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AWS Glue VS CloudShell

Compare AWS Glue VS CloudShell and see what are their differences

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AWS Glue logo AWS Glue

Fully managed extract, transform, and load (ETL) service

CloudShell logo CloudShell

Cloud Shell is a free admin machine with browser-based command-line access for managing your infrastructure and applications on Google Cloud Platform.
  • AWS Glue Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-29
  • CloudShell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-12

AWS Glue features and specs

  • Fully Managed
    AWS Glue is a fully managed ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) service, which means you don't need to manage any underlying infrastructure. This reduces the operational overhead and allows you to focus on the data processing tasks.
  • Scalability
    AWS Glue can automatically scale resources up or down based on the demand and workload, ensuring optimal performance without manual intervention.
  • Serverless
    Being serverless, there are no servers to manage or maintain. You only pay for the resources that you consume, which can result in significant cost savings.
  • Integrated Data Catalog
    AWS Glue comes with a built-in data catalog that helps you organize and discover your data. It automatically indexes and maintains metadata about your data, making it easier to manage.
  • Support for Multiple Data Sources
    AWS Glue supports a variety of data sources including Amazon S3, RDS, Redshift, and many external databases, providing flexibility in your ETL processes.
  • Developer Tools
    AWS Glue provides developer endpoints for custom ETL logic, and integrates with AWS SDKs, Boto3, and the AWS CLI, allowing for a flexible development experience.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Glue

  • Complex Pricing
    The pricing model for AWS Glue can be complicated, involving multiple components such as Data Processing Units (DPUs), data catalog storage, and crawler costs, which may make it hard to estimate costs.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a significant learning curve for developers who are new to AWS Glue, especially when it comes to understanding its various components and configurations.
  • Performance for Small Datasets
    AWS Glue is optimized for large-scale data processing, which may result in suboptimal performance and higher costs for smaller datasets.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Using AWS Glue ties you to the AWS ecosystem, making it harder to switch to another cloud provider without significant rework of your ETL pipelines and data catalog.
  • Limited Debugging Tools
    The debugging and troubleshooting tools for AWS Glue are somewhat limited compared to other mature ETL tools, which may complicate the development and maintenance of ETL jobs.
  • Job Run Delays
    There can be delays in job startup times, which can be problematic for certain time-sensitive applications requiring near real-time data processing.

CloudShell features and specs

  • Integrated Environment
    CloudShell provides a fully integrated development environment directly within your browser, including access to Google Cloud resources, pre-installed Google Cloud SDK, and other useful tools.
  • Convenience
    Because it's browser-based, there is no need to install or configure anything locally, which can save considerable setup time and eliminate environment inconsistencies.
  • Security
    Operating within Google's infrastructure can add layers of security, including secure connection to cloud resources and less risk of exposing local machines to vulnerabilities.
  • Access to Project Resources
    Directly connects to Google Cloud resources associated with your account, making it easy to manage and deploy applications within your cloud environment.
  • Scalability
    Seamlessly scalable environment that can handle different workloads without performance degradation.
  • Persistent Storage
    CloudShell offers persistent storage, allowing users to save their work and configurations, which are available in future sessions.
  • Pre-installed Tools
    Includes a range of pre-installed tools, such as git, gcloud SDK, and language libraries, enabling efficient development and deployment workflows.

Possible disadvantages of CloudShell

  • Resource Limits
    CloudShell has usage limits, including limited disk space and CPU, which may not be sufficient for all types of workloads, particularly resource-intensive tasks.
  • Inactive Use Timeouts
    Sessions that are inactive for a period of time may be automatically terminated, which can disrupt ongoing work.
  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    Being a cloud-based solution, a stable internet connection is required. Any disruption in connectivity can hamper development and deployment processes.
  • Latency Issues
    Depending on your geographical location, there may be latency issues which can affect performance and response times.
  • Limited Customization
    While CloudShell provides many pre-installed tools, users have limited control over the environment compared to a locally managed development setup.
  • Paid Subscription Needed for Extensive Use
    Beyond the free tier, extensive usage of CloudShell resources may incur additional costs, which can add up depending on the scale and nature of the tasks.
  • Learning Curve
    New users who are not familiar with Google Cloud's ecosystem may face an initial learning curve to fully leverage CloudShell's capabilities.

