Getting Started With SQL Azure series:
1. What is SQL Azure?
2. Creating First SQL Azure Database
3. Provisioning and Billing Model
4. SQL Azure Architecture
5. SQL Azure's security model
6. Migrating Databases to SQL Azure
7. Administration Tasks - I
8. Administration Tasks - II
9. Developing SQL Azure applications
10A. Getting started with SQL Azure reporting and SQL Azure Data SYNC
10B Conclusion
The aim of “Getting started with SQL Azure” series is to offer you a
set of brief articles that could act as a launchpad for your to-be
wonderful journey of exploring Microsoft’s cloud based database solution
i.e. SQL Azure.
In this article, we are going to begin our journey of learning SQL
Azure. We will first see where SQL Azure fits in the Windows Azure
Platform offerings. We will then discuss about the ways in which we can
define SQL Azure. Then we will explore advantages of SQL Azure or in
other words, see why you should consider this cloud based database as a
service as a part of your technology solution. So let's get started!
Windows Azure platform is broadly divided into three categories:
- Windows Azure, which has a set of tools that enables you to run your web app and/or services in the cloud.
- Windows Azure AppFabric, which has the set of tools that adds to the
capabilities of Windows Azure. These tools are caching service bus,
access control and much more.
- SQL Azure, which is a cloud-based relational database service.
Now that you know where SQL Azure fits in the Windows Azure platform,
let's see how we can define it. Basically, SQL Azure is a relational
database engine built on top of SQL server technology that runs in
cloud. SQL Azure supports tables, indexes, views, primary keys, TSQL
commands, stored procedures, triggers, roles, functions etc. and as you
can see these are all SQL server features that you might be familiar
with. So conceptually, it is "SQL server in the cloud".
For SQL server folks out there, learning about SQL Azure is very easy
and all your existing expertise with SQL server will be easily and
smoothly transferred! All you have to do is be open to learning things
about SQL Azure that are not SQL server specific.
Now, let's discuss the benefits of SQL Azure.
- High availability guaranteed: Did you know that SQL
Azure keeps three replicas of your database. And as you might have
connected the dots, a complex mechanism that runs under the hood makes
sure that your database is up and running almost all the time
- On demand: SQL Azure allows anyone and everyone to
quickly provision a database when need arises. Moreover, it's just few
mouse button clicks.
- Reduced management overhead: SQL Azure takes care
of physical administration of the database as a part of the service. The
end-user does not need to install, update or patch any software. In
addition, as you can imagine, this reduces the management overhead for
the end-user.
Over and over this, SQL Azure will soon have an out-of-the-box scale
out solution. Thus if you are looking for a database solution which is
highly available and scalable, you should try SQL Azure.
In the next article, we will see how you can create a Windows Azure
account, if you don't have one! And then, we will create our first SQL
Azure database. Stay tuned!
Update:
Read part 2: http://beyondrelational.com/blogs/parasdoshi/archive/2011/09/19/getting-started-with-sql-azure-part-2-lt-lt-paras-doshi.aspx