Since the time Parse announced that it will be closing all its Parse Services and will be giving one year time to migrate from Parse, all the developers are looking for migration of data from the Parse hosted app. The best thing here is that the Parse Server is an open source version of the Parse backend that can be deployed on any platform that runs Node.js.
Parse hosted service will be retired on January 28, 2017. Now the question here is, Is it easy to migrate your database from Parse to your own backend without losing your data?. The answer is ‘Yes’, it’s easy to migrate from Parse to other backend service without losing your data.
Here are some tips and steps on how you can migrate from Parse to some other solution
Step 1. Move your data from Parse hosted app to self-hosted database. For example, the one suggested by Parse i.e. MongoDB, or to the Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).
Tip- Check your Parse Integration:
If you used Pares to serve all the simple needs of mobile app, such as, Push notification, Login/Logout etc, then you transition will be easy. But if you have more complicated features in your app and currently served by Parse, then you need to list down those features according to their importance.
Step 2. Setup the local Parse Server, this will make your app run locally but still connected to the data located in the database
Tip- List Down the similar solutions and review them:
Today, there are many Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider. For example, Amazon’s AWS Mobile Hub, Google’s Firebase, Microsoft’s Azure Cloud and many more. Choose a service which offers clear solution, see to it that the service you picked up must also have Parse migration process ready and documented.
Step 3. Migrate Cloud Code to the Parse Server, also keep in mind that some of the native Parse modules are not available on the Parse Server
Tip- See if you still want to stick to the cloud solution:
Using BaaS can be risky for any product in the long-term. Infrastructure and the backend code should be developed and owned internally. Parse has also published a module which helps to move you current setup to your server.
Step 4. Deploy your Parse Server to any infrastructure provider such as AWS or Heroku. Now you can change the code using platform backend
Tip- Do a code review
Doing code review gives you an idea if anything is wrong in the app and helps you to see things from different perspective. This will help you in making decisions such as, whether you should migrate to the open source Parse Server?, Should you choose other Baas? Is there a need to refactor everything?, and lastly, What is the percent of dependency and how harmful will be the process?.
Step 5. Publish your new app in the App Store or Play Store replacing the existing one
Tip- Start migrating it slowly and easily:
Start the migration process. Carry out the QA process during and after the migration. The best thing about this is that Parse has provided a year’s time to carry out the migration process. You need to ensure that the migration process is smooth and switch or refactor to the better service.
When you decide for the Parse migration service, see for these three things in any service you select,
â— There should be iOS and Android SDK accessibility
â— It can run Node.js.
â— And it provides automated backup
For the process of migration choose the company or organization that has expertise in backend architecture and cloud computing, this will make the migration process simple.
Ritesh
