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Migration Overview

Islandora 8 Migration Overview

This video provides an overview of the various options available to migrate data into an Islandora 8 installation.

Islandora Online: Islandora Migration Tools

The three options are: - REST API - Migrate API - Islandora Workbench

REST API

Why use the rest API?

  • Works anywhere: You don’t have to work on the Drupal server. Migrate from your laptop!
  • No PHP required: Use any language that can make an http request. Even cURL will do just fine.
  • JSON: Why use XML if you don’t have to?

BONUS: It’s just Drupal’s REST API

Islandora only provides two additional API endpoints

  • /media/{mid}/source
    • PUT a file to this endpoint to create/update a Media’s file
  • /node/{nid}/media/{media_type}/{taxonomy_term}
    • PUT a file to this endpoint to create/update a Media for a Node

Just be aware, you are writing everything yourself! (In other words you are making all of the migration decisions yourself.)

Migrate API

Uses the Drupal 8 Migrate API, which "provides services for migrating data from a source system to Drupal 8.

The "source system" can be almost anything:

  • an Islandora 7 system
  • a group of scanned images and their metadata inside a CSV file
  • a web API

Why use the Migrate API?

  • You can (potentially) do everything with configs!
  • Leverage contrib module plugins.
  • Making plugins for more complex sources and processes is (relatively) simple.
  • Updating metadata is as simple as: drush mim node --update

A Migration Configuration defines an Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) process

  • Source plugins extract data from a source
  • Process plugins transform the data
  • Destination plugins load the data (create new entities)

We’ve built two tools for you using the Migrate API

Recap of migrate_islandora_csv
  • CSVs
    • Everyone understands and knows how to work with CSVs
  • Documented
    • It’s a step-by-step walkthrough
  • Process Metadata
    • Clean up / transform the metadata using processors
  • Build Relationships
    • Migrations can reference other migrated content or generate new content on the fly
Recap of migrate_7x_claw
  • Designed to migrate Islandora 7 data to Islandora 8.
  • DATASTREAMS
    • All of your datasteams, including the audit trail, are migrated
  • METADATA
    • Migrate metadata from Solr or any XML datastream
  • CUSTOMIZABLE
    • Migrate_7x_claw is a starting point, meant to be tailored to your metadata
To make migrate_7x_claw work you need
  • Access
    • You need credentials to both your Islandora 7 and 8 installs.
  • Migrate API Knowledge
    • The tutorial for migrate_islandora_csv Is still relevant
  • Config Sync
    • You need to understand Drupal config synchronization. Features knowledge helps too.
  • Command Line Skills
    • This is best done with shell access and drush

Migrate API demo video

Check out this video that demonstrates the Drupal Migrate API migration process: Islandora Webinar: Migrating from Islandora 7 to Islandora 8

Islandora Workbench

https://github.com/mjordan/islandora_workbench

More tailored for end users with less technical knowledge or limited server access.

  • Uses Islandora’s REST API
  • Runs on your computer
  • “CSVs and a pile of scans”
  • Cross Platform - Python

Islandora Workbench highlights

  • Opinionated
    • MUCH less configuration. Decisions made for you.
  • No Processing
    • CSV has to be in the right format
  • Write Operations
    • Create, Update, and Delete content
  • Bumpers On
    • Configuration and CSV are validated

Islandora Workbench basics

  • Column names are field names
  • If your value contains a comma, wrap it in double quotes
  • Multiple values are pipe delimited
  • Entity references are done via numeric id (nid, mid, tid)

Islandora Workbench - Taxonomy Terms:

  • Can use term id, term name, or both
    • 26
    • Cats
    • 26|Cats
  • If using multiple vocabularies, prefix with vocabulary id:
    • cats:Calico|dogs:Dachshund
  • Terms that don’t exist can be created

Islandora Workbench - More Field Types:

  • Typed Relations - Prefix term ids with namespace:rel:
    • relators:pht:30
    • Relators:pht:30|relators:pub:45
  • Geolocation fields - “Lat,Long”
    • "49.16667,-123.93333"

Paged Content - Two Ways:

  • Metadata on Parent
    • Simple directory structure and filename convention
  • Page Level Metadata
    • Parent and page metadata in same CSV