Data Management Glossary
Object Data Migration
Object data migration is a type of data migration that supports the movement of object-based data; object data storage uses a flat address space and assigns a unique identifier to each piece of data. There are several factors to consider when planning and executing object data migrations, including:
- Data compatibility: Organizations need to ensure that the new data storage system is compatible with the existing data and can support the same data formats, protocols, and applications.
- Data protection: Object data migrations can be complex and lengthy, and organizations need to ensure that their data is protected during the migration process. This may involve using backup and recovery tools, implementing data encryption and other security measures.
- Performance and scalability: Ensure that the new storage system can meet IT’s performance and scalability requirements.
Planning a Successful Object Storage Data Migration
Komprise has created a number of webinars and blog posts focused on unstructured data migration best practices. While object storage migrations maybe on-premises, this post reviews Tips for a Clean File Data Migration and many of the points are just as relevant for an object data migration:
- Define Data Storage Sources and Targets
- Establish Clear Data Migration Rules & Regulations
- Know Your Unstructured Data: Data Discovery
- Smart Data Migration. Know Your Topology
- Before You Migrate Data: Test, Test, Test
- Understand the Differences Between Free Tools for Cloud Migration vs. Enterprise
- Have a Good Data Migration Communication Plan
- Celebrate Wins
General Steps and Considerations for a Successful Object Storage Migration
Assessment and Planning:
- Understand the existing object storage environment. Identify the data to be migrated, including its size, type, and access patterns.
- Assess the compatibility between the source and target object storage systems.
Choose the Right Migration Tools:
- Depending on the size and complexity of the migration, you may use different tools.
- Some object storage systems provide built-in migration tools, while third-party tools like Komprise Elastic Data Migration are also available.
Data Preprocessing:
- Clean up unnecessary or obsolete data before migration.
- Consider data compression or deduplication to reduce the amount of data to be migrated. (This is where analyzing and tiering cold data fits into a Smart Data Migration strategy.)
Metadata Mapping:
- Ensure that metadata associated with objects is correctly mapped between the source and target systems.
- Metadata might include information such as access permissions, creation date, and custom tags.
Network Considerations:
- Assess the available network bandwidth for the migration process.
- Optimize network configurations to achieve the best possible data transfer rates. (Learn more about the Komprise ACE tool.)
Testing:
- Conduct a pilot migration with a subset of data to identify and address any issues.
- Test the performance of the target object storage system with the migrated data.
Incremental Migration:
- For large datasets, consider performing the migration incrementally to minimize downtime and impact on operations.
Monitoring and Validation:
- Monitor the migration process to ensure it progresses smoothly.
- Validate the integrity and completeness of the migrated data.
Update References:
Update any references or links to the objects in your applications or systems to point to the new object storage location.
Post-Migration Verification:
- Verify that all data has been successfully migrated.
- Confirm that applications and services dependent on the object storage are working as expected.
Documentation:
- Update documentation to reflect the changes in the object storage environment.
Rollback Plan:
- Have a rollback plan in case any issues arise during or after migration.
Smarter, Faster, Proven Object Data Migration
Learn more about NAS and object data migration with Komprise Elastic Migration. Whether migrating to the cloud, cloud NAS or to a NAS in your data center, with Komprise Elastic Data Migration you get the fast, predictable and cost-efficient data migration for file and object data.
