Astera Data Stack
Version 8
Version 8
  • Welcome to Astera Data Stack Documentation
  • Release Notes
    • Astera 8.0 - What's New, What's Fixed, and What's Improved
    • Astera 8.0 - Known Issues
    • Astera 8.1 - Release Notes
    • Astera 8.2 Release Notes
    • Astera 8.3 Release Notes
    • Astera 8.4 Release Notes
    • Astera 8.5 Release Notes
  • Getting Started
    • Astera 8 - Important Considerations
    • Astera 8 - System Requirements
    • Configuring the Server
    • Connecting to a Different Astera Server from the Lean Client
    • Connecting to an Astera Server using Lean Client
    • How to Build a Cluster Database and Create a Repository
    • How to Login from Lean Client
    • Setting up a Server Certificate (.pfx) File in a New Environment
    • Installing Client and Server Applications
    • Licensing Model in Astera 8
    • Migrating from Astera 7.x to Astera 8
    • UI Walkthrough - Astera 8.0
    • User Roles and Access Control
  • Dataflows
    • Sources
      • Data Providers and File Formats Supported in Astera
      • Setting Up Sources
      • COBOL File Source
      • Database Table Source
      • Data Model Query Source
      • Delimited File Source
      • Email Source
      • Excel Workbook Source
      • File Systems Item Source
      • Fixed Length File Source
      • PDF Form Source
      • Report Source
      • SQL Query Source
      • XML/JSON File Source
    • Transformations
      • Introducing Transformations
      • Aggregate Transformation
      • Constant Value Transformation
      • Data Cleanse Transformation
      • Denormalize Transformation
      • Distinct Transformation
      • Database Lookup Transformation
      • Expression Transformation
      • File Lookup Transformation
      • Filter Transformation
      • Join Transformation
      • List Lookup Transformation
      • Merge Transformation
      • Normalize Transformation
      • Passthru Transformation
      • Reconcile Transformation
      • Route Transformation
      • Sequence Generator Transformation
      • Sort Transformation
      • Sources as Transformations
      • Subflow Transformation
      • SQL Statement Lookup Transformation
      • Switch Transformation
      • Tree Join Transformation
      • Tree Transform
      • Union Transformation
    • Destinations
      • Setting Up Destinations
      • Database Table Destination
      • Delimited File Destination
      • Excel Workbook Destination
      • Fixed Length File Destination
      • SQL Statement Destination
      • XML/JSON File Destination
    • Data Logging and Profiling
      • Creating Data Profile
      • Creating Field Profile
      • Data Quality Mode
      • Record Level Log
      • Using Data Quality Rules in Astera
    • Database Write Strategies
      • Database Diff Processor
      • Data Driven Write Strategy
      • Dimension Loader - Database Write
      • Source Diff Processor
    • Text Processors
      • Delimited Parser
      • Delimited Serializer
      • Fixed Length Parser
      • Fixed Length Serializer
      • Language Parser
      • XML JSON Parser
      • XML JSON Serializer
    • Data Warehouse
      • Fact Table Loader
      • Dimension Table Loader
  • WORKFLOWS
    • What Are Workflows?
    • Using the Workflow Designer
    • Creating Workflows in Astera
    • Decision Task
    • EDI Acknowledgement Task
    • File System Task
    • File Transfer Task
    • OR Task
    • Run Dataflow Task
    • Run Program Task
    • Run SQL File Task
    • Run SQL Script Task
    • Run Workflow Task
    • Send Mail Task
    • Workflows with a Dynamic Destination Path
    • Customizing Workflows with Parameters
    • GPG-Integrated File Decryption in Astera
  • Subflows
    • Using Subflows in Astera
  • Functions
    • Introducing Function Transformations
    • Custom Functions
    • Logical
      • Coalesce (Any value1, Any value2)
      • IsNotNull (AnyValue)
      • IsRealNumber (AnyValue)
      • IsValidSqlDate (Date)
      • IsDate (AnyValue)
      • If (Boolean)
      • If (DateTime)
      • If (Double)
      • Exists
      • If (Int64)
      • If (String)
      • IsDate (str, strformat)
      • IsInteger (AnyValue)
      • IsNullOrWhitespace (StringValue)
      • IsNullorEmpty (StringValue)
      • IsNull (AnyValue)
      • IsNumeric (AnyValue)
    • Conversion
      • GetDateComponents (DateWithOffset)
      • ParseDate (Formats, Str)
      • GetDateComponents (Date)
      • HexToInteger (Any Value)
      • ToInteger (Any value)
      • ToDecimal (Any value)
      • ToReal (Any value)
      • ToDate (String dateStr)
      • TryParseDate (String, UnknownDate)
      • ToString (Any value)
      • ToString (DateValue)
      • ToString (Any data, String format)
    • Math
      • Abs (Double)
      • Abs (Decimal)
      • Ceiling (Real)
      • Ceiling(Decimal)
      • Floor (Decimal)
      • Floor (Real)
      • Max (Decimal)
      • Max (Date)
      • Min (Decimal)
      • Min (Date)
      • Max (Real)
      • Max (Integer)
      • Min (Real)
      • Pow (BaseExponent)
      • Min (Integer)
      • RandomReal (Int)
      • Round (Real)
      • Round (Real Integer)
      • Round (Decimal Integer)
      • Round (Decimal)
    • Financial
      • DDB
      • FV
      • IPmt
