TL;DR

Data migration between different database systems is a common task in modern data engineering. This article explores how to efficiently export data from Google BigQuery to PostgreSQL using Airbyte, an open-source data integration platform. We'll cover the key steps and considerations for setting up this data pipeline, enabling seamless transfer between these two popular database systems.

This tutorial’s purpose is to show you how.

What is BigQuery?

BigQuery is a cloud-based data warehousing and analytics platform that allows users to store, manage, and analyze large amounts of data in real-time. It is a fully managed service that eliminates the need for users to manage their own infrastructure, and it offers a range of features such as SQL querying, machine learning, and data visualization. BigQuery is designed to handle petabyte-scale datasets and can be used for a variety of use cases, including business intelligence, data exploration, and predictive analytics. It is a powerful tool for organizations looking to gain insights from their data and make data-driven decisions.

What is PostgreSQL?

An object-relational database management system, PostgreSQL is able to handle a wide range of workloads, supports multiple standards, and is cross-platform, running on numerous operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Solaris, Linux, and FreeBSD. It is highly extensible, and supports more than 12 procedural languages, Spatial data support, Gin and GIST Indexes, and more. Many web, mobile, and analytics applications use PostgreSQL as the primary data warehouse or data store.

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Prerequisites

1. A BigQuery account to transfer your customer data automatically from.
2. A Postgres destination account.
3. An active Airbyte Cloud account, or you can also choose to use Airbyte Open Source locally. You can follow the instructions to set up Airbyte on your system using docker-compose.

Airbyte is an open-source data integration platform that consolidates and streamlines the process of extracting and loading data from multiple data sources to data warehouses. It offers pre-built connectors, including BigQuery and Postgres destination, for seamless data migration.

When using Airbyte to move data from BigQuery to Postgres destination, it extracts data from BigQuery using the source connector, converts it into a format Postgres destination can ingest using the provided schema, and then loads it into Postgres destination via the destination connector. This allows businesses to leverage their BigQuery data for advanced analytics and insights within Postgres destination, simplifying the ETL process and saving significant time and resources.

Step 1: Set up BigQuery as a source connector

1. First, you need to have a Google Cloud Platform account and a project with BigQuery enabled.

2. Go to the Google Cloud Console and create a new service account with the necessary permissions to access your BigQuery data.

3. Download the JSON key file for the service account and keep it safe.

4. Open Airbyte and go to the Sources page.

5. Click on the "Create a new source" button and select "BigQuery" from the list of available sources.

6. Enter a name for your source and click on "Next".

7. In the "Connection Configuration" section, enter the following information:  
- Project ID: the ID of your Google Cloud Platform project  
- JSON Key: copy and paste the contents of the JSON key file you downloaded earlier  
- Dataset: the name of the dataset you want to connect to

8. Click on "Test Connection" to make sure everything is working correctly.

9. If the test is successful, click on "Create Source" to save your configuration.

10. You can now use your BigQuery source connector to extract data from your dataset and load it into Airbyte for further processing.

Step 2: Set up Postgres destination as a destination connector

Step 3: Set up a connection to sync your BigQuery data to Postgres destination

Once you've successfully connected BigQuery as a data source and Postgres destination as a destination in Airbyte, you can set up a data pipeline between them with the following steps:

1. Create a new connection: On the Airbyte dashboard, navigate to the 'Connections' tab and click the '+ New Connection' button.
2. Choose your source: Select BigQuery from the dropdown list of your configured sources.
3. Select your destination: Choose Postgres destination from the dropdown list of your configured destinations.
4. Configure your sync: Define the frequency of your data syncs based on your business needs. Airbyte allows both manual and automatic scheduling for your data refreshes.
5. Select the data to sync: Choose the specific BigQuery objects you want to import data from towards Postgres destination. You can sync all data or select specific tables and fields.
6. Select the sync mode for your streams: Choose between full refreshes or incremental syncs (with deduplication if you want), and this for all streams or at the stream level. Incremental is only available for streams that have a primary cursor.
7. Test your connection: Click the 'Test Connection' button to make sure that your setup works. If the connection test is successful, save your configuration.
8. Start the sync: If the test passes, click 'Set Up Connection'. Airbyte will start moving data from BigQuery to Postgres destination according to your settings.

Remember, Airbyte keeps your data in sync at the frequency you determine, ensuring your Postgres destination data warehouse is always up-to-date with your BigQuery data.

Use cases for exporting data from BigQuery to PostgreSQL

1. Data integration

Combining BigQuery's vast data processing capabilities with PostgreSQL's robust transactional features. This allows organizations to leverage BigQuery for large-scale analytics and export results to PostgreSQL for operational use.

2. Local data access

Exporting subsets of data from BigQuery to a local PostgreSQL instance for faster query performance and reduced latency, especially for frequently accessed data.

3. Data archiving

Moving historical or less frequently accessed data from BigQuery to PostgreSQL for long-term storage, potentially reducing BigQuery costs while maintaining data accessibility.

Reasons why developers might consider moving from BigQuery to PostgreSQL

1. Cost Control

BigQuery's pricing model is based on data storage and query usage, which can become expensive for high-volume or frequent queries. PostgreSQL, being an open-source solution, often has more predictable costs, especially when self-hosted.

2. Data ownership

PostgreSQL can be hosted on-premises or on any cloud provider, giving organizations full control over their data and infrastructure. This is particularly important for companies with strict data governance policies or those wanting to avoid vendor lock-in.

3. Complex transactional workloads

BigQuery is designed for analytical workloads (OLAP) rather than transactional workloads (OLTP). PostgreSQL, with support for ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) properties, is better suited for high-concurrency, row-level operations that are characteristic of transactional processing.

4. Flexibility and customization

PostgreSQL offers more flexibility in terms of schema design, indexing strategies, and query optimization. It also supports a wide range of extensions and custom functions, allowing for greater adaptability to specific use cases.

5. Lower latency for small-scale queries

For applications requiring fast response times on smaller datasets, PostgreSQL can offer lower latency compared to BigQuery, which is optimized for large-scale data processing.

6. Real-time data processing

PostgreSQL's support for triggers and stored procedures allows for real-time data processing and business logic implementation directly in the database.

Wrapping Up

To summarize, this tutorial has shown you how to:

1. Configure a BigQuery account as an Airbyte data source connector.
2. Configure Postgres destination as a data destination connector.
3. Create an Airbyte data pipeline that will automatically be moving data directly from BigQuery to Postgres destination after you set a schedule

With Airbyte, creating data pipelines take minutes, and the data integration possibilities are endless. Airbyte supports the largest catalog of API tools, databases, and files, among other sources. Airbyte's connectors are open-source, so you can add any custom objects to the connector, or even build a new connector from scratch without any local dev environment or any data engineer within 10 minutes with the no-code connector builder.

We look forward to seeing you make use of it! We invite you to join the conversation on our community Slack Channel, or sign up for our newsletter. You should also check out other Airbyte tutorials, and Airbyte’s content hub!