SQL Database

Official Documentation

Homepage
Pricing
Service Levels
Limitations

Homepage Pricing SLAs Limits

Service Description

SQL Database integrates relational database technology as a true cloud service into the Microsoft Azure platform. This includes a relational database and a synchronization service that can be used to synchronize the content of multiple databases. The administrative overhead is kept to a minimum because it is mostly handled by Microsoft Azure. With SQL Database, Microsoft Azure is equipped with a true relational database that is interface-compatible with SQL Server. Thanks to this compatibility, SQL Database can be accessed via familiar technologies (e.g., Entity Framework, ADO.NET, JDBC) and tools (e.g., SQL Server Management Studio). In many cases, addressing the target database using the connection string for a corresponding cloud database is sufficient.

Functionally, SQL Database maps a subset of SQL Server. The familiar database constructs such as tables, views, joins, atomic transactions, data integrity for competing accesses, etc. are available. The SQL security architecture is likewise supported, with the ability to create users and to assign them permissions.

In contrast with SQL Server (including an SQL server operated in a virtual machine), SQL Database is a true cloud service. Management of the environment (configuration of hardware and system software, monitoring, patch installation, etc.) is handled completely by Microsoft Azure. Setting up a new database server with an associated database takes a matter of seconds, and a database can be deleted just as quickly. Billing is based on the duration of provisioning and the size of the database.

Getting Started

SQL Database Learning Path
10/3/2016, Webpage
SQL Database Elastic Pools Learning Path
10/3/2016, Webpage
Get started with Azure SQL Database
9/28/2015, Video, 0:30:43
Explore Azure SQL Database - the intelligent cloud database for app developers
9/28/2016, Video, 0:55:04
Use Relational Database as a Service
12/10/2015, Mva
Azure207x - Databases in Azure
5/31/2017, Mva

Latest Content

Date	Title
10/23/2017	10/23/2017 Transactional replication to Azure SQL Database is now generally available Microsoft Azure Blog We are excited to announce that transactional replication to Azure SQL Database is now generally available (GA). This feature allows you to migrate your on-premises SQL Server databases to Azure...
10/17/2017	10/17/2017 Introducing the new Import Flat File Wizard in SSMS 17.3 Data Exposed [0:11:29] This week's episode of Data Exposed welcomes Alan Yu to the show! Alan Yu is a PM in the SQL Server engineering group focusing on SQL Tools, and today he is in the studio to talk about the latest...
10/16/2017	10/16/2017 Restoring Deleted Database to Specific Point in Time While majority of the time when restoring a deleted database you will want to select the time it was deleted as the restore point, there is however the ability to restore a deleted database to a...
10/12/2017	10/12/2017 Put your databases on autopilot with a lift and shift to Azure SQL Database Microsoft Azure Blog Azure SQL Database is the perfect choice to deliver the right mix of operational efficiencies, optimized for performance and cost, enabling you to focus on business enablement to accelerate...
10/10/2017	10/10/2017 Microsoft’s Azure SQL Database ranked #1 Database as a Service for developer satisfaction by SlashData Microsoft Azure Blog Today we’re excited and honored to be recognized for three Developer Satisfaction awards from SlashData, a leading analyst firm in the developer community.
10/8/2017	10/8/2017 Tracking Azure SQL Data Sync Service data changes Customers often ask for the capability of tracking the Azure SQL Data Sync Service (DSS) data changes. Since we do not have built-in feature in DSS to provide this option, customers need to build...
10/6/2017	10/6/2017 Secure your on-premises network outbound connection to Azure SQL Database by locking down target IP addresses Reviewed by: Dimitri Furman, John Hoang, Mike Weiner, Rajesh Setlem Most people familiar with Azure SQL DB (aka SQL Database) are aware of the firewall setting requirements of SQL DB, which are...
10/6/2017	10/6/2017 Announcing the new release of OLE DB Driver for SQL Server Previously, Microsoft announced deprecation of the Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server, part of the SQL Server Native Client (SNAC). At the time, this decision was made to try to provide...
10/5/2017	10/5/2017 Protect Azure IaaS deployments using Microsoft Azure Security Center \| BRK2396 YT: Ignite [1:12:17] Microsoft Azure Security Center makes it easier than ever to protect your Microsoft Azure virtual machines and virtual networks (as well as Azure SQL Databases, Storage, and more), enabling you...
10/3/2017	10/3/2017 Using Certificates in Azure SQL Database : Backup In the previous article we manage to import into Azure SQL Database a certificate so we could improve the security of our system. But there can be situations where we need to backup the...
10/2/2017	10/2/2017 Data Integrity in Azure SQL Database Microsoft Azure Blog Microsoft takes data integrity very seriously. While there are some traditional techniques used by DBAs in SQL Server to monitor data integrity (e.g. DBCC CHECKDB) and various methods to recover...
9/30/2017	9/30/2017 Azure SQL Database: The world's first intelligent cloud database service YT: Ignite [1:08:56] Azure SQL Database built-in intelligence features will maximize both performance and security of your applications, dramatically reducing the costs of running and managing databases. Running...

