Exporting data

This page describes how to export data from Cloud SQL instances.

Exports use database resources, but they do not interfere with normal database operations unless the instance is under-provisioned.

For best practices for exporting data, see Best Practices for Importing and Exporting Data.

Exporting data from Cloud SQL to a BAK file

Before you begin

Make sure you have configured the required roles and permissions.

Exporting data to a BAK file in Cloud Storage

To export data from a database on a Cloud SQL instance to a BAK file in a Cloud Storage bucket:

Console

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

    Go to the Cloud SQL Instances page

  2. Click the instance you want to export data from to open its Overview page.
  3. Click EXPORT in the button bar.
  4. Under File format, click BAK.
  5. Under Data to export, use the drop-down menu to select the database you want to export from.
  6. Under Destination, select Browse to search for a Cloud Storage bucket or folder for your export.
  7. Click Export to begin the export.

gcloud

  1. Create a Cloud Storage bucket, if you haven't already.

    For help with creating a bucket, see Creating Storage Buckets.

  2. Upload the file to your bucket.

    For help with uploading files to buckets, see Uploading an Object.

  3. Describe the instance you are exporting from: 
      gcloud sql instances describe [INSTANCE_NAME]
  4. Copy the serviceAccountEmailAddress field.
  5. Use gsutil iam to grant the storage.objectAdmin IAM role to the service account for the bucket. For help with setting IAM permissions, see Using IAM permissions.
  6. Export the database: 
      gcloud beta sql export bak [INSTANCE_NAME] gs://[BUCKET_NAME]/sqldumpfile.sql.gz \
                              --database=[DATABASE_NAME]

    For information about using the gcloud beta sql export bak command, see the command reference page.

  7. If you do not need to retain the IAM role you set previously, revoke it now.

REST v1beta4

  1. Create a bucket for the export: 
    gsutil mb -p [PROJECT_NAME] -l [LOCATION_NAME] gs://[BUCKET_NAME]

    This step is not required, but strongly recommended, so you do not open up access to any other data.

  2. Provide your instance with the storage.objectAdmin IAM role for your bucket. For help with setting IAM permissions, see Using IAM permissions.
  3. Export your database:

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

    • project-id: The project ID
    • instance-id: The instance ID
    • bucket_name: The Cloud Storage bucket name
    • path_to_dump_file: The path to the SQL dump fle
    • database_name_1: The name of a database inside the Cloud SQL instance
    • database_name_2: The name of a database inside the Cloud SQL instance
    • offload: Enables serverless export. Set to true to use serverless export.

    HTTP method and URL: 

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

    Request JSON body: 

    {
 "exportContext":
   {
      "fileType": "BAK",
      "uri": "gs://bucket_name/path_to_dump_file",
      "databases": ["database_name"]
      "offload": true | false
    }
}

    To send your request, expand one of these options:

    You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

  4. If you do not need to retain the IAM role you set previously, revoke it now.
For the complete list of parameters for this request, see the instances:export page.

Required roles and permissions

This procedure requires you to export a file to Cloud Storage. To export data into Cloud Storage, the instance's service account or the user must have the Cloud SQL Editor role, or a custom role including the cloudsql.instances.export permission, and at least the roles/storage.legacyBucketWriter IAM role.

If the service account or user is also performing import operations, you can grant the account the storage.objectAdmin IAM roles set in the project.

For help with IAM roles, see Cloud Identity and Access Management for Cloud Storage.

You can find the instance's service account name in the Google Cloud Console on your instance's Overview page. You can verify the roles for your Cloud Storage bucket by using the gsutil tool to inspect the bucket:

gsutil iam get gs://[BUCKET_NAME]

Learn more about using IAM with buckets.

