Cloud SQL Proxy for secure connections in GCP - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Cloud SQL Proxy for secure connections

📖 Scenario: You are setting up a secure connection to a Google Cloud SQL database from a local machine. To keep your database safe, you will use the Cloud SQL Proxy, which acts like a secure tunnel between your computer and the database.This project will guide you step-by-step to configure and run the Cloud SQL Proxy correctly.

🎯 Goal: Set up and run the Cloud SQL Proxy to securely connect to a Cloud SQL instance using the instance connection name and a service account key.

📋 What You'll Learn

Use the exact Cloud SQL instance connection name my-project:us-central1:my-instance

Use the service account key file named service-account.json

Create a variable for the proxy command with the correct flags

Run the Cloud SQL Proxy with the correct command line

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Cloud SQL Proxy is used to securely connect local or external applications to Google Cloud SQL databases without exposing the database to the public internet.

💼 Career

Understanding how to configure and run Cloud SQL Proxy is essential for cloud engineers and developers working with Google Cloud databases to ensure secure and reliable database connections.

1

Set the Cloud SQL instance connection name

Create a variable called INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME and set it to the exact string "my-project:us-central1:my-instance".

GCP

# Your code here

Need a hint?

The instance connection name looks like project:region:instance.

2

Set the service account key file path

Create a variable called SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY and set it to the exact string "service-account.json".

GCP

INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME = "my-project:us-central1:my-instance"
# Your code here

Need a hint?

The service account key file is a JSON file downloaded from Google Cloud Console.

3

Create the Cloud SQL Proxy command string

Create a variable called proxy_command and set it to f"./cloud_sql_proxy -instances={INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME}=tcp:5432 --credentials-file={SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY}".

GCP

INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME = "my-project:us-central1:my-instance"
SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY = "service-account.json"
# Your code here

Need a hint?

The proxy command uses the instance connection name and the credential file to open a secure TCP connection on port 5432.

4

Run the Cloud SQL Proxy command

Write the exact line to run the Cloud SQL Proxy using the proxy_command variable with the os.system() function.

GCP

INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME = "my-project:us-central1:my-instance"
SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY = "service-account.json"
proxy_command = f"./cloud_sql_proxy -instances={INSTANCE_CONNECTION_NAME}=tcp:5432 --credentials-file={SERVICE_ACCOUNT_KEY}"
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use import os at the top and then run os.system(proxy_command) to start the proxy.