Why sql server replaced by Microsoft azure??
8th February 2022
blog

One of the best cloud computing platforms is Microsoft Azure. It is an ever-expanding set of cloud services to help your organization meet your business challenges. It is the freedom to build, manage and deploy applications on a massive, global network using your favorite tools and frameworks.
Azure SQL Database is a fully managed platform as a service (PaaS) database engine that handles most of the database management functions such as upgrading, patching, backups, and monitoring without user involvement. Azure SQL Database is always running on the latest stable version of the SQL Server database engine and patched OS with 99.99% availability. PaaS capabilities that are built into Azure SQL Database enable you to focus on the domain-specific database administration and optimization activities that are critical for your business.

What is Azure SQL Database?

With Azure SQL Database, you can create a highly available and high-performance data storage layer for the applications and solutions in Azure. 

Microsoft has been focusing more on cloud computing and storage, in a bid to take a substantial market share in this competitive and lucrative market. To this end, it has come up with many products designed for the cloud, and one such product is Azure SQL.

Azure SQL is a cloud-based service built along the lines of SQL Server, and so shares many features with on-premises SQL Server.

Let’s take a detailed look into how these two database systems compare with each other, and which of the two is best in different situations.

Azure SQL Database is great in several scenarios — when there is a challenge to provision and manage many databases without building the datacenter infrastructure; when there is a need to reduce the risk—as the management and patching overhead is completely owned by the vendor, which helps organizations and application owners concentrate on just the design-and-usage of the database.

Azure SQL databases are optimized for scenarios where there is a need for quick turnaround time in building the application (go-to-market time) and lower cost requirements (TCO – Total Cost of Ownership), reduced risks, and improved productivity.

Over the last few years, Microsoft has been focusing more on cloud computing and storage, in a bid to take a substantial market share in this competitive and lucrative market. To this end, it has come up with many products designed for the cloud, and one such product is Azure SQL.

Azure SQL is a cloud-based service built along the lines of SQL Server, and so shares many features with on-premises SQL Server.

Differences between SQL Server and Azure SQL

Since Azure SQL is based on SQL Server, they share many similarities in functionality and compatibility. 

But that doesn’t mean they are the same. In fact, contrary to what many think, Azure SQL is not exactly the cloud version of SQL Server because there are many fundamental differences between the two.

Before moving on to the exact differences, it is imperative to understand a fundamental aspect. In SQL server, databases are the only entity on the database server, but in SQL Azure, a single database can host databases from different customers. 

In other words, Azure SQL is multitenant and shares its physical resources with all clients who use that service.

Now that we have understood this fundamental difference, let’s move on to others.

Who can take the Microsoft Azure training?

Anyone interested can take this course. But the course is an essential requirement for those IT professionals who need a deep understanding of Azure’s features for effective practical applications. The different types of careers for this course include:

Network Engineers / Server Engineers / Virtualization Engineers 

Why should one do a Microsoft Azure Certification?

Or Why invest in Azure Training??

Microsoft Azure is one skill that can greatly increase a candidate’s chances of getting hired in the cloud computing domain.  The platform is used by 57% of the fortune 500 companies. Also, Microsoft Azure has received official accreditation from the UK Government.

More companies are adopting Microsoft Azure platform. As most of these companies used Microsoft technologies in the pre cloud times it was easier for them to shift to Azure. IT professionals who are getting certified in Microsoft Azure and trained in the MCSE: Cloud and Infrastructure course, are getting tremendous job opportunities.

Advantages of the certification

Certifications provide you with the evidence that verify your skills. It is a gateway to exhibit your abilities and your inclination to accept new technologies. Certifications provide a way to unlock opportunities. Microsoft azure certification will help one get hired, and be productive faster and recognized.

The pre-requisite of the certification

The course is designed for the IT professionals who have experience implementing solutions on Azure. Given below are the recommended skills for this certification:

  • 1+ years of web development experience (.NET, PHP, Ruby, or Python),

  • Understanding of basic networking concepts

  • Familiarity with the basic structure of the MS Azure platform

  • Familiarity with infrastructure topics like networking, active directory, and PowerShell

For taking the Microsoft Azure Certification Exam, one has to complete register in the Microsoft Website and complete the training. Then the person has to register for the exam and schedule the same.

Key differences between Azure SQL Database and SQL Server on Azure

Azure SQL Database vs SQL Server on Azure 

Azure SQL Database

Azure IaaS SQL Server

Database Features

The majority of the database-level features, SQL standards, T-SQL query processing are supported. For example, database collation, database auditing, T-SQL Expression, etc.

