Database movement operations are a suite of self-service actions that can be used as part of Data Application Lifecycle Management (also referred to as DataALM). These actions provide structured processes for common implementation scenarios such as golden configuration promotion, debugging/diagnostics, destructive testing, and general refresh for training purposes.
In this article, you learn how to use database movement operations to perform refresh, export, import, and various flavors of point-in-time restore.
Database movement scenarios and quick start guides
The following table shows the various scenarios that are supported and a link to a quick start guide for each scenario.
Database movement operations are very lengthy operations. The amount of time these operations take varies by data volume, schema complexity, and whether the target of the operation is a flat file, like a .bacpac file in the case of the export operation. In general, these operations can take up to 24 hours to complete, and during the operation there is no way to cancel. In addition, if the target of the operation is an environment like in the production to sandbox scenario, the sandbox environment will go offline at an undetermined time, when the database copy operation has completed, but before the database synchronization steps begin. This will happen with no warning to end users in the environment. As result, it is best to schedule these types of operations during non-business hours.
Database Movement API
The Database Movement application programming interface (API) lets you integrate several of the previously mentioned database movement operations into your overall ALM process. In addition, by using the API together with your preferred scheduling engine, you can build recurrence into the process, so that it runs daily or on demand.
For more information about the Database Movement API, see the following topics:
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