      • IPmt (FV)
      • Pmt
      • Pmt (FV)
      • PPmt
      • PPmt (FV)
      • PV (FV)
      • Rate
      • Rate (FV)
      • SLN
      • SYD
    • String
      • Center (String)
      • Chr (IntAscii)
      • Asc (String)
      • AddCDATAEnvelope
      • Concatenate (String)
      • ContainsAnyChar (String)
      • Contains (String)
      • Compact (String)
      • Find (Int64)
      • EndsWith (String)
      • FindIntStart (Int32)
      • Extract (String)
      • GetFindCount (Int64)
      • FindLast (Int64)
      • GetDigits (String)
      • GetLineFeed
      • Insert (String)
      • IsAlpha
      • GetToken
      • IndexOf
      • IsBlank
      • IsLower
      • IsUpper
      • IsSubstringOf
      • Length (String)
      • LeftOf (String)
      • Left (String)
      • IsValidName
      • Mid (String)
      • PadLeft
      • Mid (String Chars)
      • LSplit (String)
      • PadRight
      • ReplaceAllSpecialCharsWithSpace
      • RemoveChars (String str, StringCharsToRemove)
      • ReplaceLast
      • RightAlign
      • Reverse
      • Right (String)
      • RSplit (String)
      • SplitStringMultipleRecords
      • SplitStringMultipleRecords (2 Separators)
      • SplitString (3 separators)
      • SplitString
      • SplitStringMultipleRecords (3 Separators)
      • Trim
      • SubString (NoOfChars)
      • StripHtml
      • Trim (Start)
      • TrimExtraMiddleSpace
      • TrimEnd
      • PascalCaseWithSpace (String str)
      • Trim (String str)
      • ToLower(String str)
      • ToProper(String str)
      • ToUpper (String str)
      • Substring (String str, Integer startAt)
      • StartsWith (String str, String value)
      • RemoveAt (String str, Integer startAt, Integer noofChars)
      • Proper (String str)
      • Repeat (String str, Integer count)
      • ReplaceAll (String str, String lookFor, String replaceWith)
      • ReplaceFirst (String str, String lookFor, String replaceWith)
      • RightOf (String str, String lookFor)
      • RemoveChars (String str, String charsToRemove)
      • SplitString (String str, String separator1, String separator2)
    • Date Time
      • AddMinutes (DateTime)
      • AddDays (DateTimeOffset)
      • AddDays (DateTime)
      • AddHours (DateTime)
      • AddSeconds (DateTime)
      • AddMonths (DateTime)
      • AddMonths (DateTimeOffset)
      • AddMinutes (DateTimeOffset)
      • AddSeconds (DateTimeOffset)
      • AddYears (DateTimeOffset)
      • AddYears (DateTime)
      • Age (DateTime)
      • Age (DateTimeOffset)
      • CharToSeconds (Str)
      • DateDifferenceDays (DateTimeOffset)
      • DateDifferenceDays (DateTime)
      • DateDifferenceHours (DateTimeOffset)
      • DateDifferenceHours (DateTime)
      • DateDifferenceMonths (DateTimeOffset)
      • DateDifferenceMonths (DateTime)
      • DatePart (DateTimeOffset)
      • DatePart (DateTime)
      • DateDifferenceYears (DateTimeOffset)
      • DateDifferenceYears (DateTime)
      • Month (DateTime)
      • Month (DateTimeOffset)
      • Now
      • Quarter (DateTime)
      • Quarter (DateTimeOffset)
      • Second (DateTime)
      • Second (DateTimeOffset)
      • SecondsToChar (String)
      • TimeToInteger (DateTime)
      • TimeToInteger (DateTimeOffset)
      • ToDate Date (DateTime)
      • ToDate DateTime (DateTime)
      • ToDateString (DateTime)
      • ToDateTimeOffset-Date (DateTimeOffset)
      • ToDate DateTime (DateTimeOffset)
      • ToDateString (DateTimeOffset)
      • Today
      • ToLocal (DateTime)
      • ToJulianDate (DateTime)
      • ToJulianDayNumber (DateTime)
      • ToTicks (Date dateTime)
      • ToTicks (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • ToUnixEpoc (Date dateTime)
      • ToUtc (Date dateTime)
      • UnixTimeStampToDateTime (Real unixTimeStamp)
      • UtcNow ()
      • Week (Date dateTime)
      • Week (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • Year (Date dateTime)
      • Year (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • DateToJulian (Date dateTime, Integer length)
      • DateTimeOffsetUtcNow ()
      • DateTimeOffsetNow ()
      • Day (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • Day (Date dateTime)
      • DayOfWeekStr (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • DayOfWeek (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • DayOfWeek (Date dateTime)
      • DateToJulian (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime, Integer length)
      • DayOfWeekStr (Date dateTime)
      • FromJulianDate (Real julianDate)
      • DayOfYear (Date dateTime)
      • DaysInMonth(Integer year, Integer month)
      • DayOfYear (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • FromUnixEpoc
      • FromJulianDayNumber (Integer julianDayNumber)
      • FromTicksUtc(Integer ticks)
      • FromTicksLocal(Integer ticks)
      • Hour (Date dateTime)
      • Hour (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • Minute (Date dateTime)
      • JulianToDate (String julianDate)
      • Minute (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • DateToIntegerYYYYMMDD (DateTimeWithOffset dateTime)
      • DateToIntegerYYYYMMDD (Date dateTime)
    • Files
      • AppendTextToFile (String filePath, String text)
