Modifying a Cloud Bigtable instance

After you create a Cloud Bigtable instance, you can update any of the following settings without any downtime:

• The number of nodes in each cluster

  After you add or remove nodes, it typically takes a few minutes under load for Cloud Bigtable to optimize the cluster's performance.

• The number of clusters in the instance

  After you add a cluster, it takes time for Cloud Bigtable to replicate your data to the new cluster. New clusters are replicated from the geographically nearest cluster in the instance. In general, the greater the distance, the longer replication will take.

• The application profiles for the instance, which contain replication settings

• The labels for the instance, which provide metadata about the instance

• The display name for the instance

Note: You can change cluster IDs only by deleting and recreating the cluster. Also, you cannot change the instance ID or the instance's storage type. To change any of these settings, you must create a new instance with your preferred settings; export your data from the old instance; import your data into the new instance; and delete the old instance.

Before you begin

If you want to use the command-line tools for Cloud Bigtable, install the Cloud SDK and the cbt command-line tool if you haven't already.

Adding and removing nodes

Nodes are the compute resources that a Cloud Bigtable cluster uses to access your data and perform administrative tasks. You should monitor each cluster's CPU and disk usage to make sure the cluster has enough nodes. To learn more about how the number of nodes affects a cluster's performance, see Performance for typical workloads.

By default, you can provision up to 30 Cloud Bigtable nodes per zone in each Google Cloud project. If you need to provision more nodes than the default limit, use the node request form.

To change the number of nodes in a cluster:

Console

1. Open the list of Cloud Bigtable instances in the Cloud Console.

   Open the instance list

2. Click the instance you want to change, then click Edit instance.

3. Under Configure clusters, click the pencil (edit) icon next to the cluster you want to update.

4. Under Nodes, enter the number of nodes for the cluster.

   In many cases, each cluster in an instance should have the same number of nodes, but there are exceptions. Learn about nodes and replication.

5. Click Save.

gcloud

1. If you don't know the instance ID, use the bigtable instances list command to view a list of your project's instances:

   gcloud bigtable instances list
   

2. If you don't know the instance's cluster IDs, use the bigtable clusters list command to view a list of clusters in the instance:

   gcloud bigtable clusters list --instances=INSTANCE_ID
   

   Replace INSTANCE_ID with the permanent identifier for the instance.

3. Use the bigtable clusters update command to change the number of nodes:

   gcloud bigtable clusters update CLUSTER_ID \
       --instance=INSTANCE_ID \
       --num-nodes=NUM_NODES
   

   Provide the following values:

   • CLUSTER_ID: The permanent identifier for the cluster.
   • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.

   • NUM_NODES: The number of nodes in the cluster. Each cluster in an instance must have 1 or more nodes.

     In many cases, each cluster in an instance should have the same number of nodes, but there are exceptions. Learn about nodes and replication.

cbt

1. If you don't know the instance ID, use the listinstances command to view a list of your project's instances:

   cbt listinstances
   

2. If you don't know the instance's cluster IDs, use the listclusters command to view a list of clusters in the instance:

   cbt -instance=INSTANCE_ID listclusters
   

   Replace INSTANCE_ID with the permanent identifier for the instance.

3. Use the updatecluster command to change the number of nodes:

   cbt -instance=INSTANCE_ID updatecluster CLUSTER_ID NUM_NODES
   

   Provide the following values:

   • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.
   • CLUSTER_ID: The permanent identifier for the cluster.

   • NUM_NODES: The number of nodes in the cluster. Each cluster in an instance must have 1 or more nodes.

     In many cases, each cluster in an instance should have the same number of nodes, but there are exceptions. Learn about nodes and replication.

Adding and deleting clusters

An instance can have up to 4 clusters. Instances with 2 or more clusters automatically use replication.

Adding a cluster

You can add clusters to an existing instance, up to a maximum of 4 clusters per instance. Clusters can be in any region where Cloud Bigtable is available, as long as each cluster is in a different zone. The ideal locations for additional clusters depend on your use case. Before you add clusters to a single-cluster instance, read about the restrictions that apply when you change garbage-collection policies on replicated tables. Then see examples of replication settings for recommendations.

To add a cluster to an instance:

Console

1. Open the list of Cloud Bigtable instances in the Cloud Console.

   Open the instance list

2. Click the instance you want to change, then click Edit instance.

3. Under Configure clusters, click Add cluster.

   If this button is disabled, the instance already has the maximum number of clusters.

