribution and consulting services. The company distributes branded and generic drugs, over-the-counter medicine, medical equipment, surgical devices and laboratory products. It is a leading provider of customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, and clinical laboratories.

The customer coordinates distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 100 000 locations around the world. The company is listed in Fortune 500 list of the highest-revenue generating businesses in 2023.

Challenge

In a significant software modernization endeavor, our client has reached out to us once again, this time with a fresh migration from DB2 to PostgreSQL. This endeavor is part of the broader initiative to migrate all company databases, with focus on migrating legacy RDBMSs to PostgreSQL. This strategic shift not only holds the promise of considerable cost savings in database maintenance but also presents an opportunity to establish a more efficient and cohesive support for the client's operations.

There are several reasons why the client opted for the migration.

First, the outdated database became a barrier to working with modern applications. An outdated database is always a burden for a business. Modern applications are written in new programming languages, and use frameworks and libraries that aren't fully compatible with an outdated database, such as DB2. This can often lead to issues with data retrieval, storage, and manipulation. Considering the fast growing business of our client, this reason was one of the most important for maintaining stable processes.

Second, the cost of maintaining a DB2 database has become substantial. Supporting a number of mission-critical applications, our client needed a modern database that would require far fewer resources to support it. The client wanted to migrate a legacy proprietary DB2 LUW database to a reliable open source alternative.

The client's project is quite large, 2 terabytes of tables, so it was important for the client to carry out the migration as quickly as possible. During joint discussions, our team proposed the most optimal option: a license of Ispirer Toolkit with customization.

Solution

Since the client was looking to perform the migration internally and in the most cost-effective way, the optimal migration solution for the client was the Ispirer Toolkit license. In order to ensure maximum speed and quality of conversion in accordance with the client's requirements, the team decided to customize the Ispirer Toolkit.

During the customization of the tool, a significant number of new conversion rules were added. Here are the main rules:

• Added the feature that converts CREATE TABLE AS from DB2 to CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW to PostgreSQL
• Improved conversion of complex queries with sub-selects
• Enhanced conversion of encryption functions.
  DECRYPT_CHAR and ENCRYPT functions conversion to pgp_sym_decrypt and pgp_sym_encrypt from pgcrypto extension
• Improved conversion of date and time formatting

After the successful customization of the tool, the Ispirer team handed over the tailored version of Ispirer Toolkit with an enhanced automation rate of DB2 to PostgreSQL migration. The Ispirer team was in contact with the client, but the migration of the database and data went smoothly.

The client also had to migrate a substantial volume of data. Ispirer Toolkit handled this large-scale data transfer without a hitch. Despite the scale of the operation, there were no disruptions to ongoing operations, and the transition was completed within the stipulated time frame. The client gained peace of mind knowing that their critical data was securely transferred to the new system without compromising its integrity.

Outcome

Thanks to the customized Ispirer Toolkit, our client was able to successfully complete their migration project according to their planned schedule, achieving impressive results along the way. The tool streamlined the entire migration process, making it quick and highly efficient. Instead of facing the daunting prospect of manually recreating a database over several years, the client saw their task cut down to just six months, thanks to the automated capabilities of Ispirer Toolkit. This significant reduction in migration time not only saved valuable resources but also highlighted the transformative impact of leveraging advanced technology solutions.