Troubleshooting

Click the links in the table for details:

For this problem... The issue might be... Try this...
Can't see the operation status. The user interface only shows success or failure. Use these database commands to find out more.
Export is taking too long. Cloud SQL does not support concurrent synchronous operations. Use export offloading. Learn more.
Import is taking too long. Too many active connections can interfere with import operations. Close unused connections, or restart the Cloud SQL instance before beginning an import operation.
Import fails. Exported file may contain database users who do not yet exist. Clean up the failed database before retrying the import. Create the database users before doing the import.
Connection closed during the export operation. Query must produce data within first seven minutes. Test the query manually. Learn more.
Unknown error during export. Possible bandwidth issue. Ensure that both the instance and the Cloud Storage bucket are in the same region.
You want to automate exports. Cloud SQL does not provide a way to automate exports. Build your own pipeline to perform this functionality. Learn more.
ERROR_RDBMS: system error occurred. Cloud Storage permissions or non-existent table. Check permissions OR ensure table exists.
After import, you can't log in to Cloud SQL with your original database user. The user doesn't have the LOGIN permission. Log in with the default sqlserver user. Then grant the LOGIN permission to the original user.

Can't see the operation status

You can't see the status of an ongoing operation.

The issue might be

The Google Cloud Console reports only success or failure when done, and is not designed to return warnings.

Things to try

Connect to the database and run SHOW WARNINGS.

Export is taking too long

Export is taking too long, blocking other operations.

The issue might be

Cloud SQL does not support concurrent synchronous operations.

Things to try

Try exporting smaller datasets at a time.

Import is taking too long

Import is taking too long, blocking other operations.

The issue might be

Too many active connections can interfere with import operations. Connections consume CPU and memory, limiting the resources available.

Things to try

Close unused operations. Check CPU and memory usage to make sure there are plenty of resources available. The best way to ensure maximum resources for the import operation is to restart the instance before beginning the operation. A restart:

  • Closes all connections.
  • Ends any tasks that may be consuming resources.

Import fails

Import fails when one or more users referenced in the exported SQL dump file does not exist.

The issue might be

Before importing a SQL dump, all the database users who own objects or were granted permissions on objects in the dumped database must exist. If they do not, the restore fails to recreate the objects with the original ownership and/or permissions.

Things to try

Clean up the failed database before retrying the import. Create the database users before importing the SQL dump.

Connection closed during the export operation

Connection closed during the export operation.

The issue might be

The connection to Cloud Storage may be timing out because the query running in the export is not producing any data within the first seven minutes since the export is initiated.

Things to try

Test the query manually by connecting from any client and sending the output of your query to STDOUT with the command below:

COPY (INSERT_YOUR_QUERY_HERE) TO STDOUT WITH ( FORMAT csv, DELIMITER ',', ENCODING 'UTF8', QUOTE '"', ESCAPE '"' ).

This is expected behavior since when the export is initiated, the client is expected to start sending data right away. Keeping the connection with no data sent ends up breaking the connection and eventually resulting in the export failing and leaving the operation in an uncertain state. Also, this is what the error message from gcloud is trying to say with this message:

operation is taking longer than expected.

Unknown error during export

You see the error message Unknown error while trying to export a database to a Cloud Storage bucket.

The issue might be

The transfer might be failing due to a bandwidth issue.

Things to try

The Cloud SQL instance may be located in a different region from the Cloud Storage bucket. Reading and writing data from one continent to another involves a lot of network usage, and can cause intermittent issues like this. Check the regions of your instance and bucket.

Want to automate exports

You want to automate exports.

The issue might be

Cloud SQL does not provide a way to automate exports.

Things to try

You could build your own automated export system using Google Cloud products such as Cloud Scheduler, Pub/Sub, and Cloud Functions.

ERROR_RDBMS system error occurred

You see the error message [ERROR_RDBMS] system error occurred.

The issue might be

  • The user might not have all the Cloud Storage permissions it needs.
  • The database table might not exist.

Things to try

  1. Check that you have at least WRITER permissions on the bucket and READER permissions on the export file. For more information on configuring access control in Cloud Storage, see Create and Manage Access Control Lists.
  2. Ensure the table exists. If the table exists, confirm that you have the correct permissions on the bucket.

After import, you can't log in to Cloud SQL with your original database user

After importing a database into SQL Server, you can't log in to Cloud SQL with your original database user.

The issue might be

The user doesn't have the LOGIN permission.

Things to try

Log in with the default sqlserver user. Then grant the LOGIN permission to the original user.

What's next