Google Cloud SQL is a fully-managed database service that stands out from its competitors due to its high performance, seamless integration, and impressive scalability.
This blog post covers everything about Google Cloud SQL like its features, benefits, use-cases, and three types of database engine supported by it.
Cloud SQL Overview
Google Cloud SQL offers the flexibility to set up database infrastructure once done with cloud application development. If you have existing databases running in MySQL, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL BETA, you can conveniently shift them to Cloud SQL. It is a database service provided by Google. To know more about other database services read the blog at Google Cloud Storage & Database Services.
Let’s understand the terms fully managed and Relational Database in detail:
1. Fully-Managed
In a fully-managed setup, the business pays fees to the provider and gains access to the database infrastructure. It is the provider’s responsibility to manage the databases. With the fully-managed database service, the business can focus on productivity and collaboration while scaling its applications.
2. Relational Database
A relational database is a type of database management system that stores related data. The database is established in the form of rows and tables which contain interrelated data items.
The characteristics of a relational database include:
- Structured Query Language (SQL): This is a primary interface that helps build communication with relational databases. It can be used to add, update, delete, and extract data or subsets of data as and when required.
- Data Integrity: Relational databases maintain accuracy, consistency, and completeness of data.
Features of Google Cloud SQL
The features of Google Cloud SQL are manifold. Some of which include:
1. Less Maintenance Cost
Being attributed as fully-managed, users do not have to worry about the maintenance of the application data. This gives them the flexibility to focus on improving their cloud applications.
2. Ensure Business Continuity
Cloud SQL ensures data backup and recovery i.e., in case of any disaster, users can easily retrieve the application data and continue operations without worrying about interruptions.
3. Ensures Security and Compliance
It provides data encryption and firewall protection. Cloud SQL is a secure RDBMS service focusing on providing private connectivity through authentication and user-controlled network access.
4. Easy-Setup
The standard connection drivers and migration tools enable users to set up their first Google database app within minutes. Google’s easy-to-use SQL service provides a hassle-free first-time experience.
5. Automated Tasks
Cloud SQL supports automatic task management to ensure you can focus on scaling your business on the go. Whether it is storage management, backup or redundancy management, undergoing updates, capacity management, or providing data access, the Google service offers it all.
6. Easy Integration
Google provides easy access to cloud SQL instances and ensures easy integration with Kubernetes Engine, App Engine, and Compute Engine. It also helps in building analytics possibilities and allows users to make SQL queries to the databases through BigQuery.
7. Easy Migration
Database Migration Service (DMS) makes it easier to migrate the production databases to Cloud SQL with minimal downtime. It eliminates the manual hassle of provisioning, managing, and monitoring migration-specific resources. It leverages the native replication capabilities of MySQL and PostgreSQL to maximize the fidelity and reliability of the migration and it’s available at no additional charge for native like-to-like migrations to Cloud SQL.
8. Cloud SQL Insights
It helps to quickly understand and resolve database performance issues on Cloud SQL.
Use-Cases
Google Cloud SQL provides a cloud-based alternative to local MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server databases. Users should use Cloud SQL if they want to spend less time managing their database and more time using it.
Many applications running on Compute Engine, App Engine, and other services in Google Cloud use Cloud SQL for database storage.
One of the most common use cases is:
1.) Build a containerized app with a scalable database
Google Kubernetes Engine enables rapid development by making it easy to deploy, update, and manage applications and services. Cloud SQL makes it easy to set up, manage, and administer Postgres databases on Google Cloud. This use case is a building block of a microservices architecture that is backed by an independent storage service, decentralizing data management and ensuring that each service is independently scalable.
Relational Database Engines Supported By Cloud SQL
The three relational database engines supported by Google Cloud SQL include:
1.) MySQL
It is an open-source, fully-managed, relational database management system used for cloud application development and deployment.
