The Google Cloud Platform’s (GCP) cloud data transfer services offer quick and dependable ways to move data between different sources and GCP storage options. These services are designed to make moving data between on-premises systems, other cloud providers, or SaaS applications more manageable and more efficient.
In this blog post, we’ll provide an overview of the Google Cloud data transfer services and solutions, and provide best practices for using them effectively in your Google Cloud migration.
Google Cloud provides four major transfer solutions that meet the important requirements that need to be considered when moving data between locations like reliability, predictability, scalability, security, and manageability.
What is Data Transfer Service?
The term “Data Transfer Service” is a broad term that can refer to various services and technologies related to transferring data between systems or locations. Different transfer techniques are supported by the Cloud Data Transfer Service in GCP, including data transfers from Amazon S3, data transfers across Google Cloud Storage buckets, and data transfers from publicly accessible HTTP/HTTPS destinations. You can schedule transfers, create filters to choose particular data and carry out data validation while the transfer is in progress.
Data Transfer Service is a product that enables users to:
- Move or backup data to a Cloud Storage bucket from other cloud storage providers or on-premises storage.
- Move data from one Cloud Storage bucket to another to be available to different groups of users or applications.
- Regularly transfer data as part of a data processing pipeline or analytical workflow.
This service provides options that make data transfers and synchronization easier. For example, users can:
- Schedule one-time transfer operations or recurring transfer operations.
- Remove existing objects from the destination bucket if there is no corresponding object in the source for those buckets.
- Delete data source objects after transferring them.
- Schedule periodic synchronization from a data source to a data sink with advanced filters based on file creation dates, file names, and the times of day users will prefer to import data.
Google Data Transfer Service Options
- Transfer Appliance for moving offline data, large data sets, or data from a source with restricted bandwidth
- BigQuery Data Transfer Service to transfer data from SaaS applications to BigQuery.
- Transfer service for on-premises data to move data from your on-premises machines to Cloud Storage.
- Transfer Tools
Read more about various Google Storage & Database Services in our blog.
1.) Transfer Appliance
For the purpose of securely transmitting massive volumes of data, Google offers physical equipment called the Transfer Appliance. You can ask Google to provide you with an appliance, connect it to your network, load data onto it, and then transport it back to Google so that it can be ingested into GCP. It is a practical choice for offline data transfers, particularly when handling enormous amounts of data.
Steps to transfer:
Below mentioned are the high-level steps that are followed when using a transfer appliance:-
- Request the Transfer Appliance:-To request a Transfer Appliance, speak with Google Cloud Support or visit the Google Cloud Console. Give specifics like the volume of data you want to transfer and the location where you want it to be sent.
- Prepare the Transfer Appliance:-Once you have the Transfer Appliance, turn it on and connect it to your network. Depending on your network requirements, you might need to specify network settings like IP addresses and DNS.
- Configure Data Transfer:-To configure the transfer parameters, use the Command-Line Interface (CLI) or Web User Interface (UI) of the Transfer Appliance. The source data you want to transfer, such as directories or files, as well as the GCP location where the data will be imported, are specified here.
- Transfer Data to the Appliance:-Your data can be copied or transferred to the Transfer Appliance. This can be accomplished using common file transfer techniques like Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) or an NFS mount.
- Secure the Appliance:-You must securely remove any sensitive data that could have been temporarily kept on the Transfer Appliance before sending it back to Google. For data privacy and compliance, adhere to the instructions provided.
- Ship the Appliance:-Package the Transfer Appliance securely and ship it back to the designated Google Cloud location. Ensure that you follow the shipping instructions provided by Google to avoid any delays or issues.
- Data Ingestion:-After receiving the Transfer Appliance, Google will ingest the information into the GCP destination you’ve defined, such as Google Cloud Storage. The information will be made accessible in your GCP project for additional processing, review, or archiving.
Check Out: Our blog post on Google Cloud Computing Free Trial Account. Click here
Security
Transfer Appliance helps guarantee that users are connecting to a committed device to their devices and network and secures their data from end to end so that it is only read by people trusted by them.
To ensure Transfer Appliance is trusted and safe to connect to devices, it offers the following features:
- Tamper-resistant—Bad actors cannot easily open Transfer Appliance’s physical case. So Google also applies tamper-evident tags to the shipping case, so that they can visually inspect each appliance’s integrity before opening the package.
- Ruggedized—Transfer Appliance’s shipping container is ruggedized, ensuring that the data arrives safely.
- Trusted Platform Module chip—Google validates the TPM’s Platform Configuration Registers to ensure that the immutable root filesystem and software components haven’t been disrupted or tampered with.
- Hardware attestation—Google uses a remote attestation process to validate the appliance before users can connect it to their device and copy data to it. If anything is missing, they connect with users to quickly send them a new appliance.
Transfer Appliance is a good fit for data transfer needs if the user is:
- An existing Google Cloud Platform customer.
- their data size is more than or equal to 10TB.
- their data resides in locations where the Appliance is easily available.
- It would take more than one week to upload their data over the network.
Also Check: Cloud Spanner vs Cosmos DB, to know the major difference between them.
2.) On-Premise Data Transfer Service
A transfer service for on-premises data is a software service that enables users to move extensive amounts of data from their data center to a Cloud Storage bucket. It is well-fitted for clients that are moving billions of files and 100s of TB of data in a single transfer. It can scale to network connections in the 10s of Gbps.