It supports all the SQL Server on-premises capabilities

Database size

  1. The database size is always based on the underlying service tier models. For example, the Premium P15 service tier model supports up to 4 TB databases

  2. Azure SQL Database support databases of up to 100 TB with the Hyperscale service tier model

  3. Databases per logical server are 5000

  4. DTU (Database Transaction Units) or eDTU (Elastic Database Transaction Units) quota is 54,000 per server

  • Note: The only vCore model supports Hyperscale service tier

Max database size is constrained by the size of the VM. SQL Server instances support up to 256 TB of storage. The instance can support as many databases as needed

For example, a premium storage disk can support up to 32 TB. You also have an option to use Ultra disk. The Ultra Disk is available in different sizes that can be customized for the range of input values

You can refer to the Image 1 for more details

Database File layout

Multiple log files are not supported

Multiple log files are supported

Compute resources

The computing resource is based on the DTU or VCore Model. There is no direct control over computing resources. You need to understand the performance baseline benchmarks to decide the computing

In this case, you have full control over the VM compute resources for all the SQL Server deployments

The VM series are broadly classified to fulfill all the application needs:

  • Compute-optimized

  • A-Series

  • B- Series

  • D-Series – General purpose. In most cases, we tend to use this series.

  • Memory-optimized

  • M-Series—Memory and storage optimized virtual machines

  • GPU optimized

  • N –Series – Virtual Machines enabled with High-Graphics capabilities

  • High performance compute

  • E-Series -Optimized for in-memory and hyper-threaded applications

  • L-Series

  • Storage optimized virtual machines

Availability

It is 99.995% available and availability is guaranteed

  1. By default, Azure infrastructure provides fault-tolerance and high Availability for the Azure SQL databases

  2. By default, SQL Database and SQL Managed Instance store data in geo-redundant (RA-GRS) storage blobs that are replicated to a paired region

  3. You can test the in-built automatic failover feature

Invoke-AzSqlDatabaseFailover -ResourceGroupName <ResourceGroupname> -ServerName <ServerName> -DatabaseName <Databasename>

  1. Also, you have active geo-replication and point-in-time restore of the databases

The availability is up to 99.99%

  1. By default, Azure infrastructure provides fault-tolerance and high Availability for the VMs

  2. You can use SQL level high-availability and Disaster-recovery features

  3. Achieving high-availability always incur the cost and additional overhead to manage the additional VM servers

Migration

It will be migrated to the latest available stable database engine version

Run Database migration Assistant or Azure Migrate tools to define the upgrade or migration paths

You can also try Transactional Replication in some cases

You can refer to this article for T-SQL differences

It will be a lift-and-shift kind of migration, if it is the same version

You can use SQL native backup and restore method, log shipping, AlwaysOn for the migration

Database Backup

Automatic. It will support short-term (7 or 35 days) and Long-term up to 10 years based on the service tiers

It is possible to restore the deleted database point-in-

 

 

What's new in Azure SQL Database?

Azure SQL Database is a fully managed platform as a service (PaaS) database engine that handles most of the database management functions such as upgrading, patching, backups, and monitoring without user involvement. Azure SQL Database is always running on the latest stable version of the SQL Server database engine and patched OS with 99.99% availability. PaaS capabilities that are built into Azure SQL Database enable you to focus on the domain-specific database administration and optimization activities that are critical for your business.

With Azure SQL Database, you can create a highly available and high-performance data storage layer for the applications and solutions in Azure. SQL Database can be the right choice for a variety of modern

cloud applications because it enables you to process both relational data and non-relational structures, such as graphs, JSON, spatial, and XML.

Azure SQL Database is based on the latest stable version of the Microsoft SQL Server database engine. You can use advanced query processing features, such as high-performance in-memory technologies and intelligent query processing. In fact, the newest capabilities of SQL Server are released first to SQL Database, and then to SQL Server itself

Microsoft handles all patching and updating of the SQL and operating system code. You don't have to manage the underlying infrastructure.

Azure vs the competition

Azure emerged as the clear leader across both Windows and Linux for mission-critical SQL workloads. Microsoft SQL Server on Microsoft Azure shows a 3.6x better performance on Windows than SQL Server on AWS EC2 and up to 84.2% better price-performance:

What Are Popular Skills for Database Administrator (DBA)s?

Skills in Database Administration, Microsoft SQL Server, SQL, Oracle and Oracle 11g are correlated to pay that is above average

Average Database Administrator (DBA) with Microsoft Azure Skills Salary in India

 

Skills That Affect Database Administrator (DBA) Salaries

Different skills can affect your salary. Below are the most popular skills and their effect on salary.

Career Paths

Explore the most common career paths for Database Administrator (DBA). Thickness and color of lines indicates popularity of movement from one job to the next. Visit our career path planner to research other job paths.

Conclusion

Plan your successful career with Microsoft Azure. It is the future of the cloud computing and can be very useful to get noticed in the next stages of your career…..Register Here