How to create a linked server to an Azure SQL database September 27, 2017 by Marko Zivkovic Linked servers allow to access data from another SQL Server or another data source (e.g. Excel) by using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Transact-SQL. This article will explain how to create and configure a linked server to retrieve data from an Azure SQL database. Also, we will explain how to solve some common problems/issues during the process of creating a linked server to an Azure SQL database. Read more »
How to connect to the Azure Storage Account with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) September 25, 2017 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction In SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), it is possible to connect to the Azure Storage. The Azure Storage Account is useful because it creates replicas automatically in the cloud. You only need to upload your file to the Azure Storage Account and the replication is automatic. You can have multiple replications in different regions and Datacenters with few clicks. Read more »
How to connect to (and query) Power BI and Azure using PowerShell September 13, 2017 by Craig Porteous Power BI “as a whole” is a bit of a black box. If you’re like me and used to using SQL Server & its components; SSRS, SSAS etc. you have access to installation directories, Event logs, trace logs, error logs, chocolate logs? You can see full instances & their contents in one go, whether that be databases, reports or cubes. It gives you the control over & responsibility for performance & maintenance. Read more »
8 things to know about Azure Cosmos DB (formerly DocumentDB) September 4, 2017 by Minette Steynberg Introduction Azure Cosmos DB is a low-latency, high throughput, globally distributed, a multi-model database which can scale within minutes and offers 5 consistency options to let you decide how to deal with the CAP theorem. Azure Cosmos DB used to be known as Document DB, but since additional features were added it has now morphed into Azure Cosmos DB. The name was chosen to spark the innovation and imagination of developers around the globe. Read more »
Configure Multi-Factor Authentication in Azure SQL Database August 30, 2017 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction The new SSMS 17.2 allows users to authenticate using Active Directory with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This is a secure method for authentication where you have more than one method to validate your authentication. That way, you have a more secure authentication and prevent your Azure Portal or applications to be easily attacked by hackers or other malicious users. Read more »
Introduction to Azure SQL Data Warehouse August 29, 2017 by Minette Steynberg Introduction Azure SQL Data Warehouse is a new addition to the Azure Data Platform. When I first heard about it I wasn’t quite sure about what exactly it would be. As it turns out it is relational database for large amounts of database and really big queries as a service. This is essentially the equivalent of the APS (Analytics Platform System) in the cloud. Read more »
How to automate Azure Active Directory (AAD) tasks using the Cloud Shell August 1, 2017 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction In the article How to create an Azure SQL Database using the Cloud Shell, we learned how to work with the Cloud Shell. In this new article, we will show how to automate Azure Active Directory tasks (AAD) using the Cloud Shell. We will work with loops, files and variables to automate tasks. Read more »
Working with Azure Active Directory and Azure SQL Database July 31, 2017 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction By default, when someone creates an Azure SQL Server, an Administrator with SQL Authentication is created by default. However, for administrative purposes, it is a best practice to use Azure Active Directory. Read more »
How to Configure TDE database with AlwaysOn using the Azure Key Vault in SQL 2016 July 28, 2017 by Prashanth Jayaram One of the recent tasks I undertook on configuring Transparent Data encryption (TDE) using asymmetric key protection with Azure Key Vault with Always On opened a different dimension on securing data for me. Even though it seems slightly complex, if you have the key details, the steps are in fact, really straight forward. Read more »
Performance tuning for Azure SQL Databases July 21, 2017 by Kaloyan Kosev With the latest versions of Azure SQL database, Microsoft has introduced a number of new mechanisms to help users and administrators better optimize their workload. Automatic index management and Adaptive query processing provide us with the possibility to rely on the built-in intelligence mechanism that can automatically tune and improve the performance of our workload. Read more »
How to copy an Azure SQL database using the Azure Portal, Cloud Shell and T-SQL June 23, 2017 by Daniel Calbimonte This article will provide an overview covering programmatically moving databases on the Azure Portal while avoiding common problems with users and logins. Read more »
How to create a chatbot with Azure in 5 minutes June 19, 2017 by Minette Steynberg Introduction As we enter an era of artificial intelligence and serverless computing, the tools to help us create perceived intelligent programs have become so advanced and intuitive that the effort in building a fully functional Q and A chat bot has become almost negligible. In this article, I will show you how to do just that. Read more »