Also Read: Our previous blog post on VPC Google Cloud Platform. Click here
Working
The Transfer Service for on-premises data in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provides a high-level overview of how data transfer from on-premises environments to GCP works.
The following steps give a high-level overview of how the Transfer service for on-premises data works:
- Set up and Configure Transfer Service: Install and set up the Transfer Appliance software on the hardware you provide. Set up your on-premises network and connect the Transfer Appliance to it.
- Select Data for Transfer: Specify GCP exactly what data you want to move from your on-premises environment. Directories, files, and certain data sources might be cited as examples.
- Prepare Data for Transfer: Organise and prepare your data in accordance with the needs of the Transfer Service. This could entail organizing the data in a compatible manner, compressing the data, or encrypting it.
- Copy Data to Transfer Appliance: Copy the prepared data onto the Transfer Appliance using standard file transfer methods such as Secure Copy Protocol (SCP), Network File System (NFS), or other supported protocols.
- Secure Data on the Appliance: As per data privacy and compliance regulations, make sure to securely destroy or encrypt any sensitive information that was momentarily held on the Transfer Appliance.
- Ship the Transfer Appliance: Package the Transfer Appliance securely and ship it back to the designated Google Cloud location. Follow the shipping instructions provided by Google to ensure a smooth transfer process.
- Data Ingestion into GCP: The data from the Transfer Appliance is ingested by Google Cloud into the designated GCP storage services, such as Cloud Storage, BigQuery, or Cloud SQL, after receiving the appliance. Within your GCP project, the ingested data is now available for additional processing, analysis, or storage.
Security
The transferred data is checksummed and error files are re-tried. The data is sent via a secure connection.
A record of the transfer’s progress is written to log objects within the user’s destination Cloud Storage bucket and the progress of the transfer can be tracked within the console.
Also Check: Our blog post on Google Cloud Services. Click here
3.) BigQuery Data Transfer Service
This service makes it simpler to transmit data from outside sources to BigQuery, the analytics and data warehouse platform offered by GCP. It provides pre-built connectors for well-known programs like YouTube, Google Ads, Google Ad Manager, and partner SaaS programs. It gives you the ability to program and automate data transfers so that your BigQuery datasets are always up to date.
Also, this service automates data transfer into BigQuery on a scheduled and regulated basis. The analytics team can build the foundation for a BigQuery data warehouse without writing a single line of code.
Examples of data sources supported include:
- Google Marketing Platform
- YouTube
- Google Ads
- Partner SaaS applications to BigQuery
- Amazon S3
- Teradata
The diagram below shows a simplified flowchart of data flow between an on-premises data warehouse like Teradata and BigQuery.
BigQuery data service can be accessed in three ways:
- Google Cloud Console
- bq command-line tool
- BigQuery Data Transfer Service API
Check Out: What is IAM in Google Cloud? Click here
4.) Transfer Tools
Google Cloud Storage transfer tools are generally used for transferring a small amount of data i.e., up to a few TBs. These tools help users to upload data directly from their computer into Google Cloud Storage.
These include the Google Cloud Console UI, the JSON API, and the GSUTIL CLI. gsutil is an open-source command-line utility for scripted transfers from the shell. It enables users to manage Google Cloud Storage buckets and objects.
Also Check: Our blog post on GKE Cluster. Click here
gsutil or Storage Transfer Service..Which to Choose?
Follow these thumb rules when deciding whether to use gsutil or Storage Transfer Service:
Note: Use this guidance as a starting point. Also, the transfer scenario’s specific details will help users determine which tool is more appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is the Data Transfer Service in GCP?
A set of GCP services called the Data Transfer Service makes it easier to transfer data into GCP storage services like Cloud Storage, BigQuery, and Cloud SQL. It provides a number of ways to move data between different sources, including on-premises systems, other cloud providers, or SaaS programs.
Q2: What are the advantages of using the Data Transfer Service?
The Data Transfer Service simplifies and streamlines the process of transferring data into GCP by providing pre-built connectors, scheduling options, and data validation. It reduces the complexity of data migration and integration tasks, saving time and effort.
Q3: What types of data sources can be used with the Data Transfer Service?
Various data sources, including on-premises storage systems, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, HTTP/HTTPS endpoints, and certain SaaS programs like Salesforce and Marketo are supported by the Data Transfer Service.
Q4: How secure is the Data Transfer Service?
Through encryption techniques, secure network connections, and data integrity checks, the Data Transfer Service makes sure that data is secure while it is being transferred. It adheres to industry standard practices to safeguard the confidentiality and privacy of data.
Q5: Can I schedule data transfers with the Data Transfer Service?
With the Data Transfer Service, you can schedule data transfers. You can automate and set up periodic transfers using the scheduling tools that are offered.
Q6: Can I monitor the progress of data transfers?
Yes, the Data Transfer Service has logging and monitoring features. You can access thorough logs to aid with troubleshooting, see the status of data transfers, and monitor their progress.
Related References
- GCP Professional Cloud Architect: Everything You Need To Know
- Introduction To Google Cloud Platform
- Google Cloud Services & Tools
- Introduction To Google Compute Engine
- Overview of Google App Engine
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