# Cloud Spanner

> Globally distributed SQL database with horizontal scaling

- **Category**: Cloud
- **Subcategory**: gcp
- **Canonical URL**: https://designpattern.fyi/patterns/gcp_spanner/

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## Description
Cloud Spanner is a fully managed, globally distributed SQL database that combines the benefits of relational database structure with horizontal scaling. It provides external consistency, high availability (99.999%), and automatic sharding. Ideal for applications requiring global data distribution and strong consistency.


## Use Cases
Use when you need global data distribution, strong consistency across regions, or horizontal scaling for large databases.





## Trade-offs


### Advantages

- Global distribution with consistency

- Horizontal scaling

- High availability (99.999%)

- SQL compatibility




### Considerations & Drawbacks

- Higher cost than alternatives

- Higher latency for cross-region reads

- Limited database features

- Complex query optimization







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**Reference**: [Original Source](https://cloud.google.com/spanner)