You can use Cloud SQL for MySQL with App Engine applications that are written in languages specifically Java, Python, PHP, Node.js, Go, and Ruby. Cloud SQL for MySQL can also be used with external applications using the standard MySQL protocol.
Features of Cloud SQL for MySQL
Cloud SQL for MySQL is a fully-managed relational database service provided by Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Some of the key features of Cloud SQL for MySQL include:
- Automatic backups: Cloud SQL for MySQL automatically performs regular backups of your database. You can also manually initiate backups at any time.
- Scalability: Cloud SQL for MySQL allows you to easily scale your database by increasing or decreasing the number of CPUs or RAM allocated to your database instance.
- High availability: Cloud SQL for MySQL provides built-in high availability with automatic failover to a standby instance in the event of a primary instance failure.
- Security: Cloud SQL for MySQL encrypts all data at rest and in transit using industry-standard encryption algorithms. It also provides fine-grained access control through IAM roles and SSL connections.
- Monitoring and logging: Cloud SQL for MySQL provides detailed monitoring and logging capabilities through Stackdriver Monitoring and Logging. You can monitor key metrics such as CPU utilization, network traffic, and storage usage, and receive alerts when thresholds are exceeded.
- Integration with other GCP services: Cloud SQL for MySQL integrates with other GCP services such as Compute Engine, Kubernetes Engine, and App Engine, allowing you to easily incorporate it into your existing infrastructure.
Overall, Cloud SQL for MySQL provides a highly scalable, highly available, and secure managed MySQL database service, with built-in monitoring and logging capabilities and easy integration with other GCP services.
2.) PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL is a free, open-source, advanced RDBMS that can handle web services supporting many users at the same time. It focuses on extensibility and is referred to as enterprise-class RDBMS.
Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL can be used with App Engine applications running in a flexible environment written in Java, Python, PHP, Node.js, Go, and Ruby. It can also be used with external applications using the standard PostgreSQL client-server protocol.
Features of Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL
- Automatic backups: Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL automatically performs regular backups of your database. You can also manually initiate backups at any time.
- Scalability: Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL allows you to easily scale your database by increasing or decreasing the number of CPUs or RAM allocated to your database instance.
- High availability: Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL provides built-in high availability with automatic failover to a standby instance in the event of a primary instance failure.
- Security: Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL encrypts all data at rest and in transit using industry-standard encryption algorithms. It also provides fine-grained access control through IAM roles and SSL connections.
- Monitoring and logging: Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL provides detailed monitoring and logging capabilities through Stackdriver Monitoring and Logging. You can monitor key metrics such as CPU utilization, network traffic, and storage usage, and receive alerts when thresholds are exceeded.
- Integration with other GCP services: Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL integrates with other GCP services such as Compute Engine, Kubernetes Engine, and App Engine, allowing you to easily incorporate it into your existing infrastructure.
- Compatibility with PostgreSQL: Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL is compatible with PostgreSQL, which means you can use familiar tools and libraries to manage and interact with your database.
3.) SQL Server
SQL Server is a relational database management software product that helps store and extract data when requested by the applications which can be running on the same system or a network of systems spread across a network.
Users can use Cloud SQL for SQL Server with App Engine applications running in the flexible environment written in Java, Python, PHP, Node.js, Go, and Ruby.
Features of Cloud SQL for SQL Server
- Automatic backups: Cloud SQL for SQL Server automatically performs regular backups of your database. You can also manually initiate backups at any time.
- Scalability: Cloud SQL for SQL Server allows you to easily scale your database by increasing or decreasing the number of CPUs or RAM allocated to your database instance.
- High availability: Cloud SQL for SQL Server provides built-in high availability with automatic failover to a standby instance in the event of a primary instance failure.
- Security: Cloud SQL for SQL Server encrypts all data at rest and in transit using industry-standard encryption algorithms. It also provides fine-grained access control through IAM roles and SSL connections.
- Monitoring and logging: Cloud SQL for SQL Server provides detailed monitoring and logging capabilities through Stackdriver Monitoring and Logging. You can monitor key metrics such as CPU utilization, network traffic, and storage usage, and receive alerts when thresholds are exceeded.
