Data location and transfers

This page explains the concept of data location, transfer configuration location, source data location, and how locations and transfers interact.

Key concepts

Locations or region types

There are two types of locations:

  • A region is a specific geographic place, such as London.

  • A multi-region is a large geographic area, such as the United States, that contains two or more geographic places.

Dataset location

You specify a location for storing your BigQuery data when you create a dataset. After you create the dataset, the location cannot be changed, but you can copy the dataset to a different location, or manually move (recreate) the dataset in a different location.

BigQuery stores your data in the selected location in accordance with the Service Specific Terms.

Transfer location

Transfer configurations also have locations. When you set up a transfer, if the destination dataset does not exist, you will need to create it in BigQuery before configuring the transfer. The transfer configuration itself is automatically set to the same location that you specified for the destination dataset. The BigQuery Data Transfer Service processes and stages data in the same location as the destination BigQuery dataset.

Source data location

The source data you wish to transfer to BigQuery may also have a region. In some cases, the region where your source data is stored and the location of the destination dataset in BigQuery are irrelevant. In other kinds of transfers, the dataset and the source data must be colocated in the same region.

For transfers that require colocation, setting up a transfer to a destination dataset in a region that is different from, or not compatible with, your source data's region could result in configuration errors.

Location considerations for transfers

Colocation not necessary

The following types of transfers made by the BigQuery Data Transfer Service are not location-specific, so the location of the BigQuery dataset is irrelevant:

Colocation required

Cloud Storage

Transfers from Cloud Storage to BigQuery require that the Cloud Storage bucket be colocated with the BigQuery destination dataset.

Colocate your Cloud Storage buckets for transferring data.
  • If your BigQuery dataset is in a multi-regional location, the Cloud Storage bucket containing the data you're transferring must be in a regional or multi-regional bucket in the same location. For example, if your BigQuery dataset is in the EU, the Cloud Storage bucket must be in a regional or multi-regional bucket in the EU.
  • If your dataset is in a regional location, your Cloud Storage bucket must be a regional bucket in the same location. For example, if your dataset is in the Tokyo region, your Cloud Storage bucket must be a regional bucket in Tokyo.
  • Exception: If your dataset is in the US multi-regional location, you can transfer data from a Cloud Storage bucket in any regional or multi-regional location.

Data warehouse migrations

Data warehouse migrations from Teradata require a Cloud Storage bucket as part of the transfer process. The Cloud Storage bucket must be colocated with the BigQuery destination dataset.

Redshift data warehouse migrations do not require a colocated Cloud Storage bucket.

Supported regions

Regional locations

Region description Region name
Americas
Las Vegas us-west4
Los Angeles us-west2
Montréal northamerica-northeast1
Northern Virginia us-east4
Oregon us-west1
Salt Lake City us-west3
São Paolo southamerica-east1
South Carolina us-east1
Europe
Belgium europe-west1
Finland europe-north1
Frankfurt europe-west3
London europe-west2
Netherlands europe-west4
Zürich europe-west6
Asia Pacific
Hong Kong asia-east2
Jakarta asia-southeast2
Mumbai asia-south1
Osaka asia-northeast2
Seoul asia-northeast3
Singapore asia-southeast1
Sydney australia-southeast1
Taiwan asia-east1
Tokyo asia-northeast1

Multi-regional locations

Multi-region description Multi-region name
Data centers within member states of the European Union1 EU
Data centers in the United States US

1 Data located in the EU multi-region is not stored in the europe-west2 (London) or europe-west6 (Zürich) data centers.

Next steps