Replicate Multiple IBM Cloud Object Storage Accounts

CData Sync is a standalone application designed to support a variety of replication scenarios, such as replicating both sandbox and production instances into your database. It includes a web-based interface that simplifies the management of multiple IBM Cloud Object Storage connections. In this article, we demonstrate how to use the web app to replicate multiple IBM Cloud Object Storage accounts into a single database.

Configure Replication Destinations

Using CData Sync, you can replicate data from IBM Cloud Object Storage to any number of databases, both cloud-based and on-premises. In this example, we use SQLite as the replication destination to demonstrate the process. To add it as a destination, navigate to the Connections tab.

For each destination database:

1. Click Add Connection.
2. Select the Destinations tab and locate the SQLite connector.
3. Click the Configure Connection icon at the end of that row to open the New Connection page. If the Configure Connection icon is not available, click the Download Connector icon to install the SQLite connector. For more information about installing new connectors, see Connections in the Help documentation.
4. To connect to SQLite, set the following connection properties:
   • Connection Name: Enter a connection name of your choice.
   • Data Source: Enter the path to the database. You can replicate to an existing database or to a new one. The application must have permission to access the database.

5. Once connected, click Create & Test to create, test and save the connection.

You are now connected to SQLite and can use it as both a source and a destination.

NOTE: You can use the Label feature to add a label for a source or a destination.

Configure the IBM Cloud Object Storage Connection

You can configure a connection to IBM Cloud Object Storage from the Connections tab. To add a connection to your IBM Cloud Object Storage account, navigate to the Connections tab.

1. Click Add Connection.
2. Select a source (IBM Cloud Object Storage).
3. Configure the connection properties.
   
   

   Register a New Instance of Cloud Object Storage

   If you do not already have Cloud Object Storage in your IBM Cloud account, follow the procedure below to install an instance of SQL Query in your account:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the page, choose a name for your instance and click Create. You will be redirected to the instance of Cloud Object Storage you just created.

   Connecting using OAuth Authentication

   There are certain connection properties you need to set before you can connect. You can obtain these as follows:

   API Key

   To connect with IBM Cloud Object Storage, you need an API Key. You can obtain this as follows:

   1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
   2. Navigate to the Platform API Keys page.
   3. On the middle-right corner click "Create an IBM Cloud API Key" to create a new API Key.
   4. In the pop-up window, specify the API Key name and click "Create". Note the API Key as you can never access it again from the dashboard.

   Cloud Object Storage CRN

   If you have multiple accounts, specify the CloudObjectStorageCRN explicitly. To find the appropriate value, you can:

   • Query the Services view. This will list your IBM Cloud Object Storage instances along with the CRN for each.
   • Locate the CRN directly in IBM Cloud. To do so, navigate to your IBM Cloud Dashboard. In the Resource List, Under Storage, select your Cloud Object Storage resource to get its CRN.

   Connecting to Data

   You can now set the following to connect to data:

   • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
   • ApiKey: Set this to your API key which was noted during setup.
   • CloudObjectStorageCRN (Optional): Set this to the cloud object storage CRN you want to work with. While the connector attempts to retrieve this automatically, specifying this explicitly is recommended if you have more than Cloud Object Storage account.

   When you connect, the connector completes the OAuth process.

   1. Extracts the access token and authenticates requests.
   2. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.
   
4. Click Connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage to ensure that the connection is configured properly.
5. Click Save & Test to save the changes.

Configure Replication Queries

CData Sync enables you to control replication with a point-and-click interface and with SQL queries. For each replication you wish to configure, navigate to the Jobs tab and click Add Job. Select the Source and Destination for your replication.

Replicate Entire Tables

To replicate an entire table, navigate to the Task tab in the Job, click Add Tasks, choose the table(s) from the list of IBM Cloud Object Storage tables you wish to replicate into SQLite, and click Add Tasks again.

Customize Your Replication

The statement below caches and incrementally updates a table of IBM Cloud Object Storage data:

REPLICATE Objects;

You can specify a file containing the replication queries you want to use to update a particular database. Separate the replication statements with semicolons. The following options are useful when replicating multiple IBM Cloud Object Storage accounts into the same database:

• Use a different table prefix in the REPLICATE SELECT statement:

  REPLICATE PROD_Objects SELECT * FROM Objects;
  

• Alternatively, use a different schema:

  REPLICATE PROD.Objects SELECT * FROM Objects;
  

Schedule Your Replication

Select the Overview tab in the Job, and click Configure under Schedule. You can schedule a job to run automatically by configuring it to run at specified intervals, ranging from once every 10 minutes to once every month.

Once you have configured the replication job, click Save Changes. You can configure any number of jobs to manage the replication of your IBM Cloud Object Storage data to disparate on-premises, cloud-based, and other databases.

Run the Replication Job

Once all the required configurations are made for the job, select the IBM Cloud Object Storage table you wish to replicate and click Run. After the replication completes successfully, a notification appears, showing the time taken to run the job and the number of rows replicated.

Free Trial & More Information

Now that you've seen how to replicate and configure multiple jobs to manage the replication of your IBM Cloud Object Storage data to various on-premises, cloud-based, and other databases, visit our CData Sync page to learn more and download a free 30-day trial. Start consolidating your enterprise data today!

As always, our world-class Support Team is ready to answer any questions you may have.