4. Enter a cluster ID, and select the cluster's region and zone.

5. Enter the number of nodes for the cluster.

   In many cases, each cluster in an instance should have the same number of nodes, but there are exceptions. Learn about nodes and replication.

6. Click Update.

7. Repeat these steps for each additional cluster, then click Save. Cloud Bigtable creates the cluster and starts replicating your data to the new cluster. You may see CPU utilization increase as replication begins.

   Note: You cannot access your data in the new cluster until Cloud Bigtable completes the initial copy to the cluster. Click Tables in the left pane to check whether your replicated tables are available in the new cluster.

8. Next, review the replication settings in the default app profile to see if they make sense for your replication use case. You might need to update the default app profile or create custom app profiles.

gcloud

1. If you don't know the instance ID, use the bigtable instances list command to view a list of your project's instances:

   gcloud bigtable instances list
   

2. If you don't know the instance's cluster IDs, use the bigtable clusters list command to view a list of clusters in the instance:

   gcloud bigtable clusters list --instances=INSTANCE_ID
   

   Replace INSTANCE_ID with the permanent identifier for the instance.

3. Use the bigtable clusters create command to add a cluster:

   gcloud bigtable clusters create CLUSTER_ID \
       --async \
       --instance=INSTANCE_ID \
       --zone=ZONE \
       [--num-nodes=NUM_NODES] \
       [--storage-type=STORAGE_TYPE]
   

   Provide the following values:

   • CLUSTER_ID: The permanent identifier for the cluster.
   • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.

   • ZONE: The zone where the cluster runs.

     An instance's clusters must each be in unique zones. You can create an additional cluster in any zone where Cloud Bigtable is available. For example, if the first cluster is in us-east1-b, you can choose a different zone in the same region, such as us-east1-c, or a zone in a separate region, such as europe-west2-a. View the zone list.

   The --async flag is not required but is strongly recommended. Without this flag, the command might time out before the operation is complete. Cloud Bigtable will continue to create the cluster in the background.

   The command accepts the following optional flags:

   • --num-nodes=NUM_NODES: The number of nodes in the cluster. Each cluster in an instance must have 1 or more nodes. The default value is 1.

     In many cases, each cluster in an instance should have the same number of nodes, but there are exceptions. Learn about nodes and replication.

   • --storage-type=STORAGE_TYPE: The type of storage to use for the cluster. Each cluster in an instance must use the same storage type. Accepts the values SSD and HDD. The default value is SSD.

4. Next, review the replication settings in the default app profile to see if they make sense for your replication use case. You might need to update the default app profile or create custom app profiles.

cbt

1. If you don't know the instance ID, use the listinstances command to view a list of your project's instances:

   cbt listinstances
   

2. If you don't know the instance's cluster IDs, use the listclusters command to view a list of clusters in the instance:

   cbt -instance=INSTANCE_ID listclusters
   

   Replace INSTANCE_ID with the permanent identifier for the instance.

3. Use the createcluster command to add a cluster:

   
   cbt -instance=INSTANCE_ID createcluster CLUSTER_ID ZONE NUM_NODES STORAGE_TYPE
   
   

   Provide the following values:

   • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.
   • CLUSTER_ID: The permanent identifier for the cluster.

   • ZONE: The zone where the cluster runs.

     An instance's clusters must each be in unique zones. You can create an additional cluster in any zone where Cloud Bigtable is available. For example, if the first cluster is in us-east1-b, you can choose a different zone in the same region, such as us-east1-c, or a zone in a separate region, such as europe-west2-a. View the zone list.

   • NUM_NODES: The number of nodes in the cluster. Each cluster in an instance must have 1 or more nodes.

     In many cases, each cluster in an instance should have the same number of nodes, but there are exceptions. Learn about nodes and replication.

   • STORAGE_TYPE: The type of storage to use for the cluster. Each cluster in an instance must use the same storage type. Accepts the values SSD and HDD.

4. Next, review the replication settings in the default app profile to see if they make sense for your replication use case. You might need to update the default app profile or create custom app profiles.

Deleting a cluster

If an instance has multiple clusters, you can delete all but 1 of the clusters. Deleting all but 1 cluster automatically disables replication.

Note: If you delete a cluster, and some writes to that cluster have not been replicated yet, Cloud Bigtable finishes the replication process before it removes the deleted cluster's copy of your data. The remaining cluster will continue to show incoming writes and CPU utilization until the replication process is complete.

