Businesses with SQL Server workloads that are vital to their operations require a managed database solution that is dependable, adaptable, performant, and highly available. Google is happy to inform that the Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition for SQL Server is now generally available. With this release, Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus for SQL Server expands upon the fundamentals of Cloud SQL and offers additional innovations to meet the demands of your most demanding SQL Server workloads. Among them are:
- Two new types of machines for better performance and more memory per virtual CPU
- A data cache to enhance reading efficiency
- Enhanced capabilities for disaster recovery (DR) and 99.99% availability Business Continuity SLA
No features or price adjustments will be made to the current version of Cloud SQL for SQL Server, which will now be referred to as the Cloud SQL Enterprise edition for SQL Server.
Overview of Cloud SQL Editions
The following editions of Cloud SQL are available to meet your diverse business and application requirements. Various performance and availability features are offered by each edition to satisfy the requirements of your applications.
The Cloud SQL Enterprise edition offers all of the fundamental features of Cloud SQL and is appropriate for applications that need to balance cost, availability, and performance.
In addition to the features of the Cloud SQL Enterprise version, the Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition offers the finest performance and availability for running applications needing the highest level of performance and availability.
Features of Cloud SQL Editions
An overview of the features available for each version is shown in the following table:
Cloud SQL Enterprise vs Enterprise Plus
| Enterprise | Enterprise Plus | |
| Pricing model | Enterprise pricing | Enterprise Plus pricing |
| Database versions | MySQL 5.6, 5.7, 8.0 PostgreSQL 9.6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 SQL Server 2019 Enterprise SQL Server 2022 Enterprise | MySQL 8.0 PostgreSQL 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 SQL Server 2019 Enterprise SQL Server 2022 Enterprise |
| Machine type | General-purpose machine family | Performance-optimized N family Memory-optimized family (for Cloud SQL for SQL Server) |
| Machine configuration limits | Up to 96 vCPU Up to 624 GB RAM 1:6.5 core:memory ratio | Performance optimized N family Up to 128 vCPU Up to 864 GB RAM 1:8 core:memory ratio Memory optimized family Up to 16 vCPU Up to 512 GB RAM 1:32 core:memory ratio |
| Availability SLA | 99.95% | 99.99% |
| Maintenance downtime | < 60 seconds | < 1 second |
| Data cache | No | Yes |
| Point-in-time log retention | Up to 7 days | Up to 35 days Not available for SQL Server |
Improvements in performance
Applications that demand optimal performance might benefit greatly from the additional performance provided by Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition.
- Enhanced read performance with data cache: Data cache stores frequently read data pages on a quick, local SSD. When reading from a persistent drive, you can increase read performance by up to three times. Data cache is an optional feature that can be turned on either after the instance has been formed or during the instance creation process.
- Improved performance with two new machine families with more memory per vCPU: select between memory-optimized machines with 1 vCPU: 32GB RAM and performance-optimized machines with 1 vCPU: 8GB RAM to satisfy the demands of your demanding SQL Server workloads.
- Improved write performance: The Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus edition can reduce write latency by up to two times. Because of this, it can be used for write-intensive applications that need to have high throughput and low latency.
- Engine autotuning is the process of automatically adjusting engine settings to meet the capabilities of the instance platform that underpins them.
Let’s examine Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus for SQL Server’s features in more detail
Improved efficiency and caching
With two new machine families Performance-optimized and Memory-optimized that offer better performance and more memory per virtual CPU (up to 32 gigabytes of RAM per virtual CPU), Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus offers greater performance. Larger machines with up to 128 vCPUs are available in the Performance optimised machine family of Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus. The new machine families optimise SQL Server licensing costs and enable you to execute business-critical SQL Server applications that require greater memory configurations without requiring increasing vCPUs.
Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus offers a configurable data cache that improves read speed for workloads that require a lot of reading. In order to maintain the most frequently requested data and reduce read latency while increasing throughput, data cache makes use of server-side SSD. As opposed to Cloud SQL Enterprise edition, Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus for SQL Server really offers read performance that is up to 4 times better.
Enhanced availability and disaster recovery
Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus for SQL Server guards against disruptions brought on by regional failures, assisting in the maintenance of business continuity. With a single write endpoint (DNS name) that always points to the active primary instance, advanced disaster recovery features minimise changes to your application code. They also allow you to fail over to a secondary region and transition back to the primary region with zero data loss.
Finally, improved availability in Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus version contributes to the maximum uptime possible for your SQL Server workloads. Google is raising the Cloud SQL Enterprise Plus availability SLA to 99.99% in order to achieve this.
