SQL Server setup

Perform these steps in your SQL Server environment to enable AWS Transform modernization.

Database setup and configuration

Step 1: Create database user with required permissions

Create a dedicated database user for AWS Transform with the necessary permissions. If you already have a DMS Schema Conversion user, you can reuse it.

Connect to your SQL Server instance and run the following commands:

-- Create the login in master database
USE master;
CREATE LOGIN [atx_user] WITH PASSWORD = 'YourStrongPassword123!';

-- Switch to your application database
USE [YourDatabaseName];
CREATE USER [atx_user] FOR LOGIN [atx_user];

-- Grant required permissions
GRANT VIEW DEFINITION TO [atx_user];
GRANT VIEW DATABASE STATE TO [atx_user];
ALTER ROLE [db_datareader] ADD MEMBER [atx_user];

-- Grant master database permissions
USE master;
GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO [atx_user];
GRANT VIEW ANY DEFINITION TO [atx_user];

Step 2: Store credentials in AWS Secrets Manager

Store your database credentials securely in AWS Secrets Manager. Skip this step if you already have a secret created for DMS.

Step 3: Create required DMS roles

AWS Transform requires specific IAM roles for DMS operations. Deploy these roles using the CloudFormation template below.

Create a file named dms-roles.yaml with the following content:

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Description: 'DMS Service Roles for AWS Transform SQL Server Modernization'

Resources:
  DMSCloudWatchLogsRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties:
      RoleName: dms-cloudwatch-logs-role
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument:
        Version: '2012-10-17'
        Statement:
          - Effect: Allow
            Principal:
              Service:
                - dms.amazonaws.com
                - schema-conversion.dms.amazonaws.com
            Action: sts:AssumeRole
      ManagedPolicyArns:
        - arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/service-role/AmazonDMSCloudWatchLogsRole

  DMSS3AccessRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties:
      RoleName: dms-s3-access-role
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument:
        Version: '2012-10-17'
        Statement:
          - Effect: Allow
            Principal:
              Service:
                - dms.amazonaws.com
                - schema-conversion.dms.amazonaws.com
            Action: sts:AssumeRole
      Policies:
        - PolicyName: S3TaggedAccess
          PolicyDocument:
            Version: '2012-10-17'
            Statement:
              - Effect: Allow
                Action:
                  - s3:GetBucketLocation
                  - s3:GetBucketVersioning
                  - s3:PutObject
                  - s3:GetObject
                  - s3:GetObjectVersion
                  - s3:ListBucket
                  - s3:DeleteObject
                Resource: arn:aws:s3:::atx-db-modernization-*
                Condition:
                  StringEquals:
                    aws:ResourceAccount: !Ref AWS::AccountId

  DMSSecretsManagerRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties:
      RoleName: dms-secrets-manager-role
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument:
        Version: '2012-10-17'
        Statement:
          - Effect: Allow
            Principal:
              Service:
                - dms.amazonaws.com
                - schema-conversion.dms.amazonaws.com
            Action: sts:AssumeRole
      Policies:
        - PolicyName: SecretsManagerTaggedAccess
          PolicyDocument:
            Version: '2012-10-17'
            Statement:
              - Effect: Allow
                Action:
                  - secretsmanager:GetSecretValue
                  - secretsmanager:DescribeSecret
                Resource: '*'
                Condition:
                  StringEquals:
                    secretsmanager:ResourceTag/Project: atx-db-modernization
                    secretsmanager:ResourceTag/Owner: database-connector

  DMSVPCRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties:
      RoleName: dms-vpc-role
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument:
        Version: '2012-10-17'
        Statement:
          - Effect: Allow
            Principal:
              Service:
                - dms.amazonaws.com
                - schema-conversion.dms.amazonaws.com
            Action: sts:AssumeRole
      ManagedPolicyArns:
        - arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/service-role/AmazonDMSVPCManagementRole

Outputs:
  DMSCloudWatchLogsRoleArn:
    Description: ARN of the DMS CloudWatch Logs Role
    Value: !GetAtt DMSCloudWatchLogsRole.Arn
  DMSS3AccessRoleArn:
    Description: ARN of the DMS S3 Access Role
    Value: !GetAtt DMSS3AccessRole.Arn
  DMSSecretsManagerRoleArn:
    Description: ARN of the DMS Secrets Manager Role
    Value: !GetAtt DMSSecretsManagerRole.Arn
  DMSVPCRoleArn:
    Description: ARN of the DMS VPC Role
    Value: !GetAtt DMSVPCRole.Arn

Deploy the CloudFormation stack using AWS CLI:

aws cloudformation create-stack \
  --stack-name dms-roles \
  --template-body file://dms-roles.yaml \
  --capabilities CAPABILITY_NAMED_IAM \
  --region us-east-1

Or deploy using the AWS Console:

Step 4: Configure network security

Ensure proper network connectivity between AWS Transform, your SQL Server database, and other AWS services.

Security group configuration (recommended approach)

Recommended Approach: Use security group-based access control rather than IP-based rules. This provides better security, easier management, and works seamlessly with AWS Transform's architecture.

Why Security Group-Based Access Control?

Configure your SQL Server security group

When you configure the DMS Schema Conversion Instance Profile in AWS Transform, you specify a Security Group for the DMS SC instance. Your database security group should allow inbound traffic from this DMS SC security group.

Step-by-step configuration:

Required AWS service connectivity

Ensure your VPC can communicate with:

VPC Endpoints: For private networks, configure VPC endpoints for required AWS services to avoid internet gateway dependencies.