Migrate SQL Server to MySQL
Beta — live-tested pathMigrating from SQL Server (Microsoft's enterprise relational database) to MySQL (the world's most deployed open-source relational database) means every table, column type, key, index and row has to survive two engines' different opinions about data. DBShifts converts the schema with deterministic rules, transfers data in parallel batches, and validates the result with per-table row counts and type-aware checksums.
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How the migration works
Connect
Point DBShifts at your source and target. Credentials stay encrypted; SSH tunnels supported for private databases.
Analyze
Automatic schema introspection produces a migration plan: what converts automatically, what migrates with warnings, what needs human review.
Migrate
Schema is created on the target, data transfers in parallel batches with constraints deferred, indexes rebuilt after load.
Validate
Per-table row counts, type-aware checksums on both sides, FK integrity — plus a fidelity report listing anything lossy.
What DBShifts handles for SQL Server → MySQL
Engine-specific rules baked into the conversion and transfer pipeline — verified by live certification of this exact pair.
- TINYINT is unsigned (0–255) in SQL Server — DBShifts widens it on signed targets so 128–255 don't clip.
- UNIQUEIDENTIFIER, DATETIMEOFFSET, MONEY and NVARCHAR(MAX) all have explicit conversion rules per target.
- Wrapped defaults like ((1)) and (N'foo') are unwrapped to portable literals.
- AUTO_INCREMENT counters are reseeded to MAX(id)+1 after bulk load, so the first production insert doesn't collide.
- Oversized VARCHAR definitions from other engines are rewritten to TEXT/LONGTEXT to respect MySQL's row-size limits.
- Foreign keys are applied after data load with FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS deferred for speed and ordering safety.
Frequently asked questions
Is SQL Server to MySQL migration production-ready in DBShifts?
SQL Server to MySQL is a live-verified beta pair: it passed the same certification suite as every other pair — a real migration with edge-case data validated by row counts and checksums — and ships with a post-migration fidelity report you can audit before cutover.
How does DBShifts verify the SQL Server to MySQL migration was correct?
Three layers: per-table row counts on both sides, an order-independent type-aware checksum of row data (canonicalized so engine representation differences don't false-alarm), and FK integrity checks on the target. Rows that fail to insert are quarantined with the exact error — never silently dropped — and can be fixed and retried from the UI.
What happens to SQL Server types that MySQL doesn't have?
They convert by deterministic rules with a recorded decision: a native equivalent where one exists, a portable fallback (TEXT/JSON/DECIMAL) where one doesn't. Every lossy conversion appears in the migration plan before you run and in the fidelity report after. You can override any mapping per column.
Can I keep SQL Server and MySQL in sync after the initial migration?
Yes. DBShifts supports incremental sync (UPSERT-based delta transfers on a sync key) and, for supported sources, real-time change data capture so the target stays current until you cut over.
Do I need to write any SQL or scripts for SQL Server to MySQL?
No. Connect both databases, review the generated migration plan (what's automatic, what migrates with warnings, what needs manual review — typically triggers and stored procedures), and run. Procedural code is transpiled best-effort and queued for human review rather than auto-applied.
What's the hardest part of moving SQL Server to MySQL?
Type-system mismatches that fail silently rather than loudly — SQL Server's edge-case types (3 engine-specific rules apply) converting into MySQL's nearest equivalent. DBShifts's deterministic mapping records every downgrade in the fidelity report, so a value that clips, rounds, or widens is visible before cutover, not after.
Go deeper
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