Azure

Azure updates continue to come thick and fast.

Scott Guthrie has posted again today about a number of enhancements just released. From these, I think the following are the most interesting for SQL Server devotees:

1. I posted last week about the new A5 size Azure VMs. These will be a good option for many SQL VMs, particularly those based on tabular data models.

2. Microsoft continues their partnership with Oracle by providing VM templates with Oracle software preinstalled. This is by far the quickest way to try any of this software, particularly for SQL Server folk that just want to try something on Oracle versions. Versions supported are:

2013-09-27

In Windows Azure SQL Database, a database “server” is a logical concept that’s used to keep details of connected databases. It does have a “master” database but it’s not like the on-premises equivalent. It’s pretty much a container for logins.

Generally there is no point provisioning a server that has no databases. Servers aren’t charged separately, only the user databases are charged for.

The Azure team has now made a change that means that if you have a server that hasn’t had any user databases within the last 90 days, it will be automatically deleted. It’s important to be aware that this can happen. The only thing that would be lost would be any pre-configured logins. You would need to recreate them when you later decide to provision a user database.

2013-09-25

Previously, when you selected a VM size in Azure, you had to choose a large size to get a bunch of memory.

Now a new A5 size has been provided and you can get 14GB of memory on a VM that only has two virtual cores, rather than only on the 8 core servers that were available before. The pricing is about 2/3 of the price of the 8 core version.

2013-09-24

I previously posted about enabling your Azure benefits before the end of this month if you have an MSDN subscription. Doing so doesn’t cost any more, and it adds a bunch of money for Azure credits into your account each month.

If you have an MSDN subscription and you haven’t do it, don’t put it off. Follow the link and do so (plus you might win an Aston Martin just for doing so):

2013-09-24

For the DayZero event at TechEd Australia last week, I presented a session on SQL Server 2014. Lots of people were keen to try SQL Server 2014 but said they don’t have much time, or they don’t have infrastructure to let them do it.

Either way, this is another example where Azure is really useful. You can spin up an Azure VM that has SQL Server 2014 CTP1 preinstalled on Windows Server. You can even choose a template that has Windows Server 2012 R2 if you want to also get exposure to that operating system. No doubt, an image with CTP2 will become available when that preview is ready.

2013-09-09

Most developers and DBAs that I come across have some level of access to an MSDN subscription, yet I am surprised about how many have not yet activated the Azure benefits that are associated with those subscriptions.

If you want to stay relevant within your organisations, it’s important to get your head around Azure and the best part is that you can do much of it at no additional cost.

2013-08-15

One of the topics that I’m covering in one of my sessions this year at TechEd Australia is around SQL Database and SQL Server in Azure VMs for DBAs. In that session, I’m planning to spend a while on hybrid on-premises / cloud scenarios.

Availability groups were introduced in SQL Server 2012 and while it’s unlikely that you’d use a synchronous replica in an Azure VM (unless the primary was also in an Azure VM), hosting an asynchronous replica in an Azure VM makes a lot of sense for disaster recovery scenarios where latency isn’t an issue.

2013-08-15

One of the questions that I’ve often been asked is about how you can backup databases in Windows Azure SQL Database.

What we have had access to was the ability to export a database to a BACPAC. A BACPAC is basically just a zip file that contains a bunch of metadata along with a set of bcp files for each of the tables in the database. Each table in the database is exported one after the other, so this does not produce a transactionally-consistent backup at a specific point in time. To get a transactionally-consistent copy, you need a database that isn’t in use.

2013-07-24

At SQL Down Under, we’ve been working quite a lot over the past year with customers that are moving some of their applications to cloud-based systems, and mostly on Windows Azure. One message that I often hear about using Windows Azure SQL Database (WASD) is that all you need to do is point your application’s connection string to the cloud and all will be good. While there are occasional cases where that is true, that generally isn’t going to give you a great outcome. To really get a great outcome, you generally will need to check out how your application has been designed.

2013-07-09

One of the things that I’ve been busy with lately is reviewing a series of upcoming whitepapers from Microsoft.

The SQLCAT team today launched one of those whitepapers. It’s a performance guide for SQL Server when working with Azure VMs (Virtual Machines).

It’s great to see that it’s been released. There’s more to working with SQL Server in Azure than just putting it onto a VM. It’s great to see much of this now documented.

2013-06-03