more...

Azure Documentation

1. SQL DB Documentation
2. Overview
     2.1. About SQL DB
3. Quickstarts
     3.1. Create DB - Portal
     3.2. Create DB - Azure CLI
     3.3. Create DB - Azure PowerShell
     3.4. Connect & query
          3.4.1. SSMS
          3.4.2. VS Code
          3.4.3. .NET with Visual Studio
          3.4.4. .NET core
          3.4.5. PHP
          3.4.6. Node.js
          3.4.7. Java
          3.4.8. Python
          3.4.9. Ruby
4. Tutorials
     4.1. 1 - Design DB using SSMS
     4.2. 1 - Design DB using .NET
     4.3. 2 - Migrate SQL Server DB
     4.4. 3 - Secure your SQL DB
     4.5. 4 - Implement a geo-distributed database
5. Samples
     5.1. Code samples
     5.2. Azure CLI
     5.3. Azure PowerShell
6. Concepts
     6.1. Service features
          6.1.1. Overview
          6.1.2. Service tiers
          6.1.3. Resource limits
          6.1.4. Single databases
          6.1.5. Elastic pools
          6.1.6. Connectivity architecture
          6.1.7. Firewall rules
          6.1.8. Firewall virtual network rules
          6.1.9. DTUs and eDTUs
          6.1.10. DTU benchmark
          6.1.11. PaaS or IaaS
          6.1.12. Auditing
          6.1.13. Threat detection
          6.1.14. Database backups
          6.1.15. Backup retention
          6.1.16. Failover groups
          6.1.17. Elastic client library
          6.1.18. Elastic queries
          6.1.19. Elastic transactions
          6.1.20. Elastic jobs
          6.1.21. SQL Vulnerability Assessment
          6.1.22. SQL Server common features
     6.2. Security
          6.2.1. Overview
          6.2.2. Access control
          6.2.3. Azure AD
          6.2.4. Logins and users
          6.2.5. Multi-factor auth
          6.2.6. Table auditing & TDS
          6.2.7. Data masking
     6.3. Business continuity
          6.3.1. Overview
          6.3.2. Database recovery
          6.3.3. Configure security
          6.3.4. App design & recovery
          6.3.5. App design & pools
          6.3.6. App design & app upgrades
          6.3.7. Recover from outage
          6.3.8. Perform recovery drill
     6.4. Migrate to SQL Database
          6.4.1. Migrate SQL Server DB
          6.4.2. T-SQL changes
          6.4.3. Manage database after migration
     6.5. Load & move data
          6.5.1. Copy a DB
          6.5.2. Import a DB
          6.5.3. Export a DB
          6.5.4. Sync data
     6.6. Monitor & tune
          6.6.1. Overview
          6.6.2. Perf monitoring
          6.6.3. Perf recommendations
          6.6.4. Automatic tuning
          6.6.5. Intelligent Insights
          6.6.6. Intelligence Insights diagnostics log
          6.6.7. Manual tuning
          6.6.8. Operate query store
          6.6.9. Extended events
          6.6.10. Monitor in-memory
     6.7. Scale out
          6.7.1. Overview
          6.7.2. Shard maps
          6.7.3. Query routing
          6.7.4. Manage credentials
          6.7.5. Shard querying
          6.7.6. Elastic tools
          6.7.7. Move sharded data
          6.7.8. Elastic client library - Dapper
          6.7.9. Elastic tools FAQ
     6.8. Multi-tenant SaaS
          6.8.1. SaaS design patterns
          6.8.2. SaaS app security
     6.9. Develop databases
          6.9.1. JSON data
          6.9.2. In-memory
          6.9.3. Temporal tables
          6.9.4. Retention policies
          6.9.5. Configure In-Memory
     6.10. Develop apps
          6.10.1. Overview
