When it comes to database backups for IaaS based Azure SQL Servers you have 3 options.
Backups for Azure SQL Virtual Machines
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Category Archives: Azure SQL DB
Automating DBCC CHECKDB for Azure SQL DB with Azure Functions
Warning, this is a longer post from me than usual.
The title is a mouthful and so is this post. In the past I have linked to blog posts from Microsoft that say consistency checks for Azure SQL Database is the responsibility of Microsoft. (https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/blog/data-integrity-in-azure-sql-database/)
Azure SQL Database for the DBA
Last month I gave a presentation to The PASS Hybrid VG https://hybrid.pass.org/. Now is a good time to become “cloud ready” as a DBA and my presentation gives a nice quick tour of Azure SQL DB.
Abstract for the presentation being ” During this presentation you will get to see the differences in security, high availability, performance, and monitoring of this cloud-first solution. You will also learn about the different service tiers and performance levels that are specific to Azure SQL Database and learn about the different ways that you could migrate to Azure”.
I do cross into many topics such as DBCC CHECKDB , extended events etc, all very useful when wearing your “DBA” hat.
The recording can be found here – https://hybrid.pass.org/Meeting-Details/EventID/15614
Azure SQL Database – Read Only Endpoints
One of the main benefits of configuring active geo-replication for Azure SQL Database is leveraging the read-only endpoint, a good technique to split away read only activity from OLTP based workloads. This means that there is no reason why you cannot point users to these databases via tools such as Power BI as highlighted below.
Azure SQL – Advanced Data Security [video]
A quick 2 minute overview video (from me) about ADS – Advanced Data Security. The unified package from Microsoft providing the ability to discover / classifying sensitive data, mitigate potential database vulnerabilities, and detect anomalous activities. Enjoy.
Azure SQL Database – Maxdop Updated
About 1.5 years I wrote about MAXDOP setting within Azure SQL DB, more specifically the fact that the default setting being 0.
(https://blobeater.blog/2018/09/12/maxdop-and-azure-sql-db/)
Azure SQL Training
I thought being an Azure Data/Database blogger I would share some amazing content from Microsoft, an Azure SQL Fundamentals learning path.
Azure SQL Database SLA
Can you improve on the baseline (service level agreement) SLA of 99.99 % for Azure SQL Database? How can you get 99.995% as shown below, from official Microsoft documentation?
(source: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/blog/understanding-and-leveraging-azure-sql-database-sla/)
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SQL Server Stretch DB to Azure
Since SQL Server 2016 we could leverage Microsoft Azure to dynamically move “cold” portions of data away from on-premises storage for longer retention time periods. Whilst in theory being a great idea the cost was a blocker for some and with a cumbersome setup process. SQL Server 2019 addresses this by making the costs of storing the data in the cloud more competitive and making the setup more streamlined with the use of the Data Migration Assistant (DMA) tool and SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio).
Note: DMA tool replaces the older Upgrade Advisor tool. To install DMA please see the following link https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/dma/dma-overview?view=sql-server-ver15.
Azure SQL Database – Advanced Threat Detection
You should always seriously consider enabling this feature. This is part of the ADS suite – Advanced Data Security and I will show you how good this pro-active service is.
