Docs/Streams/Concepts

Understanding DBConvert Streams

A stream is a saved data-movement workflow in DBConvert Streams. It defines the source and target connections, execution mode (Load or CDC), selected tables/schemas/files/query scope, bundle size, reporting intervals, optional limits, and target structure/data policies.

Use streams when you move beyond exploration and want DBConvert Streams to execute data transfer work. For step-by-step configuration, see the Stream Configuration Guide.

Streams vs. explorer workflows

The product has two layers:

  • Explorer / SQL workflows for inspecting data, testing access, and validating queries
  • Stream workflows for actual Load and CDC execution

This distinction matters because evaluation starts on the first stream run, not when you browse data in Data Explorer.

Stream types

DBConvert Streams has two core execution modes.

Load mode

Use Load mode for:

  • one-time migrations
  • initial loads
  • query-driven extraction workflows
  • file-oriented export workflows where supported by the selected source and target combination

Load mode finishes when the selected scope has been processed.

CDC mode

Use CDC mode for:

  • ongoing replication from supported transactional database sources
  • continuous propagation of inserts, updates, and deletes
  • keeping downstream targets synchronized after an initial load

CDC support is narrower than Load support. Use the Capability Matrix before assuming a source or target combination is CDC-ready.

Lifecycle expectations

Streams move through states from ready to running to finished, stopped, or failed. See Stream states and lifecycle for the full state diagram and transitions. Use Observability to monitor current state, logs, and run history.

Best-practice flow

  1. Validate source access in Data Explorer.
  2. Pick the mode that matches the job:
    • Load for bounded transfer
    • CDC for ongoing synchronization
  3. Start with a smaller scope when testing a new workflow.
  4. After the first run, check that the stream reached the finished state and that the transferred row count matches expectations in the run history.
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