Database migration projects often start with the same question:
How much of our existing SQL and database workload can move without modification?
Guessing from a compatibility percentage is risky. MTK, the migration toolkit for GBase Database (GBase 8s), provides a more practical way to assess the source workload before migration planning begins.
Instead of manually reviewing thousands of SQL statements and database objects, MTK can analyze the source workload and identify areas that require attention.
How MTK Works
A typical GBase Database migration assessment follows four steps.
1. Collect the Source Workload
Export relevant schema DDL and representative SQL logs from the source Oracle database.
For a meaningful assessment, include more than simple application queries. Stored procedures, functions, packages, database objects, and scheduled jobs can also be important parts of the migration workload.
2. Analyze with MTK
Feed the collected workload into MTK.
The tool analyzes the source content and identifies compatibility differences, helping classify what can be migrated directly and what may require modification.
This turns a large, unstructured migration workload into a more manageable compatibility inventory.
3. Review the Compatibility Report
The generated report helps distinguish between different migration scenarios, such as:
- Pass — Can be migrated with little or no modification
- Rewrite — Requires application or database-code changes
- Block / Review — Requires further technical assessment
The goal is not simply to produce a percentage. The useful output is knowing which objects and SQL statements require work and why.
4. Estimate Migration Effort
Once the rewrite and review items are identified, teams can estimate migration effort based on actual workload evidence.
This is much more reliable than estimating project duration from a generic compatibility claim.
A Real Migration Example
In one city commercial bank migration project, approximately 200 nightly batch jobs were assessed through this process.
Around 95% of the workload required no modification, helping the project organize the remaining migration work into controlled batches and complete the migration program in approximately eight weeks.
The important lesson is not the percentage itself.
It is the ability to identify exactly where the migration work is concentrated.
Why Automated Assessment Matters
A large Oracle environment can contain thousands of SQL statements and database objects. Manually checking every item is slow and makes early project estimates highly subjective.
MTK does not replace DBA expertise or application testing. Instead, it helps remove the repetitive first-pass analysis so engineers can focus on the exceptions that actually require judgment.
Think of it this way:
Migration assessment should not be an archaeological excavation.
Use automation to find the potential compatibility issues first, then spend engineering time validating the important ones.
The Takeaway
For teams planning an Oracle migration to GBase Database (GBase 8s), MTK can provide an evidence-based starting point for compatibility assessment.
Collect representative source workloads, analyze them with MTK, review the pass/rewrite/review results, and estimate the migration effort from the actual workload.
Don't estimate migration risk from a percentage. Find the exceptions first.
Keywords: GBase Database, GBase 8s, MTK, Oracle migration, database migration, SQL compatibility, Oracle compatibility, migration assessment, database migration toolkit, enterprise database.
