From PostgreSQL to Snowflake using Google Cloud Storage

Configure your LakeXpress data pipeline with the selected components

LX

LakeXpress Orchestrator

  • Manages end-to-end pipelines
  • Orchestrates FastBCP extracts with retries & logging
  • Handles incremental sync and schema-aware metadata
Control DB for increments/custom rules & logsMetadata-drivenLinux or Windows
FastBCP
FastBCPEngine
Terminal
./LakeXpress config create \
  -a data/ds_credentials.json \
  --log_db_auth_id log_db_ms \
  --source_db_auth_id datasource_postgresql_01 \
  --source_db_name sales \
  --source_schema_name "sales,dim" \
  --fastbcp_dir_path ./FastBCP_linux-x64/latest/ \
  --fastbcp_p 2 \
  --n_jobs 4 \
  --target_storage_id gcs_lake_prd \
  --generate_metadata \
  --sub_path /ingest/bronze \
  --incremental_table "sales.orders:o_orderdate:date" \
  --incremental_table "sales.lineitem:l_shipdate:date" \
  --publish_method internal \
  --publish_target snowflake_tgt

# First sync - full load
./LakeXpress sync

# Subsequent syncs - incremental updates (much faster!)
./LakeXpress sync
Get LakeXpress

Source - PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is a powerful and robust open-source relational database. LakeXpress optimizes extractions from PostgreSQL using FastBCP's native connector for excellent performance.

Features:

  • Direct streaming read from database
  • Full support for PostgreSQL data types
  • Secure SSL connections
  • Parallel extraction to Parquet

Format - Apache Parquet

Parquet is the industry-standard columnar file format for analytics. LakeXpress uses FastBCP to extract data from source databases and convert it to Parquet format, ensuring optimal compression, query performance, and compatibility with all modern data platforms.

Advantages:

  • Columnar format optimized for analytics
  • Efficient compression (typically 3-10x)
  • Schema evolution support
  • Predicate pushdown for fast queries
  • Universal compatibility with cloud platforms
  • Preserves data types and precision

Cloud Stage - Google Cloud Storage

Google Cloud Storage offers unified object storage for developers and enterprises. LakeXpress stages Parquet files in GCS for seamless integration with Google Cloud data platforms.

Features:

  • Global edge caching
  • Multiple storage classes
  • Strong consistency
  • Integrated with BigQuery
  • Automatic encryption at rest

Destination - Snowflake

Snowflake is a cloud data platform built for analytics. LakeXpress publishes Parquet files from cloud storage directly into Snowflake using COPY INTO commands for optimal performance.

Publishing method:

COPY INTO with MATCH_BY_COLUMN_NAME

Features:

  • Direct COPY FROM stage (S3, Azure, GCS)
  • Automatic schema detection from Parquet
  • Zero-copy cloning capabilities
  • Automatic clustering and optimization
  • Support for semi-structured data