How to create an Azure SQL Database using the Cloud Shell May 23, 2017 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction Cloud Shell is a new feature just released on May 2017. It is currently in beta. The idea behind the Cloud Shell is to run Azure commands using the Azure Portal directly. In the past, it was necessary to install the Azure CLI on a local machine. You could install on a Windows, Linux or a Mac machine or you could use Docker. Now, you can use the Azure Portal. Read more »
How to migrate MySQL tables to Microsoft Azure SQL database May 18, 2017 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction Today, it is a common practice to migrate our local data to Azure. Sometimes, we migrate files, sometimes databases and sometimes virtual machines. All the service in the cloud including Azure help a lot to simplify the administrative effort and reduce costs. Read more »
Different Azure Storage types (File, Blob, Queue and Table) May 3, 2017 by Minette Steynberg There are several advantages to using Azure storage irrespective of type. Azure storage is easily scalable, extremely flexible and relatively low in cost depending on the options you choose. Read more »
Five ways to protect your data in Azure SQL Database April 28, 2017 by Minette Steynberg When storing data in the cloud the main concern companies generally have is whether or not their data is safe. And what can be done to ensure that the following 4 scenarios are addressed: Read more »
Security considerations for your Azure SQL Databases April 27, 2017 by Kaloyan Kosev You have to agree with me, when public clouds were introduced your thought was that you will never put your production data in there. Our idea was that your data is exposed, insecure and vulnerable. This was not the case back then, it is not case at the moment as well. Read more »
Microsoft Azure SQL Database – Step by Step Creation tutorial March 14, 2017 by Venkatesan Jayakantham Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a managed cloud database for programmers/developers to develop their products easier due to less involvement in maintenance allowing the customer to concentrate on their products, because, most of the data maintenance or infrastructure is taken care by the cloud service providers. Read more »
Configuring the Azure SQL Database Firewall February 28, 2017 by Minette Steynberg Introduction The Azure SQL Database firewall lets you decide which IP addresses may or may not have access to either your Azure SQL Server or your Azure SQL database. When creating an Azure SQL Database, the firewall needs to be configured before anyone will be able to access the database. By default, no external access to your SQL Database will be allowed until you explicitly assign permission by creating a firewall rule. Read more »
How to create and configure Microsoft Azure HDInsight November 18, 2016 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction In our chapter about PolyBase, we presented this new SQL Server 2016 feature to query CSV files stored in Azure Storage accounts. We mentioned that in PolyBase you can query data in Hadoop (HDInsight) using SQL Server. HDInsight is a very popular system in Azure that eventually you will need to interact with if you use SQL Server. That is why we will give an explanation for newbies about it. Read more »
SQL Server 2016 – PolyBase tutorial October 21, 2016 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction This article will teach you how to install PolyBase and will show you a simple example to start. PolyBase is a new feature in SQL Server 2016. It is used to query relational and non-relational databases (NoSQL). You can use PolyBase to query tables and files in Hadoop or in Azure Blob Storage. You can also import or export data to/from Hadoop. Read more »
How to import a sample bacpac file to an Azure SQL Database using sqlpackage and PowerShell October 18, 2016 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction In our first part of this series, we showed how to import a bacpac file using the Azure Portal with Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer (MASE) and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to create a Database in Azure. In the second part, we will show how to import a bacpac file to create a Database using the sqlpackage.exe tool and PowerShell. Read more »
My journey to PASS Summit 2016 via SQL Shack October 3, 2016 by Ahmad Yaseen My name is Ahmad Yaseen and I am a senior SQL Server database administrator at Aramex International Company for more than six years, where I started building my experience in the SQL Server administration field. Being a SQL Server Database administrator in such big company is not that easy, as the difficulties that you may face is not only at the beginning. What makes the DBA job special is that it is a very deep job, in which you will learn new things, have to solve new problems, fall in strange situations and be under pressure every day, but it is an interesting job for me. Read more »
How to migrate an on premise SQL Server database to Azure September 27, 2016 by Kaloyan Kosev Lately, database administrators often hear the question “have you tried Azure?“ or “can we use Azure for some of our databases?“. For me it was hard to answer these questions at first, but after a while I got to know what is really important behind these situations. In fact, what really matters is assessing the current environment, calculating the most suitable pricing tier and preparing a smooth migration. Read more »
How to import a sample bacpac file to an Azure SQL Database September 22, 2016 by Daniel Calbimonte Introduction In SQL Server 2000, the sample databases were pubs and northwind. They contained sample information to learn SQL Server. Read more »