Analysis of AWS Glue

Overall verdict

  • AWS Glue is generally considered a good option for organizations looking for a powerful, scalable, and cost-effective ETL solution within the AWS ecosystem. Its ease of integration with AWS services, managed nature, and capability to handle large volumes of data make it a strong choice, particularly for teams that are already using AWS services.

Why this product is good

  • AWS Glue is a fully managed ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) service that makes it easy to prepare and transform data for analytics, machine learning, and application development. It is particularly beneficial for its serverless architecture, which allows users to run data processing jobs without the need to manage any infrastructure. The service integrates seamlessly with other AWS services like S3, RDS, and Redshift, providing a robust ecosystem for data processing. It also supports a wide range of data sources and formats, and offers a graphical interface for easy job creation and monitoring.

Recommended for

  • Organizations already using AWS services and looking to streamline their ETL processes.
  • Data engineers and developers who need a scalable solution to handle large datasets without managing infrastructure.
  • Companies that require seamless integration with a wide array of data storage options and formats.

Analysis of CloudShell

Overall verdict

  • Yes, CloudShell is a good tool, especially for those who are actively using Google Cloud Platform. It provides a user-friendly interface and a comprehensive set of tools to manage cloud resources effectively. Its convenience, combined with the power of GCP, makes it a valuable asset for cloud-based development and operations.

Why this product is good

  • CloudShell is a versatile tool offered by Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that provides a command-line environment directly in your web browser. It is particularly beneficial for developers and system administrators because it allows them to manage GCP resources easily without needing to install additional software on their local machines. CloudShell includes the Google Cloud SDK, along with other essential tools, making it a convenient and efficient option for cloud management tasks. Additionally, it offers persistent storage, allowing users to save their scripts and data between sessions. The integration with other GCP services enhances productivity by providing seamless access and control.

Recommended for

  • Developers who frequently work with Google Cloud Platform
  • System administrators managing GCP resources
  • New users of Google Cloud who need an easy introduction to command-line tools
  • Teams collaborating on GCP projects, as it supports session sharing

AWS Glue videos

Build ETL Processes for Data Lakes with AWS Glue - AWS Online Tech Talks

More videos:

  • Review - AWS re:Invent BDT 201: AWS Data Pipeline: A guided tour
  • Review - Getting Started with AWS Glue Data Catalog
  • Review - Bajaj Housing Finance Limited: Serverless Data Pipelines with AWS Glue and Amazon Aurora PGSQL

CloudShell videos

No CloudShell videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWS Glue and CloudShell)
ETL
100 100%
0% 0
Text Editors
0 0%
100% 100
Data Integration
100 100%
0% 0
Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare AWS Glue and CloudShell

AWS Glue Reviews

Best ETL Tools: A Curated List
AWS Glue is a fully managed serverless ETL service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) designed to automate and simplify the data preparation process for analytics. Its serverless architecture eliminates the need to manage infrastructure. As part of the AWS ecosystem, it is integrated with other AWS services, making it a go-to choice for cloud-based data integration for...
Source: estuary.dev
10 Best ETL Tools (October 2023)
AWS Glue is an end-to-end ETL offering intended to make ETL workloads easier and more integratable with the larger AWS ecosystem. One of the more unique aspects of the tool is that it is serverless, meaning Amazon automatically provisions a server and shuts it down following the completion of the workload.
Source: www.unite.ai
15+ Best Cloud ETL Tools
AWS Glue is a serverless data integration service designed to streamline analytics, machine learning, and app development tasks. It discovers, prepares, and moves data from a myriad of sources and offers a seamless integration experience. AWS Glue's inclusive toolset and automatic scaling let you focus on gaining insights from data instead of managing infrastructure.
Source: estuary.dev
Top 14 ETL Tools for 2023
Notably, AWS Glue is serverless, which means that Amazon automatically provisions a server for users and shuts it down when the workload is complete. AWS Glue also includes features such as job scheduling and โ€œdeveloper endpointsโ€ for testing AWS Glue scripts, improving the toolโ€™s ease of use.
A List of The 16 Best ETL Tools And Why To Choose Them
Better yet, when interacting with AWS Glue, practitioners can choose between a drag-and-down GUI, a Jupyter notebook, or Python/Scala code. AWS Glue also offers support for various data processing and workloads that meet different business needs, including ETL, ELT, batch, and streaming.