- Compatibility with SQL Server: Cloud SQL for SQL Server is compatible with Microsoft SQL Server, which means you can use familiar tools and libraries to manage and interact with your database.
- Integration with other GCP services: Cloud SQL for SQL Server integrates with other GCP services such as Compute Engine, Kubernetes Engine, and App Engine, allowing you to easily incorporate it into your existing infrastructure.
Also Read: Our blog post on Google Certified Professional Cloud Architect. Click here
Key Terminology Related To Google Cloud SQL
1.) Cloud SQL Instance: It corresponds to one virtual machine (VM). The VM includes the database instance and accompanying software containers to keep the database instance up and running.
2.) Database Instance: A database instance is the set of software and files that operate the databases.
3.) High Availability: Cloud SQL instances using high availability (HA) provide greater reliability than non-HA instances. HA in Cloud SQL works by having two synchronized instances: a primary instance and a standby instance. Each instance has exactly one VM. Each instance is in a different zone in the same region.
4.) Failover: A failover is when Cloud SQL switches serving from the original primary instance to the standby instance.
5.) Replication: Replication is the ability to create copies of a Cloud SQL instance or an on-premises database, and offload work to the copies. This is processed to scale the use of data in a database without degrading performance on the primary instance.
6.) Read Replica: It is an exact copy of the primary instance. Data and other changes on the primary instance are updated in almost real-time on the read replica. The read replica processes queries, read requests, and analytics traffic, which in result reduces the load on the primary instance.
Also Check: How to Deploy Google Cloud Function. Click here
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can access the data in Google Cloud SQL?
Instance-level access authorizes access to the Cloud SQL instance from an application or client (running on App Engine or externally) or from another Google Cloud service, such as Compute Engine.
What is the best MySQL tool to use for managing the instance?
There are a variety of MySQL tools available for Cloud SQL.
How does Cloud SQL ensure data security and compliance?
Cloud SQL ensures data security and compliance by implementing various security measures such as encryption of data at rest and in transit, access controls through IAM roles, and compliance with industry-standard certifications and regulations such as HIPAA, SOC, and ISO. Cloud SQL also provides regular security updates and patches to ensure that the database service is secure and up-to-date. Additionally, Cloud SQL allows you to easily audit and monitor access to your database and provides detailed logging and monitoring capabilities through Stackdriver Logging and Monitoring.
Related References
GCP Professional Cloud Architect: Everything You Need To Know
Google Cloud Free Account: Steps to Register for Free-trial Account
Introduction To Google Cloud Platform
Next Task For You
If you are also interested and want to know more about the Google Professional Cloud Architect certification then register for our Free Class.
Henry Pan says
The best practice to migrate from MySQL to Google cloud SQL?
Rahul Dangayach says
Hi Henry,
Regarding your query, please check the below links for help:
https://cloud.google.com/database-migration/docs/mysql
https://cloud.google.com/solutions/migrating-mysql-to-cloudsql-concept
https://cloud.google.com/database-migration/docs/overview
Hope this helps.
Thanks and Regards
Rahul Dangayach
Team K21 Academy
Naseem Abbas says
I am not expert in databases related things; I once migrated my own application on my desktop (mysql server) db to google cloud & after it work when I add my public IP to whitelist in the google cloud page; but any person who want to use from other side of world, I need to add the IP address to whitelist; so if I add also maybe the public ip changes dynamically in some other day , I need to add it again in whitelist; Is there any work around so it can work automatically work? any idea in simple words
Rahul Dangayach says
Hi Naseem,
We have an option of SQL proxy as a service that automatically can whitelist the IPs.
Please refer to this link for more information about SQL proxy: https://cloud.google.com/sql/docs/mysql/sql-proxy
Hope this helps.
Thanks and Regards
Rahul Dangayach
Team K21 Academy