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Migrate to Aiven for PostgreSQL®

Migrate PostgreSQL® databases to Aiven for PostgreSQL® using the Aiven Console, aiven-db-migrate, pg_dump and pg_restore, or Bucardo.

Choose a migration method​

Each method copies schema and data from a source PostgreSQL database to Aiven for PostgreSQL. Pick a method based on your source database, your permissions on it, and how much downtime you can accept.

  • Aiven Console: A guided migration wizard. It drives the same underlying migration settings as aiven-db-migrate, so it's a good default when you don't need to script the process.
  • aiven-db-migrate: The CLI and Python tool behind the console migration. Reach for it when the console isn't available to you, such as migrating from a script, a CI pipeline, or another automated workflow.
  • pg_dump and pg_restore: A one-time snapshot using standard PostgreSQL tools instead of replication. Choose this when you don't need the source to stay in sync with Aiven after the initial copy.
  • Bucardo: The fallback for keeping a source continuously in sync when it can't meet the requirements for aiven-db-migrate's logical replication method.

Before you start​

  • The console and aiven-db-migrate both default to continuous migration using logical replication, which keeps the source database available throughout the migration. It requires either superuser access on the source or the aiven_extras extension. Without either, the migration falls back to a one-time pg_dump snapshot.
  • Logical replication doesn't copy every object. Review the PostgreSQL logical replication restrictions before you start, particularly around sequences and DDL changes.
  • Both the console's validation step and aiven-db-migrate's pre-migration checks confirm the target has enough disk space for the source data and runs a PostgreSQL version that's the same as or newer than the source, so problems surface before any data transfer starts.
  • The console and aiven-db-migrate expose the same underlying setting for excluding data from a migration: specific databases (ignore_dbs) and specific database roles (ignore_roles).

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