          6.10.2. Connectivity
          6.10.3. Authenticate app
          6.10.4. Error messages
          6.10.5. Batching for perf
          6.10.6. Connectivity guidance
          6.10.7. Ports - ADO.NET
7. How-to guides
     7.1. Service features
          7.1.1. Upgrade elastic database client library
          7.1.2. Install elastic job
          7.1.3. Create job - Portal
          7.1.4. Create job - Azure PowerShell
          7.1.5. Create job - Sample app
          7.1.6. Uninstall elastic job
          7.1.7. Query vertically partitioned data
          7.1.8. Report across scaled-out data tier
          7.1.9. Query across tables with different schemas
     7.2. Security
          7.2.1. Configure Azure AD auth
          7.2.2. Conditional access
          7.2.3. Always encrypted cert store
          7.2.4. Always encrypted key vault
          7.2.5. Configure masking
          7.2.6. Configure multi-factor auth
          7.2.7. Virtual network rules by PowerShell
     7.3. Business continuity
          7.3.1. Configure vault - backups
          7.3.2. Geo-replicate - Portal
     7.4. Load & move data
          7.4.1. Load data with BCP
          7.4.2. Load data with ADF
          7.4.3. Sync data
     7.5. Monitor & tune
          7.5.1. Monitor & improve performance
          7.5.2. Use Query Performance Insight
          7.5.3. Apply performance recommendations
          7.5.4. Enable automatic tuning
          7.5.5. Intelligent Insights performance troubleshooting
          7.5.6. Use DMVs to monitor perf
          7.5.7. Create alerts
          7.5.8. Extended events - event file
          7.5.9. Extended events - ring buffer
          7.5.10. Diagnostic logging
          7.5.11. Troubleshoot connectivity
          7.5.12. Azure Automation
     7.6. Scale out
          7.6.1. Create sharded app
          7.6.2. Query horizontally-sharded data
          7.6.3. Move sharded data
          7.6.4. Security configuration
          7.6.5. Add a shard
          7.6.6. Fix shard map problems
          7.6.7. Migrate sharded DB
          7.6.8. Create counters
          7.6.9. Use entity framework
     7.7. Multi-tenant SaaS
          7.7.1. Tutorial intro
          7.7.2. Deploy example app
          7.7.3. Provision tenants
          7.7.4. Monitor database performance
          7.7.5. Monitor with log analytics
          7.7.6. Restore single tenant
          7.7.7. Manage tenant schema
          7.7.8. Run ad-hoc queries
          7.7.9. ETL for analysis
     7.8. Develop apps
          7.8.1. C and C ++
          7.8.2. Excel
8. Reference
     8.1. Azure PowerShell
     8.2. PowerShell (Elastic DB)
     8.3. Azure CLI 2.0
     8.4. .NET
     8.5. Java
     8.6. Node.js
     8.7. Python
     8.8. Ruby
     8.9. PHP
     8.10. T-SQL
     8.11. REST
     8.12. SQL Server tools
     8.13. SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
     8.14. SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT)
     8.15. BCP
     8.16. SQLCMD
     8.17. SqlPackage
     8.18. SQL Database Management Library package
     8.19. SQL Server drivers
          8.19.1. ADO.NET
          8.19.2. JDBC
          8.19.3. ODBC
9. Resources
     9.1. Azure Roadmap
     9.2. FAQ
     9.3. Public data sets
     9.4. Troubleshoot connectivity
     9.5. Pricing
     9.6. MSDN forum
     9.7. Stack Overflow
     9.8. Videos
     9.9. Service updates
     9.10. Architecture center
     9.11. Customer stories

