Data Grid Text Migration application

You can use the Data Grid Text Migration application to migrate your long text fields from SQL to Data Grid. For optimal workspace performance when using SQL features, we strongly recommend using fixed-length text fields. Enabling Data Grid allows you to store long text document fields, such as extracted text, outside of the SQL document table. Data Grid utilizes the Relativity file share to store long text document fields, which is the same location where native and image file data is stored.

Note: Once you start a migration job, the results are permanent. You cannot delete a migration job once it has been started.

Special considerations

The benefits of enabling Data Grid include:

  • While the text migration job is running, users can continue to review and search for documents. Admins can perform all administrative tasks including mass actions, indexing, loading data, processing data, and more.

  • Minimizing the impact on your SQL document tables, particularly in larger cases with extensive long text document field data.

  • Decreasing your SQL footprint or reallocating resources to other workflows in your Relativity instance.

  • Storing long text document field data in a separate file share location from your natives and image file data.

  • Simple setup and inclusion in your workspace templates before loading data into the workspace.

  • Access to the Data Grid Text Migration application, a front-end tool for moving long text document fields in existing workspaces without downtime.

Before running text migration

There are several considerations you should be aware of before and during text migration. Before running a text migration job, review the following considerations:

  • For any ARM restored workspaces, the Data Grid Text Migration application automatically creates a migration job to migrate the Extracted Text field to Data Grid.

    • If the Extracted Text field has Include in Text Index set to Yes, then the field will be removed from the Keyword Search index at the beginning of the job prior to any text migration to Data Grid.

    • New workspaces created from default Relativity templates now have text automatically stored in Data Grid.

  • For any ARM restored workspaces, the Data Grid Text Migration application will automatically create a migration job to migrate the Extracted Text field to Data Grid.

  • If your workspace has any custom solutions or third-party applications built on the long text field you're migrating, update them to use the Export API to read long text and metadata fields.
  • If you have any custom data which relies on the long text field you're migrating being stored in the SQL Document table, contact Relativity Support to discuss alternative solutions before migration.
  • Data Grid only supports the IS SET and IS NOT SET operators. If your workspace uses other operators to query on long text fields, you will need to perform a similar query using dtSearch.
  • Mass operations are not supported with Data Grid. If you need to populate a long text field stored in Data Grid, perform an OCR and select the Data Grid field as the destination field.
  • Once the text migration job completes, the only index search available for the migrated field is dtSearch. Keyword search is not supported. Data Grid supports all features of dtSearch. If you do not have an active dtSearch index in your workspace, you will need to build one. You can include a combination of Data Grid and SQL fields in your saved search. For more information, see Running the Breakage Report.
  • Any Extracted Text field included in a Data Grid Text Migration job that has Include in Text Index set to Yes will be removed from the Keyword Search index at the beginning of the job prior to any text migration to Data Grid.

For a list of supported and unsupported Data Grid text functionality, see Supported and unsupported functionality.

Running text migration

Review the following considerations for running a text migration job: 

  • The Data Grid Text Migration application runs at the instance level. However, you must install the application to at least one workspace.

  • You can execute Relativity actions concurrently while the job is running.

  • If you have index build in progress, like dtSearch or Analytics, let the index build finish before starting a migration job.
  • If you have a mass replace in progress, let the operation finish before starting a migration job.
  • We recommend running a migration job in off hours. However, it is not required. You can execute Relativity actions concurrently while the job is running.
  • You can only have one job in progress at a time. If you start a new text migration job while another is in progress, the new job is added to the queue.

Supported and unsupported functionality

It's important to understand the benefits and limitations of storing text in Data Grid. For example, once you enable a long text field's access to Data Grid, you cannot disable it.

Supported extracted text functionality Currently unsupported functionality
  • Import/Export
  • Viewer
  • Preview
  • OCR
  • dtSearch indexing and searching
  • Persistent highlight sets
  • Processing
  • Integration Points
  • Analytics
  • ARM
  • Keyword search
  • SQL queries to long text fields stored in Data Grid
  • Adding extracted long fields stored in Data Grid to layouts, including the Document panel
  • Pivot and Sort in the UI
  • Filtering in the Document list on extracted text
  • Mass operations:
    • Edit
    • Replace
    • Tally/Sum/Average
    • Export to File

Installing the Data Grid Text Migration application

The Data Grid Text Migration application runs at the instance level. However, you must install the application to at least one workspace.

To install the Data Grid Text Migration application:

  1. Navigate to the Application Library tab.
  2. Select Data Grid Text Migration from the list of Relativity applications.
  3. Next to Workspaces Installed, click Install.
  4. Next to Workspaces, click , and then select a workspace.
  5. Click Ok.
  6. Click Save.

Once you install the Data Grid Text Migration application, the Text Migration Jobs tab appears under the Data Grid tab.

Installing the text migration agents

After you install the Text Migration application, you must install one Data Grid Migration Manager agent and at least one Data Grid Migration Worker agent to your environment. We recommend installing one Data Grid Migration Worker agents.

Note: You can run the Breakage Report without installing the text migration agents. We recommend running the Breakage Report and resolving any issues before running a migration job.

For more information on installing agents, see Adding and editing agents.

Running text migration

Once you install the Data Grid Text Migration application and configure your migration agents, you can run text migration. See Running text migration.

Note: While the text migration job is running, users can continue to review and search for documents. Admins can perform all administrative tasks including mass actions, indexing, loading data, processing data, and more.