Data Migration – MS SQL Server to Snowflake warehouse using Azure Blob Storage

Introduction

Are you trying to migrate MS SQL Server Data to Snowflake? Have you looked all over the internet to find a solution for it? If yes, then you are in the right place. This article will give you a brief overview of migrating data from MS SQL Server to Snowflake via Azure Blob stage. What is Azure Blob stage, why do we need here: Azure Storage Container – The staging area for Snowflake. This might be something created solely for use by Snowflake, but it is often already an integral part of a company’s greater data repository landscape.

Prerequisite

We need following active accounts for MSSQL Server to Snowflake migration MSSQL Server Snowflake Azure Storage Account (Optionally you can use uArrow Azure Storage Account)

Create Connections

1. MSSQL Server connection

uArrow has an in-built MSSQL Server Integration that connects to your MSSQL Server within few seconds.

1.1. Click Connection menu from top to view (SQL DATABASE & CLOUD WAREHOUSE, CLOUD STORAGE, etc.) adapters

1.2. Click Oracle button to create MSSQL Server connection.

1.3. Provide below connection parameters in the connection creation form

Parameter Name Description
Connection name Specify the name of the source connection.
Host Enter the name of machine where the Oracle Server instance is located, it should be Computer name, fully qualified domain name, or IP address
Port Enter the port number to connect to this Oracle Server. Four digit integer, Default: 1521
Database Enter an existing Oracle connection through which the uArrow accesses sources data to migrate.
Schema Enter an existing Oracle database schema name.
User Enter the user name of the oracle database, The user name to use for authentication on the Oracle database
Password Enter the user’s password. The password to use for authentication on the Oracle database

1.4. After connection details, validate connection to verify.

2. Azure Blob storage connection

2.2. Click Azure Blob Storage button to create Azure Blob Storage connection.

2.3. Provide below connection parameters in the connection creation form

Parameter Name Description
Connection name Specify the name of the stage connection.
Container Name Specify your Azure Storage account container name.
Azure SAS Token Specify the SAS Token for your Azure Storage account.
Azure Storage Connection String Specify the Connection String for your Azure Storage account.

2.4.After connection details, validate connection to verify

3. Snowflake connection

uArrow has an in-built Snowflake Integration that connects to your Snowflake database within few seconds.

3.1. Click Connection menu from top to view (SQL DATABASE & CLOUD WAREHOUSE, CLOUD STORAGE, etc.) adapters

3.2. Click Azure Synapse Analytics button to create Snowflake warehouse connection

3.3. Provide below connection parameters in the connection creation form

Parameter Name Description
Connection name Specify the name of the source connection
Host Enter the host name of the Snowflake instance is located
Port Enter the port number to connect to this Snowflake account. Four digit integer, Default: 1433
Database Enter an existing Snowflake database through which the uArrow accesses sources data to migrate.
Schema Enter an existing Snowflake database schema name.
User Enter the user name of the Snowflake, the user name to use for authentication on the Snowflake.
Password Enter the user’s password. The password to use for authentication on the Snowflake

3.4. After connection details, validate connection to verify

3.5. Save Connection – Don’t forget to save connection after connection validation success

Create Job
After success full creating source, target, stage connections, you are ready to create data migration job.

Click Data Migration menu from top to create data migration job.
You can able to see below screen, there you can click again create link to create new job.

Note: if you are already created any job you can use + button to create new data migration job.

Job Creation screen has three phases

Source – specify source database details
Mapping – Verify automated mapping
Target – specify target warehouse details

1. Source

Select the MS SQL server connection name from the drop down as the source from which the tables are to be migrated.

Click on the Through System radio button if table names to be migrated are to be selected from the system in the next screen, click on the Through existing File option if the table names to be migrated are to be uploaded via a csv file.

Select the Azure Blob connection name from the drop down menu of the Source Stage Connection option.

Select the path, where the data files are to be stored, if it is an existing path, select that path from the drop-down menu, if it is a new path that has to be created, select the Create </path/> from the drop-down menu.

Click Save followed by the Next button.

After specifying source details, Save the connection and click Next for mapping defining screen

2. Mapping

In the next screen, if the Through System radio button was selected in the previous screen, then a list of table names will pop up. Select/Deselect the Required option for each table as per requirement.

Select/Deselect the Create Table option depending on whether new tables need to be created in Snowflake, similarly select/deselect the Drop table and Follow Target Schema option, depending on requirement.

Select the add filter option if any filter conditions are to be executed on the tables that are to be migrated, write the filter query in the text box provided.

Once done, click on the Apply option, followed by the Next button.

3. Target

In the third screen, select any snowflake connection name from the drop down menu of the Target Stage Connection, this is the connection where the external stage snowflake tables will be created.

Select the number of connections/targets where the data has to be migrated.

Choose the snowflake connection names (depending on the number of target connections chosen), finally click ‘Save’.

Once the above mentioned Job Configuration is completed, user will be redirected to the data migration home screen, and the latest job configured will be displayed at the top of the data migration jobs list on the screen.

4. Schedule / Ad-hoc Run

After saving the data migration job, user may run job (ad-hoc run) by clicking on the ‘Run’ icon at the right most section of the job definition row.

  • After Data Migration Job is configured, click on the ‘Run’ icon at the right most section of the job definition row.
  • This will instantiate Job Execution.
  • System automatically starts the data migration from Source to Target.

User may also schedule job if required by using Schedule icon/button to schedule existing job.

Monitoring Job

Congratulations! You have created new job for MS SQL Server to Snowflake Warehouse.

After successful job execution you can able to see job progress and lineage info.

Note: You can able to view job summary stats, table level detail, failed rows details for completed job.

1. Navigate to Job Log
Click Job Log menu from top to check job logs.

2. Summary Stats
Click on existing Job Status link/button in above screen to view job log dashboard, this will take you to Data Migration Job Log Summary screen

2. Detail Stats

Data Migration Table Level Status: Here you can see failed details rows clicking on Failed Rows count if any.

3. Lineage

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