TL;DR

This can be done by building a data pipeline manually, usually a Python script (you can leverage a tool as Apache Airflow for this). This process can take more than a full week of development. Or it can be done in minutes on Airbyte in three easy steps:

1. set up Oracle DB as a source connector (using Auth, or usually an API key)
2. set up Postgres destination as a destination connector
3. define which data you want to transfer and how frequently

You can choose to self-host the pipeline using Airbyte Open Source or have it managed for you with Airbyte Cloud.

This tutorial’s purpose is to show you how.

What is Oracle DB

Oracle DB is a fully scalable integrated cloud application and platform service; it is also referred to as a relational database architecture. It provides management and processing of data for both local and wide and networks. Offering software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), it sells a large variety of enterprise IT solutions that help companies streamline the business process, lower costs, and increase productivity.

What is Postgres destination

An object-relational database management system, PostgreSQL is able to handle a wide range of workloads, supports multiple standards, and is cross-platform, running on numerous operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Solaris, Linux, and FreeBSD. It is highly extensible, and supports more than 12 procedural languages, Spatial data support, Gin and GIST Indexes, and more. Many web, mobile, and analytics applications use PostgreSQL as the primary data warehouse or data store.

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Prerequisites

1. A Oracle DB account to transfer your customer data automatically from.
2. A Postgres destination account.
3. An active Airbyte Cloud account, or you can also choose to use Airbyte Open Source locally. You can follow the instructions to set up Airbyte on your system using docker-compose.

Airbyte is an open-source data integration platform that consolidates and streamlines the process of extracting and loading data from multiple data sources to data warehouses. It offers pre-built connectors, including Oracle DB and Postgres destination, for seamless data migration.

When using Airbyte to move data from Oracle DB to Postgres destination, it extracts data from Oracle DB using the source connector, converts it into a format Postgres destination can ingest using the provided schema, and then loads it into Postgres destination via the destination connector. This allows businesses to leverage their Oracle DB data for advanced analytics and insights within Postgres destination, simplifying the ETL process and saving significant time and resources.

Methods to Move Data From Oracle db to postgres

• Method 1: Connecting Oracle db to postgres using Airbyte.
• Method 2: Connecting Oracle db to postgres manually.

Method 1: Connecting Oracle db to postgres using Airbyte

Step 1: Set up Oracle DB as a source connector

1. Open the Airbyte platform and navigate to the "Sources" tab on the left-hand side of the screen.

2. Click on the "Oracle DB" source connector and select "Create new connection".

3. Enter a name for your connection and click "Next".

4. In the "Connection Configuration" section, enter the following information:  
- Host: the hostname or IP address of your Oracle DB server  
- Port: the port number used to connect to your Oracle DB server  
- Database: the name of the database you want to connect to  
- Username: your Oracle DB username  
- Password: your Oracle DB password

5. Click "Test connection" to ensure that the connection is successful.

6. If the connection is successful, click "Next" to proceed to the "Schema Selection" section.

7. In the "Schema Selection" section, select the schema(s) you want to replicate data from.

8. Click "Create connection" to save your connection settings.

9. You can now create a new Oracle DB source in Airbyte and start replicating data from your Oracle DB database.

Step 2: Set up Postgres destination as a destination connector

Step 3: Set up a connection to sync your Oracle DB data to Postgres destination

Once you've successfully connected Oracle DB as a data source and Postgres destination as a destination in Airbyte, you can set up a data pipeline between them with the following steps:

1. Create a new connection: On the Airbyte dashboard, navigate to the 'Connections' tab and click the '+ New Connection' button.
2. Choose your source: Select Oracle DB from the dropdown list of your configured sources.
3. Select your destination: Choose Postgres destination from the dropdown list of your configured destinations.
4. Configure your sync: Define the frequency of your data syncs based on your business needs. Airbyte allows both manual and automatic scheduling for your data refreshes.
5. Select the data to sync: Choose the specific Oracle DB objects you want to import data from towards Postgres destination. You can sync all data or select specific tables and fields.
6. Select the sync mode for your streams: Choose between full refreshes or incremental syncs (with deduplication if you want), and this for all streams or at the stream level. Incremental is only available for streams that have a primary cursor.
7. Test your connection: Click the 'Test Connection' button to make sure that your setup works. If the connection test is successful, save your configuration.
8. Start the sync: If the test passes, click 'Set Up Connection'. Airbyte will start moving data from Oracle DB to Postgres destination according to your settings.

Remember, Airbyte keeps your data in sync at the frequency you determine, ensuring your Postgres destination data warehouse is always up-to-date with your Oracle DB data.

Method 2: Connecting Oracle db to postgres manually

Moving data from an Oracle database to a PostgreSQL database without using third-party connectors or integrations involves exporting data from Oracle into a flat file format and then importing that data into PostgreSQL. Below is a step-by-step guide to accomplish this task:

Step 1: Environment Setup

1. Install Oracle Database Utilities: Ensure that you have Oracle Database utilities like SQL*Plus and Data Pump (expdp and impdp) installed on your Oracle server.

2. Install PostgreSQL: Make sure PostgreSQL is installed on the target server.

3. Access Credentials: Have the necessary credentials (username, password, database names, hostnames, port numbers) for both Oracle and PostgreSQL databases at hand.

