Amazon Redshift and Apache Iceberg: OLake Go guides
Amazon Redshift queries Apache Iceberg tables through an external schema on the AWS Glue Data Catalog. No COPY step is involved.
Short answer. To replicate a database to Redshift, run OLake Go with AWS Glue as the Iceberg catalog and the data on Amazon S3. Create an external schema in Redshift that points at the Glue database. Add Redshift as a target query engine on the job and OLake Go writes positional deletes, the format Redshift reads on v2 tables.
Key takeaways
- Redshift queries OLake Go tables through an external schema on the AWS Glue Data Catalog, with no COPY step.
- With Redshift as a target query engine, OLake Go writes positional deletes, the format Redshift reads on v2 tables.
- Nine guides ran end to end on Glue, and each also queries the tables from Athena.
Last reviewed October 2026.
How OLake Go gets data into Redshift
OLake Go uses change data capture (CDC) where the source has it and commits each sync to AWS Glue. Redshift and Athena both read those tables. Amazon S3 Tables works too, through a Glue resource link.
The nine guides below ran end to end on Glue, and each one also queries the tables from Athena. The Glue writer page holds the destination reference.
When to use it
- Redshift or Athena is the main reader and the data is on S3.
- You want one copy of the data in Glue that Spark on EMR can also process.
When not to use it
- You plan to use deletion vectors on a small Redshift Serverless workgroup. They need more than 4 Redshift Processing Units (RPU) or an RG-type cluster.
- The tables live in Unity Catalog, Polaris or Snowflake Horizon. Redshift reaches those only through Lake Formation catalog federation.
Catalogs Amazon Redshift reads
| Catalog | Amazon Redshift reads | How |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Glue | Yes | external schema from the Glue Data Catalog |
| Apache Polaris | Partial | Lake Formation catalog federation only |
| Snowflake Horizon | Partial | Lake Formation catalog federation only |
| Unity Catalog | Partial | Lake Formation catalog federation only |
| Amazon S3 Tables | Yes | Glue resource link to the S3 Tables catalog |
Delete formats Amazon Redshift reads
| Equality deletes (v2) | Positional deletes (v2) | Deletion vectors (v3) |
|---|---|---|
| Partial | Yes | Partial |
Redshift reads positional deletes on v2 tables. Deletion vectors need Redshift Serverless above 4 RPU or an RG-type cluster; v3 tables with equality deletes are rejected. Set Amazon Redshift as a target query engine on the OLake Go job and OLake Go picks a format it reads; with Amazon Redshift as the only reader that is positional deletes (v2).
Sources: Redshift: Querying Apache Iceberg tables (checked 2026-10-12); Redshift: Iceberg v3 features (checked 2026-10-12).
Tested guides for Amazon Redshift
- Postgres to Amazon Redshift
- Oracle to Amazon Redshift
- Kafka to Amazon Redshift
- MySQL to Amazon Redshift
- MongoDB to Amazon Redshift
- MariaDB to Amazon Redshift
- S3 to Amazon Redshift
- SQL Server to Amazon Redshift
- DB2 to Amazon Redshift
Frequently asked questions
Can Athena read the same tables?
Yes. Athena reads the Glue Data Catalog natively, and every Redshift guide below also queries the tables from Athena.
Does Redshift read equality deletes?
Partly. Redshift reads positional deletes on v2 tables and rejects v3 tables with equality deletes, so positional deletes are the safe choice.
Can Redshift read Amazon S3 Tables?
Yes, through a Glue resource link to the S3 Tables catalog. See the S3 Tables catalog page.