PostgreSQL is a powerful open-source database management system that offers a wide range of features and capabilities, but sometimes its complexity can be overwhelming for specific projects. In such cases, organizations may consider transferring their database to another DBMS that is easier to use, with the main reason being to reduce the cost of database maintenance. One popular alternative is SQL Server, which offers a simpler interface and is easier to maintain.
Migrating a database from PostgreSQL to SQL Server involves several steps. The first step is to export the definitions of tables from the source database as CREATE-statements. These SQL statements must be converted into the target format and then loaded into the target SQL Server. Next, PostgreSQL data is exported into INSERT-statements, which are then converted into MS SQL format and loaded into the target database.
To export PostgreSQL table definitions into a data definition language script, the pg_dump command is used with the –schema-only –no-owner –no-privileges options. The resulting script must be corrected before loading it to SQL Server. This involves replacing double quotes around database object names with square brackets, removing square brackets around types, replacing the default PostgreSQL schema “public” with SQL Server’s default schema “dbo”, replacing all PostgreSQL “SERIAL” types with SQL Server’s equivalent “INT IDENTITY(…)”, converting all data types that are not supported by SQL Server into text form, and replacing the PostgreSQL query terminator “;” with the MS SQL one “GO”.
PostgreSQL data can be exported into INSERT-statements using the pg_dump command with the –data-only –column-inserts options. Another option to migrate a database from PostgreSQL to SQL Server is to use Integration Services. This involves opening a new Integration Services project in the SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio and creating a data flow task by double-clicking on the ‘Data Flow Task’.
To avoid the manual work involved in database migration and make the process fully automated, a special database conversion tool can be used. PostgreSQL to SQL Server converter is one of such database migration tools. It supports all versions of PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL (including Heroku and Azure SQL), converts indexes with all necessary attributes, offers an option to merge PostgreSQL data into an existing MS SQL tables, supports command line, stores conversion settings into profile, and provides Unicode support.
While migrating a database from PostgreSQL to SQL Server can be a tedious process for large and complex databases, the use of a database conversion tool can make the process fully automated and eliminate the risk of data loss or corruption associated with the human factor. The PostgreSQL to SQL Server converter offers a straightforward and reliable solution for organizations looking to transfer their databases to a simpler and more cost-effective DBMS.