      • CopyFile (String sourceFilePath, String destFilePath, Boolean overWrite)
      • CreateDateTime (String filePath)
      • DeleteFile (String filePath)
      • DirectoryExists (String filePath)
      • FileExists (String filePath)
      • FileLength (String filePath)
      • FileLineCount (String filePath)
      • GetDirectory (String filePath)
      • GetEDIFileMetaData (String filePath)
      • GetExcelWorksheets (String excelFilePath)
      • GetFileExtension (String filePath)
      • GetFileInfo (String filePath)
      • GetFileName (String filePath)
      • GetFileNameWithoutExtension (String filePath)
      • LastUpdateDateTime (String filePath)
      • MoveFile (String filePath, String newDirectory)
      • ReadFileBytes (String filePath)
      • ReadFileFirstLine (String filePath)
      • ReadFileText (String filePath)
      • ReadFileText (String filePath, String codePage)
      • WriteBytesToFile (String filePath, ByteArray bytes)
      • WriteTextToFile (String filePath, String text)
    • Date Time With Offset
      • ToDateTimeOffsetFromDateTime (dateTime String)
      • ToUtc (DateTimeWithOffset)
      • ToDateTimeOffsetFromDateTime
      • ToDateTimeOffset (String dateTimeOffsetStr)
      • ToDateTimeFromDateTimeOffset
    • GUID
      • NewGuid
    • Encoding
      • ToBytes
      • FromBytes
      • UrlEncode
      • UrlDecode
    • Regular Expressions
      • ReplaceRegEx
      • ReplaceRegEx (Integer StartAt)
    • TimeSpan
      • Minutes
      • Hours
      • Days
      • Milliseconds
    • Matching
      • Soundex
      • DoubleMetaphone
      • RefinedSoundex
  • Report Model
    • User Guide
      • Report Model Tutorial
    • Report Model Interface
      • Field Properties Panel
      • Region Properties Panel
      • Report Browser
      • Report Options
    • Use Cases
      • Applying Pattern to Line
      • Auto Creating Data Regions and Fields
      • Auto-Parsing
      • Creating Multi-Column Data Regions
      • Floating Patterns and Floating Fields
      • How To Work With PDF Scaling Factor in a Report Model
      • Line Count
      • Pattern Count
      • Pattern is a Regular Expression
    • Exporting Options
      • Exporting a Report Model
      • Exporting Report Model to a Dataflow
    • Miscellaneous
      • Importing Monarch Models
      • Microsoft Word and Rich Text Format Support
      • Working With Problematic PDF Files
  • API Flows
    • API Consumption
      • Consume
        • REST API Browser
        • Making HTTP Requests Through REST API Browser
        • Using REST Client Outside of the Scope of the Project
      • Authorize
        • Authorizing ActiveCampaign API in Astera
        • Authorizing Astera Server APIs
        • Authorizing Avaza APIs in Astera
        • Authorizing Facebook APIs in Astera
        • Authorizing QuickBooks API in Astera
        • Authorizing Square API in Astera
        • Open APIs - Configuration Details
  • Project Management
    • Project Management
      • Astera's Project Explorer
      • Connecting to Source Control
      • Deployment
      • Server Monitoring and Job Management
    • Job Scheduling
      • Scheduling Jobs on the Server
      • Job Monitor
  • Use Cases
    • End-to-End Use Cases
      • Data Integration
        • Using Astera to Create and Orchestrate an ETL Process for Partner Onboarding
      • Data Warehousing
        • Building a Data Warehouse - A Step-By-Step Approach
      • Data Extraction
        • Reusing The Extraction Template for Similar Layout Files
  • Connectors
    • Connecting to Amazon Aurora Database
    • Connecting to Amazon RDS Databases
    • Connecting to Amazon Redshift Database
    • Connecting to Cloud Storage
    • Connecting to Google Cloud SQL in Astera
    • Connecting to MariaDB Database
    • Connecting to Microsoft Azure Databases
    • Connecting to MySQL Database
    • Connecting to Netezza Database
    • Connecting to Oracle Database
    • Connecting to PostgreSQL in Astera
    • Connecting to Salesforce Database
    • Connecting to Salesforce - Legacy Database
    • Connecting to SAP HANA Database
    • Connecting to Snowflake Database
    • Connecting to Vertica Database
    • Setting Up IBM DB2 iSeries Connectivity in Astera
  • Miscellaneous
    • Cloud Deployment
      • Deploying Astera on Amazon Web Services
      • Deploying Astera on Microsoft Azure Cloud
      • Deploying Astera on Oracle Cloud
    • Context Information
    • Pushdown Mode
    • Role Based Access Control in Astera
    • Safe Mode
    • Server Command Line Utility
    • SmartMatch Feature
    • Synonym Dictionary File
    • Updating Your License in Astera
    • Using Dynamic Layout/Template Mapping in Astera
    • Using Output Variables in Astera
    • Using the Data Source Browser in Astera
  • Best Practices
    • Astera Best Practices - Dataflows
    • Overview of Cardinality in Data Modeling
    • Cardinality Errors FAQs
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On this page
  • Installing
  • Licensing
  • Cluster and Server Management in Server Explorer
  • Repository
  • Manually Migrating Existing Jobs from Astera 7 to Astera 8
  • Migrating Existing Jobs from Astera 7 to Astera 8 Using Pre-Designed Flows
  • Migration Best Practices
  1. Getting Started

