Cloning instances

MySQL   |  PostgreSQL   |  SQL Server

This page explains cloning, and describes how to clone an instance.

Overview

Cloning a Cloud SQL instance creates a new instance that is a copy of the source instance. The new instance is completely independent from the source instance.

Frequently asked questions

Question	Answer
Does cloning impact performance?	No. Cloning has no performance impact on the source instance.
Are backups copied to the new instance?	No. The new instance creates new automated backups. Manual backups are not copied over from the source instance.
Does the new instance have the same IP address or addresses?	No. The new instance has a new IP address or addresses.
Does the new instance have the same configuration settings?	Yes. The new instance will have the same settings such as database flags, connectivity options, machine type, and storage and memory settings.
Are replicas copied to the new instance?	No. You need to create new replicas for the new instance.
Can you clone a replica?	No. You cannot clone a replica.
Can you make a clone from an earlier point in time?	Yes. Point-in-time recovery uses cloning to restore an instance from an earlier point in time. This helps you recover your database from a destructive event.
Can you clone an instance that was once a clone?	Yes. You can clone and instance that was cloned from another instance.

Cloning an instance

Console

1. Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page in the Google Cloud Console.

   Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

2. Find the row of the instance to clone. At the right end of the row, click the More Actions menu.
3. Click Create clone.
4. On the Create a clone page, update the instance ID if needed, and click Create clone, leaving Clone current state of instance selected.

   You are returned to the instance listing page while the clone initializes.

gcloud

Clone the instance:

gcloud sql instances clone [SOURCE_INSTANCE_NAME] [TARGET_INSTANCE_NAME]

REST v1beta4

Clone the instance.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: The project ID
• source-instance-id: The source instance ID
• target-instance-id: The target instance ID

HTTP method and URL:

POST https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/source-instance-id/clone

Request JSON body:

{
  "cloneContext":
  {
    "destinationInstanceName": "target-instance-id"
  }
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/source-instance-id/clone

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The command below assumes that you have used either gcloud init or gcloud auth login to authenticate gcloud with your user account. You can check the currently active account by executing gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method POST `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/source-instance-id/clone" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

Response

{
  "kind": "sql#operation",
  "targetLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/instances/target-instance-id",
  "status": "PENDING",
  "user": "[e-mail]",
  "insertTime": "2020-01-21T22:43:37.981Z",
  "operationType": "CLONE",
  "name": "operation-id",
  "targetId": "target-instance-id",
  "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/sql/v1beta4/projects/project-id/operations/operation-id",
  "targetProject": "project-id"
}

Troubleshooting

Click the links in the table for details:

For this problem...	The issue might be...	Try this...
Cloning fails with constraints/sql.restrictAuthorizedNetworks error.	Blocked by Authorized Networks configuration.	Try one of these options.

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Cloning fails with a constraints/sql.restrictAuthorizedNetworks error

Cloning fails with a constraints/sql.restrictAuthorizedNetworks error.

The issue might be

The cloning operation is blocked by the Authorized Networks configuration. Authorized Networks are configured for public IP addresses in the Connectivity section of the Google Cloud Console, and cloning is not permitted due to security considerations.

Things to try

Remove all Authorized Networks entries from the Cloud SQL instance if you can. Otherwise, create a replica without any Authorized Networks entries.