In 2016, Google released many new items to its Google Cloud Database including Cloud SQL and Cloud Bigtable. The first one runs and manages MySQL databases and it was updated to a second generation version. The Cloud Bigtable is a petabyte-scale NoSQL database that is built on the internal Bigtable service of Google, which supports multiple locations. In addition, there is a Cloud Datastore, a NoSQL database for web and mobile applications, which is also generally available for all customers.
Google’s Cloud SQL
Originally released in 2011, Google’s Cloud SQL was created with the purpose of facilitating the set up, maintenance, management and administration of MySQL databases in the cloud. The innovations to Google’s Persistent Disk, a local durable storage service, prompted Google to establish a Second Generation Cloud SQL to allow better performance for less. Released from beta testing,with every other Google database, there are new features that include:
- Flexible backups – It is possible to run these backups on a schedule or on demand
Precise Recover – Point-in-Time supports recovery of an instance to a particular time point
Easy Clones – This streamlined cloning workflow supports the creation of an instance that doesn’t depend on the source. As such, changes can be tested on the copy before they are introduced to a production environment. - Automatic Storage Increase – It supports automatic storage increase to allow Cloud SQL to add capacity as required.
- Open Standards – MySQL wire protocol allows access to database from applications in an easier way.
- Secure Connection – The new Cloud SQL Proxy establishes a local socket and it uses OAuth to support the creation of a secure connection with an application or MySQL tool. It allows secure connections easier for dynamic and static IP addresses.
Google’s Cloud Bigtable
The second item released is on Cloud Bigtable, which is a service that is fully-managed and built on the same NoSQL database service that supports Google Search, Google Analytics, Gmail and Google Maps, as well as other widely used Google products. Enterprise users have access to this option, specially those who require large scale analytics and operational workloads. You can get it via a high-performance gRPC API that is supported by native clients in Java, Go and Python. It is also possible to get an open-source, HBase-compatible Java client. The product is available in multiple Google Cloud Platform regions including IS-east1, US-central1, Europe-west1 and Asia-east1.
Google’s Cloud Datastore
This is a long-lasting, fully managed NoSQL database service that is set to serve data tp the web and mobile apps. While in the past it could only be accessed through the Google App Engine, currently it is available to any user. In order to make customers more confident about the product, an SLA agreement that covers both access types has been implemented.
Its cross-platform design lets you access the Google Compute Engine and Google Container Engine databases, as well as any other server through RESTful or gRPC endpoints. The v1 API can be found on Google’s Cloud Client Libraries (in Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java and Go. Alternatively, it can be done through the low-level native client libraries for JSON and Protocol Buffers over gRPC.
There are informational resources available that will help you to establish efficient use of Google’s different cloud databases. Google’s stats and its Cloud Console interface have also been enhanced. The improvements include URL-Safe Keys in the Entities page’s Key Filter field and support by the Entity Editor itself for properties with complex types like Embedded and Array.
