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Examples and use cases

Complete command examples for every supported migration path, plus advanced scenarios. Each example assumes you already have a credentials.json file configured (see the Quick Start Guide).

Oracle to PostgreSQL​

Full schema and data migration with validation.

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod \
  --source_schema_name HR \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev \
  --target_schema_name hr \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod `
  --source_schema_name HR `
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev `
  --target_schema_name hr `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --n_jobs 4 `
  --fasttransfer_p 2 `
  --drop_tables_if_exists true `
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Oracle to SQL Server​

Two-phase approach: transfer data first, then add constraints.

Phase 1: Schema and data​

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod \
  --source_schema_name FINANCE \
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target \
  --target_schema_name finance \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod `
  --source_schema_name FINANCE `
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target `
  --target_schema_name finance `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --n_jobs 4 `
  --fasttransfer_p 2 `
  --drop_tables_if_exists true `
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Phase 2: Constraints​

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod \
  --source_schema_name FINANCE \
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target \
  --target_schema_name finance \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --task_list copy_pk copy_ak copy_fk

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod `
  --source_schema_name FINANCE `
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target `
  --target_schema_name finance `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --task_list copy_pk copy_ak copy_fk

PostgreSQL to PostgreSQL​

Clone a schema across servers or within the same server.

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id postgres_prod \
  --source_schema_name public \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_staging \
  --target_schema_name public_copy \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id postgres_prod `
  --source_schema_name public `
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_staging `
  --target_schema_name public_copy `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --n_jobs 4 `
  --fasttransfer_p 2 `
  --drop_tables_if_exists true `
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

PostgreSQL to SQL Server​

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id postgres_prod \
  --source_schema_name analytics \
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target \
  --target_schema_name analytics \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id postgres_prod `
  --source_schema_name analytics `
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target `
  --target_schema_name analytics `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --n_jobs 4 `
  --fasttransfer_p 2 `
  --drop_tables_if_exists true `
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

SQL Server to PostgreSQL​

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id mssql_source \
  --source_schema_name dbo \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev \
  --target_schema_name dbo_migrated \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id mssql_source `
  --source_schema_name dbo `
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev `
  --target_schema_name dbo_migrated `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --n_jobs 4 `
  --fasttransfer_p 2 `
  --drop_tables_if_exists true `
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Netezza to PostgreSQL​

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id netezza_source \
  --source_schema_name ADMIN \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev \
  --target_schema_name admin \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id netezza_source `
  --source_schema_name ADMIN `
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev `
  --target_schema_name admin `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --n_jobs 4 `
  --fasttransfer_p 2 `
  --drop_tables_if_exists true `
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Netezza to SQL Server​

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id netezza_source \
  --source_schema_name WAREHOUSE \
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target \
  --target_schema_name warehouse \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id netezza_source `
  --source_schema_name WAREHOUSE `
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target `
  --target_schema_name warehouse `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --n_jobs 4 `
  --fasttransfer_p 2 `
  --drop_tables_if_exists true `
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

SQL Server to SQL Server​

Clone or migrate schemas between SQL Server instances.

Linux​

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id mssql_source \
  --source_schema_name dbo \
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target \
  --target_schema_name dbo \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Windows (PowerShell)​

.\MigratorXpress.exe --auth .\credentials.json `
  --source_db_auth_id mssql_source `
  --source_schema_name dbo `
  --target_db_auth_id mssql_target `
  --target_schema_name dbo `
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log `
  --n_jobs 4 `
  --fasttransfer_p 2 `
  --drop_tables_if_exists true `
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Advanced scenarios​

Incremental data sync​

Re-run only the transfer and diff tasks to refresh data without recreating tables. Useful for periodic syncs during a phased migration.

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod \
  --source_schema_name SALES \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev \
  --target_schema_name sales \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --fasttransfer_p 2 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list transfer diff
tip

Use --drop_tables_if_exists true with transfer to truncate and reload. Omit it if the target tables support upsert logic in your workflow.

Schema-only migration​

Translate and create the schema without transferring any data. Useful for reviewing the translated DDL before committing to a full migration.

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod \
  --source_schema_name INVENTORY \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev \
  --target_schema_name inventory \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create

Parallel large tables​

For schemas with very large tables, increase both parallelism levels:

./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod \
  --source_schema_name EVENTS \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev \
  --target_schema_name events \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 8 \
  --fasttransfer_p 4 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff
  • --n_jobs 8 migrates up to 8 tables concurrently.
  • --fasttransfer_p 4 splits each table into 4 partitions for parallel transfer.
warning

Higher parallelism increases load on both the source and target databases. Monitor CPU and I/O during large migrations and adjust values as needed.

Multi-schema patterns​

Migrate multiple schemas in one run (v0.6.12+):

# All schemas starting with "app_"
./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod \
  --source_schema_name "app_%" \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev \
  --target_schema_name "app_%" \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff
# Every schema in the database
./MigratorXpress --auth ./credentials.json \
  --source_db_auth_id oracle_prod \
  --source_schema_name "%" \
  --target_db_auth_id postgres_dev \
  --target_schema_name "%" \
  --migration_db_auth_id ms_mig_log \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --drop_tables_if_exists true \
  --task_list translate create transfer diff

Best practices​

  1. Migrate data before constraints. Run translate create transfer diff first, then copy_pk copy_ak copy_fk in a separate step. This avoids constraint-violation errors during bulk loading.

  2. Start with a small schema. Test the full workflow on a schema with a few tables before migrating a large production database.

  3. Use diff to validate. Always include diff in your task list to verify row counts match between source and target.

  4. Tune parallelism gradually. Begin with --n_jobs 2 --fasttransfer_p 2 and increase based on observed throughput and system load.

  5. Secure your credentials file. Use $env{VAR_NAME} references instead of plain-text passwords, and restrict file permissions to the migration user.

  6. Review translated DDL. Run a translate-only step first to inspect the generated DDL before creating tables on the target.

Next steps​

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