As a DBA I have done a lot of work improving I/O performance for on-premise SQL Server installations. Usually it involves tweaking the storage system, balancing databases across RAID arrays, or expanding the count of files that the tempdb is using; these...

At PDC ‘09, I showed a glimpse of a new Silverlight tool we were working on to allow you to develop and manage your SQL Azure databases. We showed updated versions of this at MIX’10 and TechEd North America 2010 and promised for a CTP this summer. Looking...

When you horizontally partitioning data across multiple SQL Azure databases or using Data Sync Server for SQL Azure, there might come a time when you need to write to a member database without causing primary key merge conflicts. In this case you need...

The original blog post published here has been moved to the wiki section of TechNet and can be found here .  It addressed many of the aspects of transaction handling in SQL Azure. Many of the question posted below have been addressed by updating...

Currently, SQL Azure doesn’t support running SQL Server Agent in the cloud. If you need SQL Server Agent type functionality for SQL Azure, you can use a Windows Azure worker role and some custom code, I will show you how in this blog post series. “Secret...

In the world of relational databases circular references are schema structures where foreign keys relating the tables create a loop. Circular references cause special types of issues when trying to synchronize two relational database where the foreign...

Microsoft Project Code-Named “Houston” (Houston) is a light weight database management tool for SQL Azure. Houston can be used for basic database management tasks like authoring and executing queries, designing and editing a database schema, and editing...

Data Sync Service for SQL Azure allows you to perform bi-directional synchronization between two or more SQL Azure databases. This blog post will discuss the basics of Data Sync Services for SQL Azure. Under the Covers SQL Azure Data Sync Service runs...

SQL Azure has two types of access control: SQL Authentication logins and passwords and a server side firewall that restricts access by IP address. This blog post will discuss how to programmatically modify the firewall settings. For information about...

Both SQL Server and SQL Azure have a procedure cache which is used to improve the performance of queries on the server. This blog post will talk about how the procedure cache works on SQL Azure. SQL Azure has a pool of memory that is used to store both...

Geographic redundancy is a fancy word for distributing your data across multiple data centers globally. One way to accomplish this is to spread your data across many SQL Azure data centers using Data Sync Service for SQL Azure to synchronize a hub database...

In this article I am going to continue to tie some simple terminology and methodology in business intelligence with Transact-SQL – bring it down to earth for the DBA. This is a continuation in a series of blog posts ( part 1 , part 2 ) that equates Transact...

While this might seem like a non-announcement, the data type hierarchyid has just been added as a supported data type with SQL Azure Service Update 3, announced here . The hierarchyid data type is used to manage hierarchical data and tables that have...

The Open Data Protocol (OData) is an emerging standard for querying and updating data over the Web. OData is a REST-based protocol whose core focus is to maximize the interoperability between data services and clients that wish to access that data. It...

In this article I am going to continue to tie some simple terminology and methodology in business intelligence with Transact-SQL – bring it down to earth for the DBA. This is a continuation in a s eries of blog posts that I started that equates Transact...

In this article I am going to tie some simple terminology and methodology in business intelligence and PowerPivot with Transact-SQL – bring it down to earth for the DBA. You don’t need to know Transact-SQL to build awesome reports with PowerPivot, however...

In this previous blog post , I covered the basics of Data Sync Service for SQL Azure . In this post I will talk about a scenario where partial table access is provided to a superset of users for PowerPivot reporting. There is a common enterprise scenario...

For certain scenarios it makes sense to distribute your data and your web site closer to the end user; reducing the network latency and providing a better user experience. You can think about it like your own data delivery network, very similar to the...

In this video Niraj Nagrani and Rick Negrin will teach you how SQL Azure, AppFabric, and the Windows Azure platform will enable you to grow your revenue and increase your market reach. Learn how to build elastic applications that will reduce costs and...

In this first of a 3 part webcast series, Liam Cavanagh will show you how SQL Azure Data Sync enables on-premises SQL Server data to be easily shared with SQL Azure allowing you to extend your on-premises data to begin creating new cloud-based applications...

A new book, "Windows Azure Platform: Articles from the Trenches Volume 1" is now available as a free PDF download . Chapter 4 is all about quickly boosting you up to speed on how to get started with SQL Azure instance in less than five minutes...

I have been deep diving into SQL Azure by blogging about circular references and connection handling for the last couple of months – which are great topics. However, in an internal meeting with the Windows Azure folks last week, I realized that I hadn...

In this second of a 3 part webcast series, Liam Cavanagh introduces the Data Sync Service for SQL Azure.  This service extends on the SQL Azure Data Sync tools’ ability to provide symmetry between SQL Server and SQL Azure where data changes at either...

Microsoft SQL Azure provide for a suite of great relational-database-in-the-cloud features. In this video, join Hilton Giesenow, host of The Moss Show SharePoint Podcast, as he explores how to sign up and get started creating a Microsoft SQL Azure database...

Today in front of 13,000 attendees at the Worldwide Partner Conference Bob Muglia , corporate vice president of Server and Tools announced the Windows Azure Appliance among lots of cloud news at the conference. The new Windows Azure platform appliance...