About Dataproc Metastore endpoint protocols

When you create a Dataproc Metastore service, you must choose to useone of the following endpoint protocols:

  • The Apache Thrift protocol
  • The gRPC protocol

This protocol defines how your Hive Metastore clients access metadata stored inyour Dataproc Metastore service. This choice can also affect thefeatures that you can integrate and use with your service.

This page explains the conceptual differences between each of the endpointprotocols.

Apache Thrift

TheApache Thrift protocol is thelegacy default option that is preselected when you create aDataproc Metastore service.

The Thrift protocol supports Kerberos only for single-region services configuredwith VPC peering. It does not support Kerberos for any services configured with Private Service Connect.

If you require Kerberos, we recommend using the gRPC protocol instead. The gRPCprotocol supports Kerberos for single-region services with all networking configurations.

If you use a Thrift endpoint, you can choose the port number that the Thriftinterface connects to. By default, port number9083 is used.

After choosing the Thrift protocol

After you create a Dataproc Metastore using Thrift, you can connect toit from aDataproc cluster or self-managedcluster. Your cluster then usesDataproc Metastore as its Hive metastore.

gRPC

ThegRPC protocol is the modern, portable, highperformance option that you must explicitly select when you create aDataproc Metastore service.

If you choose the gRPC protocol, you can't update it to Thrift at a later date.If you want to move from gRPC to Thrift, you must create a newDataproc Metastore.

If you use a gRPC endpoint, you can't choose the port number that the gRPCinterface uses. Instead, port number443 is automatically assigned to yourinterface.

Tip: We recommend that you use the gRPC protocol because it provides additionalsecurity through Identity and Access Management (IAM) (IAM). It also supports federation integrationswith other Google Cloud products.

After choosing the gRPC protocol

After you create a Dataproc Metastore using the gRPC endpoint protocol,you must grantadditional IAM roles.After, you can connect to it from aDataproccluster. Your cluster then usesDataproc Metastore as its Hive metastore.

What's next

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Last updated 2026-02-19 UTC.