Exporting and importing database containers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10387443-B2
Application number	US-201615222032-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2016
Priority date	May 9, 2016
Publication date	Aug 20, 2019
Grant date	Aug 20, 2019

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for exporting a database container from a database includes exporting database container metadata including artifact definitions in the metadata along with the actual metadata content to a database management system, exporting the database container including the database objects deployed therein to the database management system. The exporting of the database container includes exporting dependencies and structures of the database objects deployed therein, but not the actual content of the database objects. In some instances, however, exporting of the database container can include exporting the actual content of the database objects in response to user request. The method further includes packing the exported database container metadata and the exported database container in an archive. The data in the archive can be unpacked in substantially reverse order to import the database container into another database.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for importing a database container from a first database into a second database, the method comprising:
unpacking, by a database management system (DBMS) managing the first database and the second database, an archive, the archive including a copy of the database container exported from the first database, a copy of database container metadata of the database container exported from the first database, and a copy of common metadata exported from the first database;
creating, by the DBMS and in the second database, target objects in the second database with the same structures as objects identified by the common metadata, and populating the target objects only with container-related data rows from the unpacked archive;
creating, by the DBMS and in the second database, an imported database container with one or more database objects deployed in the database container, the imported database container and the deployed one or more database objects in the database container having the same structures and dependencies as the database container exported from the first database, but not including data content of the database container of the first database in the imported database container, and a database container schema providing an isolated computing environment for the one or more database objects deployed in the database container; and
creating, by the DBMS and in the second database, objects corresponding to dependencies of the deployed one or more database objects that are identified by the database container metadata.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the database container of the first database includes a synonym object referencing an object external to the database container in the first database, and wherein the method further includes creating a target object in the second database corresponding to the object external to the database container in the first database referenced by the synonym object.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the copy of the database container exported from the first database includes data content of the database container exported from the first database, and wherein the method further includes, in response to a user request, placing the data content of the database container exported from the first database in the imported database container.

4. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
unpacking, by a database management system (DBMS) managing a first database and a second database, an archive, the archive including a copy of a database container exported from the first database, a copy of database container metadata of the database container exported from the first database, and a copy of common metadata exported from the first database;
creating, by the DBMS and in the second database, target objects in the second database with the same structures as objects identified by the common metadata, and populating the target objects only with container-related data rows from the unpacked archive;
creating, by the DBMS and in the second database, an imported database container with one or more database objects deployed in the database container, the imported database container and the deployed one or more database objects in the database container having the same structures and dependencies as the database container exported from the first database, but not including data content of the database container of the first database in the imported database container, and a database container schema providing an isolated computing environment for the one or more database objects deployed in the database container; and
creating, by the DBMS and in the second database, objects corresponding to dependencies of the deployed one or more database objects that are identified by the database container metadata.

5. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein the database container of the first database includes a synonym object referencing an object external to the database container in the first database, and wherein the operations further includes creating a target object in the second database corresponding to the object external to the database container in the first database referenced by the synonym object.

6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein the copy of the database container exported from the first database includes data content of the database container exported from the first database, and wherein the operations further includes, in response to a user request, placing the data content of the database container exported from the first database in the imported database container.

7. A system managing a first database and a second database, comprising:
one or more processors; and
a computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
unpacking an archive, the archive including a copy of a database container exported from the first database, a copy of database container metadata of the database container exported from the first database, and a copy of common metadata exported from the first database;
creating, in the second database, target objects in the second database with the same structures as objects identified by the common metadata, and populating the target objects only with container-related data rows from the unpacked archive;
creating, in the second database, an imported database container with one or more database objects deployed in the database container, the imported database container and the deployed one or more database objects in the database container having the same structures and dependencies as the database container exported from the first database, but not including data content of the database container of the first database in the imported database container, and a database container schema providing an isolated computing environment for the one or more database objects deployed in the database container; and
creating, in the second database, objects corresponding to dependencies of the deployed one or more database objects that are identified by the database container metadata.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the database container of the first database includes a synonym object referencing an object external to the database container in the first database, and wherein the operations further includes creating a target object in the second database corresponding to the object external to the database container in the first database referenced by the synonym object.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the copy of the database container exported from the first database includes data content of the database container exported from the first database, and wherein the operations further includes, in response to a user request, placing the data content of the database container exported from the first database in the imported database container.

Assignees

• Sap Se

Inventors

• Tran Le-Huan Stefan
• Harren Arne
• Bregler Jonathan
• Bunte Alexander
• Kellner Andreas
• Kuntze Daniel
• Leonkev Vladislav
• Lueders Simon
• Sauermann Volker
• Schnaubelt Michael

Classifications

• G06F16/258 Primary

  Data format conversion from or to a database · CPC title

• G06F21/6218

  to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database · CPC title

• G06F16/214 Primary

  Database migration support · CPC title

• G06F16/21

  Design, administration or maintenance of databases · CPC title

• G06F16/24554

  Unary operations; Data partitioning operations · CPC title