Step 2: Plan the Migration

1. Identify Data to Migrate: Determine which schemas, tables, or data need to be migrated.

2. Data Type Mapping: Analyze the data types used in Oracle and determine the equivalent PostgreSQL data types.

3. Character Set Considerations: Ensure that the character sets are compatible between Oracle and PostgreSQL or plan for conversion if they are not.

Step 3: Export Data from Oracle

1. Prepare for Export: Disable any foreign keys, triggers, or other dependencies that might interfere with the export process.

2. Export with SQL*Plus:

   - Connect to Oracle using SQL*Plus:

     ```shell

     sqlplus username/password@//hostname:port/SID

     ```

   - Spool the data to a flat file:

     ```sql

     SET ECHO OFF

     SET FEEDBACK OFF

     SET HEADING OFF

     SPOOL /path/to/exported_data.txt

     SELECT * FROM schema_name.table_name;

     SPOOL OFF

     EXIT

     ```

   - Repeat the above step for each table you wish to export.

Step 4: Prepare PostgreSQL for Import

1. Create Database and Schema: If not already present, create the database and schema in PostgreSQL.

2. Create Tables: Based on the data type mapping, create the corresponding tables in PostgreSQL with appropriate data types.

3. Adjust PostgreSQL Settings: Modify `postgresql.conf` if necessary to increase settings like `max_allowed_packet` to accommodate large data imports.

Step 5: Import Data into PostgreSQL

1. Prepare for Import: Disable triggers, foreign keys, and indexes in PostgreSQL to speed up the import process.

2. Import Using psql:

   - Connect to PostgreSQL using psql:

     ```shell

     psql -U username -d database_name -h hostname -p port

     ```

   - Use the COPY command to import data:

     ```sql

     \COPY schema_name.table_name FROM '/path/to/exported_data.txt' WITH (FORMAT csv, DELIMITER '|', NULL 'NULL');

     ```

   - Repeat the above step for each exported file corresponding to a table.

Step 6: Verify Data Integrity

1. Check Row Counts: Compare the row counts in both Oracle and PostgreSQL to ensure they match.

2. Check Data Consistency: Run sample queries on both databases to verify that the data is consistent.

3. Re-enable Constraints: Re-enable foreign keys, triggers, and indexes in PostgreSQL and validate them.

Step 7: Finalize the Migration

1. Performance Tuning: Analyze the imported tables and run `VACUUM ANALYZE` to update statistics for the PostgreSQL query planner.

2. Test Applications: Update your application connection strings and thoroughly test to ensure that the applications work as expected with the new PostgreSQL database.

3. Backup: Take a backup of the PostgreSQL database after the migration is confirmed to be successful.

Additional Tips

- Always perform the migration first on a test environment before applying it to production.

- For large datasets, consider using PostgreSQL's `pg_dump` and `pg_restore` utilities with custom scripts to handle data type conversion.

- Thoroughly document the migration process, including any data type transformations and issues encountered.

Remember, this is a high-level guide, and actual migration may involve additional complexities depending on the specific use case and data involved. Always ensure you have a backup and recovery strategy in place before beginning any migration.

Use Cases to transfer your Oracle DB data to Postgres destination

Integrating data from Oracle DB to Postgres destination provides several benefits. Here are a few use cases:

1. Advanced Analytics: Postgres destination’s powerful data processing capabilities enable you to perform complex queries and data analysis on your Oracle DB data, extracting insights that wouldn't be possible within Oracle DB alone.
2. Data Consolidation: If you're using multiple other sources along with Oracle DB, syncing to Postgres destination allows you to centralize your data for a holistic view of your operations, and to set up a change data capture process so you never have any discrepancies in your data again.
3. Historical Data Analysis: Oracle DB has limits on historical data. Syncing data to Postgres destination allows for long-term data retention and analysis of historical trends over time.
4. Data Security and Compliance: Postgres destination provides robust data security features. Syncing Oracle DB data to Postgres destination ensures your data is secured and allows for advanced data governance and compliance management.
5. Scalability: Postgres destination can handle large volumes of data without affecting performance, providing an ideal solution for growing businesses with expanding Oracle DB data.
6. Data Science and Machine Learning: By having Oracle DB data in Postgres destination, you can apply machine learning models to your data for predictive analytics, customer segmentation, and more.
7. Reporting and Visualization: While Oracle DB provides reporting tools, data visualization tools like Tableau, PowerBI, Looker (Google Data Studio) can connect to Postgres destination, providing more advanced business intelligence options. If you have a Oracle DB table that needs to be converted to a Postgres destination table, Airbyte can do that automatically.

Wrapping Up

To summarize, this tutorial has shown you how to:

1. Configure a Oracle DB account as an Airbyte data source connector.
2. Configure Postgres destination as a data destination connector.
3. Create an Airbyte data pipeline that will automatically be moving data directly from Oracle DB to Postgres destination after you set a schedule

With Airbyte, creating data pipelines take minutes, and the data integration possibilities are endless. Airbyte supports the largest catalog of API tools, databases, and files, among other sources. Airbyte's connectors are open-source, so you can add any custom objects to the connector, or even build a new connector from scratch without any local dev environment or any data engineer within 10 minutes with the no-code connector builder.

We look forward to seeing you make use of it! We invite you to join the conversation on our community Slack Channel, or sign up for our newsletter. You should also check out other Airbyte tutorials, and Airbyte’s content hub!