Express Converter: Easy How-to Guide

Alex Mihutski

Head of Database Migration Department, Ispirer Systems

Migration has always been a challenging process. It has several steps, tons of peculiarities, bottlenecks, and issues with a new system. How to simplify this process? Well, there are several migration tools that shorten your path to software modernization.

In this article, we will consider what migration tools are available, how to choose the right one, analyze best practices for successful migration, and use Express Converter to convert databases and applications correctly.

What is a database migration tool?

A database migration tool automates the migration of schema and data from one database to another or between data storage centers or data lakes. Such solutions eliminate manual coding or the use of additional ETL tools.

Database migration tools can provide organizations with extensive built-in capabilities to ensure secure and risk-free transfer.

How do you choose a database migration tool?

Let's say you have a small migration project. You need a simple but effective solution that automates the migration process. What should you pay attention to when choosing a tool?

1. Security. Security should be one of the primary decision-making factors. Most of the data stored in databases is confidential, so the first thing to do is ask a potential vendor about the security measures provided during transfer. The best scenario is having a tool that operates with read-only rights and can work offline. This way, it doesn't have the possibility of transferring data to third parties. By the way, this is precisely how Ispirer Toolkit works.

2. Performance and speed. These are the crucial factors for choosing a tool to migrate databases. Companies are always looking for the minimum downtime possible for their migration projects. That is why an even slightly faster conversion can result in a vast streamlining of the migration process. For example, Ispirer Toolkit can migrate PostgreSQL to SQL Server at 55 GB\h, while free, open-source solutions can migrate a database much slower. So, you can imagine how heavy time savings could differ from using different solutions.

3. AI integration. Properly implementing AI to speed up individual routine processes can significantly speed up a migration project. For example, Ispirer Toolkit recently received an AI assistant that automates error correction, generates documentation, and refactors code. In total, post-migration code optimization has become 80% faster.

4. Multithreaded data migration. Sometimes, data volumes can reach tens of terabytes. The process can be very long if such migration occurs in one stream. For this purpose, some migration tools can migrate data in multiple streams, which speeds up data migration several times.

5. Dedicated support. There can be a lot of complications during the migration process. The company must provide support so that experts can help in unforeseen circumstances.

Best Practices for Successful Migrations

For the migration to be successful without any glitches, you need to adhere to the best practices of database migration. Which ones exactly? We have collected the best practices based on our many years of experience working with migration projects.

• Assessment before migration. A thorough source system assessment and analysis is the key to success. At this stage, the client understands exactly how long the migration project will take, how complex their database is, whether additional customization of the tool is needed, and the percentage of automation. Sometimes, given specific features, the assessment tool can show that choosing a migration service rather than automating would be better. In Ispirer, automatic Assessment Wizard covers all these questions and provides a detailed report with all the info about the potential migration project.
• Data mapping. Data mapping refers to the process of correlating data types between the source and target systems. This step certifies accurate mapping and modification of data throughout the migration approach. It helps manage variances in data formats, convert data types, and verify data integrity and comprehensiveness. Data mapping in data migration ensures data can smoothly move from one place to another. It involves understanding how data is organized in the previous location and how it should be organized in the new one. Then, rules are set up to ensure the data moves correctly.
• Testing migration. Testing is the final checkpoint to ensure everything was converted correctly and accurately. This step is essential to eliminating errors or inconsistencies throughout the transfer.
• Optimization after migration. Post-migration optimization is also one of the crucial stages before the database cutover. Experts can optimize data integrity issues, incorrect data mapping, lost dependencies, or performance lags during optimization. Usually, this process is considered to be time-consuming. But in the case of Ispirer Toolkit, it is pretty fast. How is that? AI Assistant based on Gemini is the helping hand in streamlining the post-migration optimization process. AI helps identify errors and resolve them in a matter of seconds. The AI assistant may also help refactor code, enhance conversion, and generate documentation. This helps save a great lot of time.
• Selective migration. When you have a large migration project, you may want to see the exact way to migrate SQL objects before starting the full-scale migration. For that purpose, some migration tools provide an opportunity to look under the hood. An example of such a tool is Express Converter.

Let's see how to use Express Converter and how it gives complete control over your migration project.

Express Converter: Step-by-Step Guide

Let's briefly remember what Express Converter is. Express Converter is a tool for implementing small-scale migrations without launching the full database or application conversion. It allows users to preview how specific sections of their code will be converted by our flagship tools—SQLWays Wizard or nGLFly Wizard—before the full migration begins.

So how does it work?

Step 1. Launch the tool

Express Converter's user interface is lightweight and simple. As soon as you launch the tool, you will see the window, and a new tab named "Quick" will be created.

Step 2. Specify source and target

In the blank tabs, specify the source technology of your code and the target one. Ensure that you input them in the corresponding "Source" and "Target" fields. Let's use Oracle as a source and PostgreSQL as a target database.

Step 3. Convert your code

As you can see, the process is simple here. You paste your code and click the "Convert" button.

Step 4. Review the results

The right panel displays the conversion result, which includes the output. The log of the conversion is displayed in the window below.

To view the conversion log in a separate window, click the "Log…" button. Click the "Results..." button to download the files with conversion results. If the "Trace Mode" option is enabled, you can view the log file and the trace file as well.

You can learn more about Express Converter's capabilities on our support website, which provides documentation and detailed instructions for using Ispirer products.

Give Express Converter a try

So, database migration is a complex multi-stage process that requires careful preparation, attention to detail, professionalism, and, preferably, automation.

To ensure a successful transition to a new database, you need to follow best practices, namely a thorough system assessment, data type mapping, proper testing, and detailed code optimization after migration.

If you need to migrate a database or convert an application, book a demo with the Ispirer experts. We will demonstrate our product and its capabilities and explain its benefits for your project. The price list of our products is available at the link.