In some cases, Cloud Bigtable does not allow you to delete a cluster:

• If one of your application profiles routes all traffic to a single cluster, Cloud Bigtable will not allow you to delete that cluster. You must edit or delete the application profile before you can remove the cluster.
• If you add new clusters to an existing instance, you cannot delete clusters in that instance until the initial data copy to the new clusters is complete.

To delete a cluster from an instance:

Console

1. Open the list of Cloud Bigtable instances in the Cloud Console.

   Open the instance list

2. Click the instance you want to change, then click Edit instance.

3. Under Configure clusters, click the trash can (delete) icon next to the cluster you want to delete.

4. To cancel the delete operation, click Undo, which is available until you click Save. Otherwise, click Save.

gcloud

1. If you don't know the instance ID, use the bigtable instances list command to view a list of your project's instances:

   gcloud bigtable instances list
   

2. If you don't know the instance's cluster IDs, use the bigtable clusters list command to view a list of clusters in the instance:

   gcloud bigtable clusters list --instances=INSTANCE_ID
   

   Replace INSTANCE_ID with the permanent identifier for the instance.

3. Use the bigtable clusters delete command to delete the cluster:

   gcloud bigtable clusters delete CLUSTER_ID \
       --instance=INSTANCE_ID
   

   Provide the following values:

   • CLUSTER_ID: The permanent identifier for the cluster.
   • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.

cbt

1. If you don't know the instance ID, use the listinstances command to view a list of your project's instances:

   cbt listinstances
   

2. If you don't know the instance's cluster IDs, use the listclusters command to view a list of clusters in the instance:

   cbt -instance=INSTANCE_ID listclusters
   

   Replace INSTANCE_ID with the permanent identifier for the instance.

3. Use the deletecluster command to delete the cluster:

   cbt -instance=INSTANCE_ID deletecluster CLUSTER_ID
   

   Provide the following values:

   • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.
   • CLUSTER_ID: The permanent identifier for the cluster.

Managing application profiles

Application profiles, or app profiles, control how your applications connect to an instance that uses replication. Every instance with more than 1 cluster has its own default app profile. You can also create many different custom app profiles for each instance, using a different app profile for each kind of application that you run.

To learn how to set up an instance's app profiles, see Configuring App Profiles. For examples of settings you can use to implement common use cases, see Examples of Replication Settings.

Managing labels

Labels are key-value pairs that you can use to group related instances and store metadata about an instance.

To learn how to manage labels, see Adding or updating an instance's labels and Removing a label from an instance.

Changing an instance's display name

To change an instance's display name, which the Cloud Console uses to identify the instance:

Console

1. Open the list of Cloud Bigtable instances in the Cloud Console.

   Open the instance list

2. Click the instance you want to change, then click Edit instance.

3. Edit the instance name, then click Save.

gcloud

1. If you don't know the instance ID, use the bigtable instances list command to view a list of your project's instances:

   gcloud bigtable instances list
   

2. Use the bigtable instances update command to update the display name:

   gcloud bigtable instances update INSTANCE_ID \
       --display-name=DISPLAY_NAME
   

   Provide the following values:

   • INSTANCE_ID: The permanent identifier for the instance.
   • DISPLAY_NAME: A human-readable name that identifies the instance in the Cloud Console.

cbt

This feature is not available in the cbt tool.

Upgrading a development instance

If you no longer want to use a development instance for development and testing, you can upgrade it to a production instance at any time. Upgrading a development instance is permanent.

Note: You are no longer able to create new development instances, because production instances of only one or two clusters are now generally available.

To permanently upgrade a development instance to a production instance:

Console

1. Open the list of Cloud Bigtable instances in the Cloud Console.

   Open the instance list

2. Click the name of the instance you want to upgrade.

3. On the Instance details page, find the text that says Type: Development, then click the Upgrade link next to the text.

4. In the dialog box, click Upgrade.

5. Close the confirmation dialog box.

gcloud

Use the bigtable instances upgrade command:

gcloud bigtable instances upgrade INSTANCE_ID

Replace INSTANCE_ID with the permanent identifier for the instance.

The upgraded instance has a single cluster with 1 nodes. After you upgrade the instance, you can add a cluster or add nodes to the existing cluster.

cbt

This feature is not available in the cbt tool.

What's next

• Learn how to add, update, and remove labels for an instance.
• Find out how to create and update an instance's app profiles, which contain settings for replication.