MySQL Workbench vs. DBConvert — Migrate From SQL Server to MySQL

Migrating data between different types of databases is not a trivial task. In this article, we will compare two various tools for migrating from SQL Server to MySQL.

MySQL Workbench is a solution from Oracle to convert various databases to MySQL. 

MySQL WorkbenchPros

1. It is licensed under GPL and is free for downloading.
2. MySQL Workbench first supports new MySQL features before the DBAs adopt it.
3. As stated on their website: Using migration, users can easily move databases off older MySQL versions to the latest.
4. Strong support from the MySQL community: Any bugs are reported quickly and eliminated with the highest standards.

DBConvert and DBSync for SQL Server and MySQL are popular software tools that minimize the challenges with migrating and syncing data between on-premises SQL Server and MySQL databases and clouds.

DBConvert for MSSQL and MySQL Pros

1. In any combination (Direction), data migrations between the following databases are possible.

• Microsoft SQL Server,
• Windows Azure SQL Databases/Azure SQL Data Warehouse,
• AWS RDS/ Aurora,
• SQL Cloud for SQL Server.

There are more than 50 possible directions of conversion & sync between databases supported by DBConvert tools. Check out DBConvert studio — the most enhanced database migration software that converts data between the most popular DBMS.

2. You don't need to be a DBA or know how to write scripts to convert databases from SQL Server to MySQL with  DBConvert. DBConvert Applications guide you through several steps from connecting to source and destination databases to scheduling the next runs.

3. After making a copy of your source database to target DB, keep your databases in Sync with Update, Insert, and Drop synchronization features.

4. The DBSync application performs bidirectional replication between SQL Server & MySQL (where two different databases simultaneously replicate changes from each other).

Conclusion

In this article, we've covered two possible ways of migration data from Microsoft SQL Server to MySQL.

MySQL Workbench is an excellent solution to design, develop, administer MySQL databases. It also helps with database migration tasks from many databases to MySQL. But conversion from a database to MySQL is possible in ONE direction only.

DBConvert application is superior to Workbench as a database converter. It supports migration in both directions between MySQL and SQL Server. Many more on-premises and cloud databases conversion is supported. DBSync is a perfect solution to keep databases in sync after initial migration continuously.