Web Content

Content	Type
Azure SQL Database DTU Calculator	Website
SQL Database Elastic Pools Learning Path	Webpage
SQL Database Learning Path	Webpage
SQL Server (IaaS) on an Azure Virtual Machine Learning Path	Webpage
Microsoft Azure Essentials Migrating SQL Server Databases to Azure	Ebook
High Availability Checklist	Webpage
Security and Azure SQL Database	Whitepaper
Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2016	Ebook
SQL Azure Migration Wizard	Webpage
Understanding Azure SQL Database and SQL Server in Azure VMs	Webpage
Azure SQL Database General Guidelines and Limitations	Webpage
Protecting Data in Microsoft Azure	Whitepaper

Online Training Content

Date	Title
5/31/2017	Azure207x - Databases in Azure Microsoft uses its SQL Server technology to provide a relational database, allowing customers to either access a SQL database on its cloud, or hosted SQL server instances on virtual machines. In this course, you will learn about the different types of database services available in Azure, as well as the tools to provision, manage and monitor those...
5/24/2017	Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions In this computer science course, you will learn how to deploy an ASP.NET MVC application, which is a web application framework developed by Microsoft, which implements the model–view–controller (MVC) pattern, to the Microsoft Azure platform. We will expand on the application by learning about Microsoft Azure’s capabilities and then adding functionality...
5/24/2017	Orchestrating Big Data with Azure Data Factory This data analysis course teaches you how to use Azure Data Factory to coordinate data movement and transformation using technologies such as Hadoop, SQL, and Azure Data Lake Analytics. You will learn how to create data pipelines that will allow you to group activities to perform a certain task.
5/24/2017	Provisioning SQL Server and Azure SQL Databases The role of a SQL Server database administrator has expanded from the server rack to the datacenter to the cloud, and from Windows Server OS to Platform as a Service and Linux. In this course, you will learn how to install or provision SQL Server 2016, SQL Server v.Next on Linux, and Azure SQL Databases.
3/24/2017	Microsoft Azure for IT Pros Content Series: Data Services Need practical help with Microsoft Azure data solutions? Get the basics from MVP Corey Hynes, in the “data services” installment of our series of Azure for IT Pros courses. See helpful demos, get a look at built-in tools, and explore security features. Begin with an overview of Azure SQL, learn about data platform options, and see how to manage them...
3/5/2017	Cloud Application Development Wondering how cloud app development can help solve business problems? MVPs and popular instructors Colin Dembovsky and Steven Borg of Northwest Cadence offer helpful guidance on the subject, in this up-close look at Azure app development, platform as a service (PaaS), and DevOps on Visual Studio Team Services. In this demo-rich course, see how Azure...
2/25/2017	SQL Database Fundamentals Would you like to learn the basics of relational databases? Join us for this look at SQL Database fundamentals, along with those of database management systems and database components. Get an in-depth introduction to the terminology, concepts, and skills you need to understand database objects, administration, security, and management tools. Plus,...
2/3/2017	SQL Database Fundamentals Would you like to learn the basics of relational databases? Join us for this look at SQL Database fundamentals, along with those of database management systems and database components. Get an in-depth introduction to the terminology, concepts, and skills you need to understand database objects, administration, security, and management tools. Plus,...
12/2/2016	Web and Data Application Development with Visual Studio 2017 and Azure If you’d like to learn application development, end to end, be sure to take this course. Get a look at a number of cloud-based technologies, see practical demonstrations, and dig into what’s new in Visual Studio 2017, in this course, part of Connect(); //2016 Day 3. In six in-depth modules, take a look at the interoperability of many tools, platforms,...
9/30/2016	Migrating SQL Server Databases to Azure If you're an experienced SQL Server database administrator or developer and if you have a need to "lift and shift" databases to the cloud, this course is for you. Carl Rabeler, author of the Microsoft Press book Migrating SQL Server Databases to Azure, and Microsoft Senior Content Developer Chris Randall, who was the book’s technical reviewer, walk you...

