Step-by-Step Guide: Migrating Data from Oracle to BigQuery

Sudhanshu Mathur
2 min readDec 5, 2023

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Migrating data from Oracle to Google BigQuery involves several steps to ensure a smooth transition. Follow this comprehensive tutorial to navigate the migration process seamlessly.

1. Assess Your Oracle Database:

  • Understand your Oracle database schema, including tables, views, and relationships.
  • Document any constraints, indexes, and triggers that may impact the migration.

2. Set Up Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Project:

  • Create a GCP project if you don’t have one.
  • Enable the BigQuery API and create a BigQuery dataset to receive your migrated data.

3. Export Data from Oracle:

  • Use Oracle’s export tools (like Data Pump or SQL Developer) to export data into a flat file format (CSV, JSON, or Avro).
  • Ensure that your exported data includes all necessary tables and views.

4. Transfer Data to Cloud Storage:

  • Upload the exported data files to Google Cloud Storage (GCS) buckets.
  • Use the Cloud Storage Console or command-line tools like gsutil for the upload.

5. Schema Creation in BigQuery:

  • Create corresponding tables and views in BigQuery with the same structure as your Oracle database.
  • Pay attention to data types and ensure compatibility between Oracle and BigQuery.

6. Data Import to BigQuery:

  • Utilize BigQuery’s data import options, such as the web UI, bq command-line tool, or the BigQuery API.
  • Load data from GCS into BigQuery tables, specifying the file format (CSV, JSON, or Avro).
bq load --source_format=CSV project_id:dataset.table gs://your-bucket/file.csv

7. Verify Data Integrity:

  • Run sample queries to verify data integrity and consistency between Oracle and BigQuery.
  • Compare row counts and a sample of records to ensure a successful migration.

8. Adjust for BigQuery Optimization:

  • Optimize your SQL queries for BigQuery’s architecture.
  • Leverage BigQuery features like partitioning, clustering, and denormalization for better performance.

9. Handle Identity Columns:

  • If your Oracle tables have identity columns, which automatically generate unique values, adapt them to BigQuery’s auto-generated GENERATE_UUID() function.

10. Migrate Stored Procedures and Triggers:

  • Rewrite any Oracle-specific stored procedures or triggers in BigQuery-compatible SQL.
  • Adjust logic as needed due to differences in syntax and supported features.

11. Schedule Incremental Loads:

  • Implement scheduled jobs or workflows for incremental data loads if your data is frequently updated.
  • Leverage GCP tools like Cloud Composer or Cloud Functions for automation.

12. Testing and Validation:

  • Perform thorough testing of your migrated data and applications to identify and address any issues.
  • Conduct validation tests against a subset of your data before executing a full-scale migration.

13. Monitoring and Optimization:

  • Implement monitoring tools to track performance and resource utilization in BigQuery.
  • Continuously optimize your queries and data storage based on usage patterns.

Conclusion:

By following these steps, you can successfully migrate your data from Oracle to BigQuery, ensuring a smooth transition and taking full advantage of BigQuery’s capabilities in Google Cloud Platform. Always plan and test thoroughly to minimize potential disruptions and ensure a seamless migration experience.

Happy learning!!!

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