Cloud Spanner is Google’s globally distributed relational database that combines horizontal scaling with ACID transactions. For applications requiring global consistency and highest availability.
What is Cloud Spanner?
Cloud Spanner solves a fundamental problem: traditional relational databases don’t scale horizontally, NoSQL databases sacrifice consistency. Spanner offers both: unlimited horizontal scaling with strong external consistency and ACID transactions.
The database uses Google’s TrueTime API for globally synchronized clocks, enabling consistent reads across all regions without performance penalties.
Core Features
- Horizontal Scaling: From GB to PB without application changes
- Global Consistency: ACID transactions across continents
- 99.999% SLA: Highest availability guarantee of all cloud databases
- SQL-compatible: Google Standard SQL and PostgreSQL dialect
- Automatic Sharding: No manual partitioning required
Typical Use Cases
Global Financial Applications
Banks and payment providers use Spanner for transactions requiring global consistency. Money cannot be double-spent regardless of where the transaction starts.
Gaming Leaderboards
Millions of concurrent players with globally consistent high scores. Spanner automatically scales during launch spikes.
Inventory Management
E-commerce and retail with globally distributed warehouses. Spanner prevents overselling through consistent inventory data.
Cloud Spanner vs. Cloud SQL
| Criteria | Cloud Spanner | Cloud SQL |
|---|---|---|
| Scaling | Horizontal, unlimited | Vertical, up to 64 vCPUs |
| Regions | Multi-region | Single-region |
| SLA | 99.999% | 99.95% |
| Consistency | Strong global | Strong regional |
| Price | From $650/month | From $7/month |
| Use Case | Global, mission-critical | Regional, standard |
Benefits
- Unique Combination: SQL + horizontal scaling + global consistency
- Highest SLA: 99.999% availability with financial guarantee
- Zero-Downtime: Schema changes and scaling without downtime
- Managed Service: No DBA team needed for globally distributed infrastructure
Integration with innFactory
As a Google Cloud Partner, innFactory supports you with Cloud Spanner: data modeling, migration from existing databases, performance optimization, and cost analysis.
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cloud Spanner?
Cloud Spanner is a globally distributed, horizontally scalable relational database. It combines the structure and ACID transactions of traditional SQL databases with the scalability of NoSQL systems. Spanner provides strong consistency across all regions.
How does Cloud Spanner differ from Cloud SQL?
Cloud SQL is managed MySQL/PostgreSQL for single regions with vertical scaling. Cloud Spanner scales horizontally across regions with automatic sharding and offers 99.999% SLA. Spanner is more expensive but designed for globally distributed workloads with high consistency requirements.
How much does Cloud Spanner cost?
Regional instances start at $0.90/node/hour. Multi-region configurations are more expensive. Storage costs ($0.30/GB/month) are additional. Spanner is significantly more expensive than Cloud SQL but cheaper than self-managed globally distributed databases.
When should I use Cloud Spanner?
Use Spanner when you need global consistency (financial transactions), horizontal scaling beyond TB/PB, or require 99.999% availability. For simpler use cases, Cloud SQL is more cost-effective.
Does Cloud Spanner support SQL?
Yes, Spanner uses Google Standard SQL, which is largely ANSI SQL-compatible. Since 2022, there is also a PostgreSQL-compatible dialect. Existing SQL knowledge is transferable, though some features differ.