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Tools

Tool	Description	Author
Enable diagnostics and OMS on Azure SQL DB	DescriptionThis PowerShell automation runbook enables diagnostics on a SQL Database and forward logs to OMS. The script can enable multiple SQL Servers at once and multiple SQL Databases - but also with the possibility to enable single items.
Microsoft Data Migration Assistant	Data Migration Assistant (DMA) delivers scenarios that reduce the effort to upgrade to a modern data platform by detecting compatibility issues that can impact database functionality after an upgrade. It recommends performance and reliability improvements for your target environment. DMA replaces SQL Server Upgrade Advisor.	Microsoft
Azure Feature Pack for Integration Services (SSIS)	SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) Feature Pack for Azure for SQL Server 2016 is an extension that provides the following components for SSIS to connect to Azure, transfer data between Azure and on-premises data sources, and process data stored in Azure.	Microsoft
CloudMonix	CloudMonix enhances Microsoft Azure by providing deep monitoring of most of Azure's infrastructure via live dashboards, ability to self-heal from many different production issues, on-demand historical performance and uptime reports, customizable alerts & notifications, sophisticated auto-scaling engine, integration to third party systems, and a lot more.	Paraleap Technologies
SQL Database Migration Wizard	SQL Database Migration Wizard (SQLAzureMW) is designed to help you migrate your SQL Server 2005/2008/2012/2014 databases to Azure SQL Database.	Microsoft

Videos

Date	Title	Length	Source
10/17/2017	Introducing the new Import Flat File Wizard in SSMS 17.3 This week's episode of Data Exposed welcomes Alan Yu to the show! Alan Yu is a PM in the SQL Server engineering group focusing on SQL Tools, and today he is in the studio to talk about the latest SQL Server Management Studio 17.3...	0:11:29	Data Exposed
10/5/2017	Protect Azure IaaS deployments using Microsoft Azure Security Center \| BRK2396 Microsoft Azure Security Center makes it easier than ever to protect your Microsoft Azure virtual machines and virtual networks (as well as Azure SQL Databases, Storage, and more), enabling you to move to the cloud with confidence....	1:12:17	YT: Ignite
9/30/2017	Azure SQL Database: The world's first intelligent cloud database service Azure SQL Database built-in intelligence features will maximize both performance and security of your applications, dramatically reducing the costs of running and managing databases. Running millions of customer workloads, SQL Database...	1:08:56	YT: Ignite
9/30/2017	Keep your data in sync between SQL Server and Azure SQL Database Meet the refreshed Azure SQL Data Sync service and learn how to use it to sync data between Azure SQL Database and on premises SQL Server. Discover the features Data Sync offers from a demo and learn more about the roadmap. Explore...	1:22:04	YT: Ignite
9/30/2017	Building a better data solution: Microsoft SQL Server and Azure Data Services Moving to the cloud in a big way? In this case study, learn about building a complex end-to-end infrastructure involving SQL Server (on-premises), Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse, and Azure SQL Database. Gain an understanding of how...	0:40:38	YT: Ignite
9/30/2017	Secure your data in Azure SQL Database and SQL Data Warehouse Join us for an overview of the built-in security features that help secure your data in Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Data Warehouse. The session introduces some of our newest features including multi-factor authentication to SQL...	0:55:37	YT: Ignite
9/29/2017	Successfully migrating existing databases to Microsoft Azure SQL Database First impressions have long-lasting effects. When dealing with an architecture change like migrating to Azure SQL databases the last thing you want to do is leave a bad first impression by having an unsuccessful migration. In this...	0:12:52	YT: Ignite
9/29/2017	Learning from MYOB: Design patterns for SaaS applications on Azure SQL Database Many customers are developing SaaS apps on Azure SQL Database. In working with customers like MYOB, an accounting ISV, Microsoft has identified a series of SaaS patterns that accelerate SaaS app development in any domain....	1:21:37	YT: Ignite
9/29/2017	Cert Exam Prep: Exam 70-764: Administering a SQL Database Infrastructure This Certification Exam Prep session is designed for people experienced with SQL Server Databases who are interested in taking the 70-764 exam. Attendees of this session can expect to review the topics covered in this exam in a...	1:16:02	YT: Ignite
9/29/2017	Customer success stories: Migrating on-premises workload to Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Database is a fully managed cloud database service with built-in intelligence, elastic scale, performance, reliability, and data protection that enables enterprises and ISVs to reduce their total cost of ownership and...	1:09:19	YT: Ignite

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