Google Cloud launched updates for its cloud-based database environments, including a free trial for Cloud Spanner and a new DataStream for BigQuery service.
The tech giant designed the updates for cloud-based databases that, according to Google, have reached a ‘tipping point’. The oganization claims that more than half of all database usage takes place in cloud environments nowadays.
Cloud Spanner
The updates to Google Cloud Spanner, a fully managed relational database, allow more developers to test and use the service. Previously, many database specialists — especially those working at smaller companies — were hesitant to use the database environment because of its cost.
By introducing free instances to test the cloud-based database environment, Google hopes to remove doubts. According to the tech giant, free instances are a huge incentive for potential end users to start experimenting. In addition to the instances, users get access to guided tutorials, a sample database and 10GB of storage for three months.
During the testing phase, users can deploy all of Cloud Spanner’s capabilities at any time by purchasing a paid subscription. Subscriptions give access to large-scale deployments and capabilities in Google Cloud regions.
Fine-grained access control
The second update to Cloud Spanner is a preview of ‘fine-grained access control’. This functionality allows users to access the cloud-based database environment at the table and column level. Though the database environment already provides identity and access management features, fine-grained access is more convenient for transactional data.
Cloud Spanner also provides more security for specific parts of data. For example, organizations can shield sensitive and personal information from developers building Cloud Spanner-based applications.
DataStream for BigQuery
BigQuery, another major cloud-based database environment by Google, is getting a significant update as well. Google is adding the DataStream Service to BigQuery. The agentless solution should make it easier for users to create real-time insights into the database environment.
For this purpose, the service reliably streams every event as it occurs, and replicates data from operational database sources directly into the BigQuery environment. Afterwards, users can easily set up extract, load and transform pipelines for low-latency data replication and real-time insights. Newly linked data sources are deployments of MySQL, PostgreSQL, AlloyDB and Oracle databases in on-premises and Google Cloud environments.
Legacy migrations
Furthermore, Google Cloud is introducing more functionality for its Google Cloud Database Migration Service. The service helps migrate legacy databases like PostgreSQL to escape vendor lock-in. The service now supports migrations from PostgreSQL to AlloyDB. The update is well suited for transactional workloads.
The updates are available immediately.
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