CloudShell Reviews

We have no reviews of CloudShell yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

AWS Glue might be a bit more popular than CloudShell. We know about 16 links to it since March 2021 and only 13 links to CloudShell. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWS Glue mentions (16)

  • Optimizing AWS Costs for AI Development in 2025
    Managed Services: This includes the per-token costs of using services like Amazon Bedrock, the hosting fees for SageMaker endpoints, and the costs associated with data pipelines using services like Glue or Lambda. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Introducing RisingWave's Hosted Iceberg Catalog-No External Setup Needed
    However, using any Iceberg engine traditionally requires a first, crucial step: setting up and configuring an Iceberg catalog. This catalog is responsible for managing the table metadata. While flexible, this often means provisioning and managing a separate service like AWS Glue, a dedicated PostgreSQL database for the JDBC catalog, or a REST service. This adds an extra layer of configuration and operational... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Vector: A lightweight tool for collecting EKS application logs with long-term storage capabilities
    In this article, we present an architecture that demonstrates how to collect application logs from Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) via Vector, store them in Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for long-term retention, and finally query these logs using AWS Glue and Amazon Athena. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Build Your Movie Recommendation System Using Amazon Personalize, MongoDB Atlas, and AWS Glue
    AWS Glue is a fully managed extract, transform, and load (ETL) service that makes it easy to prepare and load data for analysis. It helps bridge the gap between our MongoDB Atlas data and the services we'll use for recommendation. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Using Snowflake data hosted in GCP with AWS Glue
    AWS Glue is a fully managed extract, transform, and load (ETL) service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is designed to make it easy for users to prepare and load their data for analysis. AWS Glue simplifies the process of building and managing ETL workflows by providing a serverless environment for running ETL jobs. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
View more

CloudShell mentions (13)

  • GCP Fundamentals: Cloud Shell API
    The Google Cloud Shell API empowers organizations to automate cloud operations, accelerate software delivery, and improve efficiency. By providing a programmatic interface for managing Cloud Shell environments, the API unlocks new possibilities for developers, SREs, and data teams. Explore the official documentation and try the hands-on lab to experience the benefits of the Cloud Shell API firsthand. ... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Intro to the YouTube APIs: searching for videos
    Command-line (gcloud) -- Those who prefer working in a terminal can enable APIs with a single command in the Cloud Shell or locally on your computer if you installed the Cloud SDK which includes the gcloud command-line tool (CLI) and initialized its use. If this is you, issue this command to enable the API: gcloud services enable youtube.googleapis.com Confirm all the APIs you've enabled with this command:... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Explore the world with Google Maps APIs
    Gcloud/command-line - Finally, for those more inclined to using the command-line, you can enable APIs with a single command in the Cloud Shell or locally on your computer if you installed the Cloud SDK (which includes the gcloud command-line tool [CLI]) and initialized its use. If this is you, issue the following command to enable all three APIs: gcloud services enable geocoding-backend.googleapis.com... - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Getting started with the Google Cloud CLI interactive shell for serverless developers
    While you might find that using the Google Cloud online console or Cloud Shell environment meets your occasional needs, for maximum developer efficiency you will want to install the Google Cloud CLI (gcloud) on your own system where you already have your favorite editor or IDE and git set up. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Cloud desktops aren't as good as you'd think
    Here is the product https://cloud.google.com/shell It has a quick start guide and docs. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS Glue and CloudShell, you can also consider the following products

Xplenty - Xplenty is the #1 SecurETL - allowing you to build low-code data pipelines on the most secure and flexible data transformation platform. No longer worry about manual data transformations. Start your free 14-day trial now.

GitHub Codespaces - GItHub Codespaces is a hosted remote coding environment by GitHub based on Visual Studio Codespaces integrated directly for GitHub.

AWS Database Migration Service - AWS Database Migration Service allows you to migrate to AWS quickly and securely. Learn more about the benefits and the key use cases.

CodeTasty - CodeTasty is a programming platform for developers in the cloud.

Skyvia - No-code data integration with 200+ data sources, including Salesforce, Dynamics 365, HubSpot, Asana, SQL Server, MySQL, Snowflake, BigQuery, CSV, FTP, and more.

Glitch - Glitch is the friendly community where everyone builds the web. Simple, powerful interface for creating web apps.