Migrating from Astera 7.x to Astera 8

PreviousLicensing Model in Astera 8NextUI Walkthrough - Astera 8.0

Last updated 10 months ago

Astera 8 is a major release and not a direct upgrade of Astera 7.6. This means that migrating from Astera 7.x to Astera 8 won’t require you to uninstall Astera 7 since Astera 8 can be installed side by side with Astera 7 on a system.

Astera 8 is backward compatible, and therefore, most of the flows created on Astera 7 can run on Astera 8 without modifications. However, as with most major releases of any complex software, we recommend that you upgrade your lower-level environment first, so you have an opportunity to test and verify any existing flows.

This will make it possible to identify any migration issues you may encounter early on in the upgrade cycle. In this document, we will cover how you can migrate from Astera 7.x to the all-new Astera 8.

Installing

The installation package for Astera 8 (64-bit) contains two setups (.exe) files:

  • AsteraDataIntegrator.exe – for Astera client, and

  • IntegrationServer.exe – for Astera Integration Server

The setup files for Astera 8 can be downloaded from .

Click to learn how to install Astera 8 client and server.

Licensing

Unlike the previous releases of Astera, Astera 8 comes with a single licensing key (for the server) rather than two separate keys for the Astera server and client. The licensing key for Astera 8 has changed which means you cannot use your Astera 7 key to register Astera 8.

The single licensing key for Astera 8 is used to register the Astera server and it controls how many clients can connect to the server as well as the functionality available to the connected clients.

If you’re planning to migrate to Astera 8, please contact to get your new Astera 8 license key. The server threshold to accept licenses will depend on the number of licenses you purchase. So, for instance, if you have purchased 50 licenses, the server will accept up to 50 licenses at most.

