This is a preview release of Integration Connectors with AppSheet. See Track and manage feature releases. Preview offerings are intended for use in test environments only. This feature is not recommended for use in production apps. For questions or assistance with this feature, contact AppSheet Support.
Integration Connectors with AppSheet (preview) requires an AppSheet Enterprise Plus account.
AppSheet apps can now connect with external data sources, like BigQuery, using Google Cloud Integration Connectors. This feature uses a service account provided by AppSheet, but you'll need to set up a connection within Integration Connectors first.
Anyone with an AppSheet Enterprise Plus account has access to the Integration Connectors with AppSheet (preview), but only AppSheet team admins can configure AppSheet to use Integration Connectors and add connections as data sources. Once added, data sources can be shared with the team and any team member can add the data source to an app.
To create Integration Connectors, customers must have an Application Integration plan. Pricing and fees will apply for any connection used in AppSheet apps.Integration Connectors has several pricing plans.
- If you are on a Pay-as-you-go plan, the free tier offers 2 connection nodes for Google services, like BigQuery. if you only have one connection, we recommend setting the max connection nodes to 2 to prevent autoscaling. If you have more than one connection or when you add a new one, your standard billing rates will apply.
- If you are on an Integration Connectors Subscription plan, there is no additional cost.
If you do not already have an Application Integration plan, we suggest starting with the Pay-as-you-go plan
Google Cloud admins grant AppSheet access to Integration Connector connections by project. Google Cloud admins can revoke access to a project and its connections by deleting the connection or removing privileges granted to the AppSheet service account. Revoking access will cause connected AppSheet apps to no longer work.
AppSheet team admins add connections as data sources to AppSheet. They can then use these data sources in their apps. Team admins can also share data sources with their team, allowing any team member to then create an app using the connections as data sources.
Integration Connector connections are created in the Google Admin console so only Google Cloud admins, or those they grant permissions to, can create connections in their project.
Once the connections are created, and AppSheet is configured and granted access to use connections in the project, AppSheet team admins can add the connections as data sources to AppSheet, just like any other data source.
Only AppSheet team admins can add connections as data sources to AppSheet. They can then use these data sources in their apps. Team admins can also share data sources with their team, allowing any team member to then create an app using the connections as data sources.
AppSheet does not have explicit limits, however, there are best practices to optimize for performance.
Limits, quotas, and charges for use of the Integration Connectors connections themselves are subject to the customer’s specific Application Integration plan. In addition, there are performance quotas and overall limits and each connector might have constraints. See the connector for details on specific constraints.
The following table compares the existing BigQuery connection method with the new BigQuery connector.
|
Feature |
BigQuery data source |
BigQuery using Integration Connectors (private preview) |
|
Maximum number of rows |
100,000 rows plus security filters to select the most relevant rows first Note: In some cases, the provider-specific row limit may be lower than this maximum limit. |
No maximum. Note: We recommend using security filters to keep the number of rows returned below 100,000 for performance and to avoid timeouts, especially for tables with many columns. |
|
Subscription plan |
AppSheet Enterprise Plus account as BigQuery connector is considered an advanced connector |
|
|
Initial setup |
Configure BigQuery in Google Cloud and create service accounts and JSON keys. See Use data from Google BigQuery with the BigQuery data source. |
Configure Integration Connector to BigQuery in Google Cloud and grant access to the service account created by the AppSheet team. See Use BigQuery data sources with Integration Connectors. Note: For the private preview release, AppSheet will create the service account on your behalf and then give you the name so you can then grant access. |
|
Security |
AppSheet access to BigQuery is granted to a service account and a key is generated for that service account in the Google Cloud console. The secure key is then manually entered into AppSheet so no passwords or credentials are shared. The key used in AppSheet needs to be updated when the credentials for the service account are rotated. |
Follows best security practices by avoiding user-managed service account keys. AppSheet access to BigQuery is granted directly to a service account and is centralized in the Google Cloud console so service account keys no longer need to be created, manually entered, or refreshed into AppSheet, reducing exposure. |