IT Tips & Tricks

Published 16 May 2022

Data Migration Game of Thrones Style

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Imagine a sort of post-apocalyptic Game of Thrones scenario. All hell has broken loose, and everyone is at each other’s throats. A council of war is called at King’s Landing, where it is agreed that the time for negotiations and diplomatic talks is over. Tensions have reached boiling point and what they’re facing is an all-out bloody battle to the death. The last warlord standing will be the undisputed king of the realm. But a decision is about to be made that bears such similarity to a data migration that it's worth bearing with us at this point — particularly if you’re a Game of Thrones fan.

In the final hours of the meeting, Warrace the Wise proposes something unheard of. To ensure the survival of the race (or in your case, your data), he suggests a ceasefire until all women and children are temporarily banished to Essos. All the ships of the realm will briefly dock at King’s Landing, one after the other, to load the women and children, and sail them across the Narrow Sea to safety. (That’s your migration.) When the last ship has sailed, battle will commence.

The proposal is put to the vote and there’s a landslide majority victory — the last rational decision made by the warlords. The women and children will only return to the Westeros mainland once the fighting is over, and a single warlord and his men have won the war. Hands are begrudgingly shaken in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire. In true Game of Thrones style, we can only imagine the political maneuvering and shenanigans going on behind the scenes: new alliances, old betrayals, cut-throat deals and a no-holds-barred determination to rise as the new overlord.

All the ships of the realm will load the women and children and sail them across the Narrow Sea to safety. (That’s your migration.)

Two Moons to Migration

Every woman in Westeros has sixty days to carefully select which household goods to pack. (Think sorting and prioritizing your data.) They have no idea how long they will linger in Essos. The battle could be over in a matter of weeks, or it could last for years. Much planning is required for this exodus to occur smoothly and to mitigate the anticipated confusion and sorrow. Household goods must be sorted and only the essentials packed. (It’s starting to sound decidedly like a data migration, don’t you think?)

Streets muddied by snowmelt or spring rains are churned to a boggy quagmire all over the realm. Wagon wheels flick mud everywhere, coating buildings, animals and people indiscriminately. Families say their goodbyes, with tearful promises to see one another again.

From mountain kingdom to coastal lowlands, roads are gridlocked with pedestrian travelers and a collection of animal-drawn carts, wagons and carriages, the like of which has never been seen in the history of the realm.

At King’s Landing, every inn and tavern is overflowing with women and children. Miles of tents and makeshift shelters line the seashore and harbor walls, and travelers litter the landscape like grains of wheat. There’s an around-the-clock hustle to get everything and everyone ready to go. (If you’re an old hand at data migration, you know the drill. If you’re new to migration, welcome and brace yourself.)

A line of ships waits at anchor in the bay. Children cry as mothers argue with longshoremen about how much baggage they can stow. (Sounds like end-users who swear they need all their data included in the migration.) Stevedores ferry trunks and rope-tied bundles on board as provisions are loaded.

From the deck, the horn-blower signals passenger embarkation. It sounds sad and hollow and the crowd surges forward. Women count their youngsters, take hold of grubby little hands and board the ship that will take them to a foreign land where they will remain, isolated, for an unknown interval. Fully loaded, the ship raises sail and maneuvers away from the seawall as the next ship glides into place.

Mothers argue with longshoremen about how much baggage they can stow. (Sounds like end-users who swear they need all their data included in the migration.)

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Protecting your linked data is always a good idea — no matter where your migration takes you.

The menfolk watch in silence. The fleet heads east and increases in number as more ships depart, carrying wives and families across the Narrow Sea. It signals the inevitability of what lies ahead, here, on home soil, but all agree, as the horizon fills with mast and sail, that it is the largest migration anyone has ever witnessed.

What the menfolk aren’t witness to is the tragedy of the waifs and strays arriving in Essos: the mothers and children who become separated during the voyage.

As an IT professional, if you can see the metaphor at this point, you’re probably thinking, “missing data.” If you’re also thinking, “and broken file links,” we applaud you because you’re right on the money.

Voyage Across the Narrow Sea

Any migration, no matter how large or small, is at risk. In fact, Gartner claims that more than 80% of data migrations fail. There are any number of reasons for this, but we’re focused on the missing data problem: the separated mothers and children.

The problem of missing data due to broken links commonly manifests itself in the form of data missing from parent files or in links not working.

The data is missing from a parent file because the link that was supposed to fetch that data from another file is broken. The other file (the child file) isn’t usually itself missing. It’s simply that the link pointing from the parent file to that child file has old information. The link is pointing to the old location of that child file. The link hasn’t been updated to point to the new post-migration location. That’s the most common reason for data loss. The data is no longer present in the parent file. Our goal is to help you reunite mother and child by repairing or updating the link.

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Broken links create the apparency of orphaned child files. But it’s preventable.

That’s where LinkFixer Advanced™ comes into play. Barring death (file deletion), LinkFixer Advanced will keep those mothers and children together, no matter what.

Used before your migration, it ensures no missing data due to broken file links. Mothers and children all arrive together at the end of the journey. If, however, you’ve already completed your migration and you’ve got missing data, LinkFixer Advanced can be used to repair the broken links, which instantly restores the missing data.

If you’d like a free demo, call 727-442-1822 or visit LinkTek.com. A free no-credit-card-required trial is also available. Feel free to ask a friendly service consultant about the third way LinkFixer Advanced may be used. Here’s to united mothers and children. We wish you smooth sailing. Commencing countdown to August for season one of House of the Dragon...

Barring death (file deletion), LinkFixer Advanced will keep those mothers and children together, no matter what.

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