What CockroachDB migrations do you handle?

PostgreSQL → CockroachDB via MOLT toolkit (the canonical migration path), Oracle → CockroachDB (procedural code rewrites + schema conversion), MySQL → CockroachDB (less common but viable), multi-region table cutovers (REGIONAL BY ROW topology rollout), self-managed → CockroachDB Cloud Serverless or Dedicated onboarding, version upgrades within CockroachDB. For the architecture-decision phase, see CockroachDB consulting .

Postgres → CockroachDB — what's the playbook?

Sequence: (1) schema audit — DDL gaps (no inheritance, no extensions, limited triggers) need replacement patterns, (2) application audit — Postgres-specific semantics (Read Committed assumptions, sequences vs UUIDs, LISTEN/NOTIFY, advisory locks) need behavioural validation, (3) MOLT Verify to validate row-by-row data parity, (4) MOLT Fetch for initial bulk load, (5) MOLT Replicator for continuous CDC, (6) cutover with replication-lag-monitored gates. Typical mid-size migrations: 8-16 weeks.

MOLT — what does it cover and what does it miss?

MOLT (Migrate Off Legacy Tools) is CockroachDB's migration toolkit. Covers: schema conversion from Postgres / MySQL / Oracle / SQL Server, bulk data load via MOLT Fetch, continuous CDC replication via MOLT Replicator, row-level parity validation via MOLT Verify. What it misses: complex PL/pgSQL packages (manual rewrite), Postgres-extension dependencies (pgvector, PostGIS need replacement strategy), Oracle PL/SQL packages (largest single piece of Oracle migrations), application-tier semantic differences (Read Committed assumptions, transaction retry handling).

Multi-region table cutover — what's the rollout?

Multi-region tables (REGIONAL BY TABLE, REGIONAL BY ROW, GLOBAL) are the CockroachDB-specific value over single-primary Postgres. Cutover sequence: (1) provision additional regions, (2) configure replica placement for survival goals (region-survival vs zone-survival), (3) apply ALTER TABLE locality changes during low-traffic window, (4) validate query latency for each locality pattern, (5) update application routing to leverage region-local reads/writes. Most teams roll out per-table rather than cluster-wide.

Self-managed → CockroachDB Cloud — economics?

Cloud Serverless: consumption-based, multi-tenant, good for variable workloads + early-stage. Cloud Dedicated: single-tenant, predictable cost, full control over node sizing + region placement. Self-managed wins at sustained scale where reserved-instance EC2 beats Cloud Dedicated pricing. We model both before recommending. The migration itself is straightforward — same engine, configuration + region differences.

Cutover playbook for zero-downtime?

Standard: (1) MOLT Fetch initial load to target, (2) MOLT Replicator starts CDC, (3) wait for replication lag to settle, (4) MOLT Verify row-level parity, (5) flip reads to target — observe error rate + latency, (6) quiesce writes on source briefly, (7) promote target, (8) flip writes, (9) 24-48 hour soak with source kept replicated as rollback, (10) decommission source.

Oracle → CockroachDB — when does this make sense?

When you specifically need distributed-SQL + serializable isolation + Postgres-protocol compatibility post-migration. Most Oracle migrations go to standard Postgres (Aurora, RDS, Cloud SQL) — see Oracle vs PostgreSQL . CockroachDB is the right Oracle target only when distributed-SQL features are a real requirement, not just 'multi-AZ' HA that Aurora Postgres can deliver.

Sound familiar?

▸ Postgres → CockroachDB via MOLT — the migration is approved and MOLT is the canonical toolkit, but the schema-audit + application-tier-retry-handling scope needs design.
▸ Multi-region rollout — single-region CockroachDB is in production but the REGIONAL BY ROW topology rollout for data-residency needs a runbook.
▸ Self-managed → Cloud — Cloud Dedicated economics look favourable, but the configuration migration + cutover sequence need planning.

JusDB CockroachDB migration team delivers tested cutover runbooks with MOLT Verify gates. Book a CockroachDB migration scoping call →

Tested cutover playbooks with MOLT Verify gates

CockroachDB Migration Services

In short: A CockroachDB migration moves PostgreSQL, Oracle, or MySQL onto distributed SQL via the MOLT toolkit — schema and application audits, MOLT Fetch bulk load, MOLT Replicator CDC, and MOLT Verify row-level parity — plus multi-region table rollout and Cloud onboarding, all with replication-lag-monitored cutovers and rollback gates.

PostgreSQL / Oracle / MySQL → CockroachDB via MOLT toolkit, multi-region table rollout, self-managed → CockroachDB Cloud onboarding, version upgrades — with replication-lag-monitored cutovers and rollback gates. See CockroachDB consulting for the architecture-decision phase.

CockroachDB migrations we handle

Each path has a tested runbook — MOLT-driven cutover, replication-lag gating, defined rollback procedure.

PostgreSQL → CockroachDB

Canonical migration via MOLT toolkit. Schema audit (DDL gaps), application audit (Read Committed assumptions, retry handling), bulk Fetch + Replicator continuous CDC + Verify parity validation.

Oracle → CockroachDB

Less common but viable when distributed-SQL is a hard requirement. MOLT Schema Conversion + manual PL/SQL rewrites + retry-handling integration. Postgres-as-intermediate sometimes simpler.

MySQL → CockroachDB

MOLT supports MySQL source. Schema conversion + application-tier rewrites (Postgres-protocol vs MySQL-protocol). Usually paired with broader application modernisation.

Single-Region → Multi-Region

REGIONAL BY ROW topology rollout, replica placement for survival goals, application routing updates. Per-table rollout rather than cluster-wide.

Self-Managed → Cloud

CockroachDB Cloud Serverless or Dedicated onboarding. Same engine, configuration + region migration. Sustained-scale workloads may stay self-managed for economics.

Version Upgrades

Cross-major CockroachDB upgrades with cluster-wide compatibility validation, rolling node upgrade, online schema-change behaviour testing.

CockroachDB migration — common questions

Ready to plan the CockroachDB migration?

Book a 30-minute scoping call. We'll review source topology, design the MOLT cutover sequence, and propose the engagement shape.

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