How Can I Move My Connections to a New Destination?

Question

How can I move my Fivetran connections to a new destination, such as from Snowflake to BigQuery or to a different region, without interrupting the reporting and analytics that use their data?

Environment

All destinations

Answer

You can't move connections to a new destination in the Fivetran dashboard. Instead, you must re-create them in the new destination or use the Fivetran REST API to move them.

Re-creating or moving a connection to a new destination triggers an initial sync. The exception is moving a connection from a Snowflake destination that uses Native tables to one that uses Lakehouse tables, which preserves the existing data. You can migrate the connection:

From the Fivetran dashboard
By using the Fivetran REST API

To move your connections while keeping your reporting and analytics available during the transition:

Create a new destination. For instructions, see Add a new destination.
Re-create or move each active connection using one of the following options:
- Re-create with the REST API: Retrieve each existing connection's configuration, supply the credential values that the response masks, and use the result to create a matching connection in the new destination. You can script this process. For more information, see How to Create a Fivetran Connection Based on an Existing Connection.
- Move with the REST API (Beta): Use the Move a Connection endpoint with sync_behavior set to BACKFILL. You must pause the existing connection, so this option may interrupt reporting and analytics that depend on it.
- Re-create connections manually: Set up each connection again in the new destination.
Start with database and other high-volume connections, because their initial syncs take the longest.
After the initial sync completes, compare row counts, tables, and columns with the old destination. If you find discrepancies, check the connector release notes for changes affecting newer connections.
Point your production reporting and analytics to the new destination.
Pause or delete the connections syncing to the old destination.

If you need to migrate connection state or automate connection creation and can't use these options, contact your Fivetran representative to find out whether our Professional Services team can help. Additional costs may apply.