MCP server overview

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) standardizes how AI applications and agents connect to outside data sources. MCP servers can be local or remote. Local MCP servers typically run on your local machine and use the standard input and output streams (stdio) for communication between services on the same device. Remote MCP servers run on the service's infrastructure and offer an HTTP endpoint to AI applications for communication between the AI MCP client and the MCP server.

For more information, see MCP architecture .

Bigtable supports two remote servers for usage with MCP:

• Bigtable server( Preview ): Provides tools for managing Bigtable instances and tables.

  • Learn how to Use the Bigtable MCP server .
  • View the detailed Bigtable MCP tool reference .

• Database Insights server: Provides tools for querying and analyzing database performance and system metrics.

  • View the detailed Database Insights MCP tool reference .