How to: Connect a compute instance to a database

Use a private endpoint to connect a Cloud Compute instance to your database. This keeps traffic within your private network.

Prerequisites

• A running database in Managed Databases
• A Cloud Compute instance on the same private network as the database

Steps

1. Ensure your compute instance and database are on the same private network.
2. In the database Settings tab, click Enable next to Private Load Balancer.
3. Copy the private endpoint from the Connection tab.
4. On your compute instance, install the appropriate client:

# PostgreSQL client (Debian/Ubuntu)
apt install postgresql-client
 
# MySQL client
apt install default-mysql-client

5. Connect using the private endpoint and credentials from the Connection tab:

psql -h <private-endpoint> -U postgres -d <database-name>

Notes

• The private endpoint is only reachable from within the same network. Do not use it from external machines.
• If the connection times out, confirm the Private Load Balancer is enabled and the Status in the Overview tab is Active.

See also: Connect to your database · Settings