Cluster and Server Management in Server Explorer

The Astera 8 client can be configured with multiple different servers, however, it can only connect with one server at a time. The jobs scheduled, queued, or running on the other registered server will continue to run without interruption even if the client is not currently connected to the server.

All servers pointing to a single repository database will form a cluster of servers sharing the common workload of queued jobs. A cluster of v8 servers you configure will be up and running and processing jobs in a similar way to 7.6, despite the fact that the v8 client can only connect to and manage one v8 server at a time. You can see which server in the cluster has actually processed a job by right clicking the Cluster and opening the Server Jobs window.

Repository

You need to set up a new repository to communicate with the Astera 8 server. While upgrading the previous releases of Astera 7, you would simply go to Server > Upgrade Cluster Database.

However, while migrating to Astera 8, you need to set up a repository in a new database from scratch to communicate with the server(s) and store the record of server activity. To set up a repository in Astera 8, go to Server menu > Configure > Build Repository Database and Configure Server.

Manually Migrating Existing Jobs from Astera 7 to Astera 8

Once you have built a cluster repository in Astera 8, the next step is to migrate the scheduled jobs you created in Astera 7.

  1. For this, open Scheduler in Astera 7 from Server > Job Schedules.

  1. You will see all the scheduled jobs listed in the Scheduler. Select the jobs you want to migrate.

  1. Click the ‘Export Schedule’ button in the Scheduler toolbar.

  1. Point to the directory and folder where you want to save the scheduled jobs and click OK.

Now Astera will create a separate XML file with a ‘.Sched’ extension for each scheduled job and save it in the designated folder.

  1. A message window will pop up to notify you that your scheduled jobs have been successful. Click OK.

  1. Now you have to import the job files in Astera 8 to complete the migration process. For this, open the Astera 8 client and go to Server > Job Schedules.

  1. This will open the Scheduler tab in the Astera client. To import the existing jobs, click the ‘Import Schedule’ button in the Scheduler toolbar.

  1. Point the path to the directory where you have saved the schedule files. Select all the scheduled jobs you want to import and click ‘Open.’

  1. You can see that the existing jobs scheduled in Astera 7 have been successfully migrated to Astera 8 and a new Job ID has been assigned to each job.

Migrating Existing Jobs from Astera 7 to Astera 8 Using Pre-Designed Flows

Prior to any upgrade, we strongly recommend that you take a full backup of your repository database. Also, upgrading a lower-level environment first (such as QA, UAT, etc.) is recommended prior to upgrading the Production environment. This will make it possible to sort out/resolve any issues before upgrading Production.

Steps to Upgrade:

Using the Astera 7 client, run the following dataflow to export existing schedules into a comma-delimited file.

Note: Prior to running the dataflow, you will need to update the Database Source Object to point to the database where the Astera repository resides.

Take note of any existing Cluster Settings. You can check it by right clicking the cluster in Server Explorer and selecting ‘Cluster Settings’ in the context menu. These settings will need to be re-configured manually after the upgrade.

It may be helpful to take screenshots of those settings for later reference. The settings include Staging Directory, Purge Job Frequency Options, Email Notification Setup, and optionally, Server Profiles if a non-default profile was used prior to the upgrade.

Open the Astera 8 client. Go to Server menu > Manage > Build Cluster Database. Point it to the database hosting the Astera repository.

Note: This will reset the repository.

Use the dataflow below to import the schedules you have exported in Step 1.

Note: Prior to running the dataflow, you will need to change the Database Table Destination object to point to the database where the Astera 8 repository resides.

Open Server Explorer, right-click your cluster, and select ‘Cluster Settings’. Manually reconfigure the relevant settings from Step 2. Optionally, you can manually reconfigure the Server Profiles setting if a non-default profile was used prior to the upgrade.

Restart the Astera server.

This completes the upgrade.

You can download the flows by clicking on the link below:

Migration Best Practices

  • When you are starting the migration process, it is recommended to keep the Astera 7 and Astera 8 servers running in parallel. This is to avoid any interruption in jobs that are currently running.

  • We also recommend you initiate the migration process with a lower level, testing environment and then promote your deployment to a higher-level environment as needed. This will help ensure a smooth migration process with any flow compatibility issues spotted early in the transition cycle.

Follow through the steps explained in to build a cluster database and set up a repository in Astera 8.

Download attached dataflow:

Install the Astera 8 client and server on your machine. You can read more on installing the Astera 8 client and server in document.

Download the attached example dataflow:

(70 KB)

(60 KB)

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