What Are Slots in BigQuery?

Slots in BigQuery are a way of allocating query resources. By default, each user is allocated 1,000 slots.

Slots can be used for either storage or for computing resources, and they are a way of preventing one user from monopolizing resources and causing problems for other users. If a user wants to run a query that requires more than 1,000 slots, they can request additional slots from BigQuery.

Slots are assigned to queries on a first-come, first-serve basis. When a query is submitted, it is assigned the next available slot.

If there are no available slots, the query will wait in a queue until a slot becomes available. The amount of time that a query spends waiting in the queue is called the queue time.

The number of slots that a query uses is determined by the amount of data that the query reads from BigQuery. The more data that is read, the more slots are required.

For example, a query that reads 1 GB of data will require 1,000 slots.

BigQuery charges for queries based on the number of slots that are used. The price per slot varies depending on the type of machine that is used to run the query.

For example, queries run on dedicated machines cost more per slot than queries run on regular machines.

In conclusion, slots in BigQuery are a way of allocating resources to queries in order to prevent one user from monopolizing resources and causing problems for other users. Queries are assigned slots on a first-come, first-serve basis, and the price per slot varies depending on the type of machine that is used to run the query.