Episodes

  • Azure's best-kept secret is now a part of Synapse! Watch this episode of Data Exposed with Henning Rauch to learn how telemetry data can be analyzed using Azure Synapse Data Explorer. It comes with an amazing real-world IoT scenario.

    [01:04] Azure Synapse Data Explorer
    [01:26] Key pillars of Azure Synapse Data Explorer
    [02:02] Scenarios
    [03:12] The solution
    [04:31] Demo
    [08:23] Highlights

    Resources:
    IoT analytics with Azure Data Explorer
    Azure Synapse Data Explorer documentation
    Azure Synapse Data Explorer preview announcement blog

  • Learn about best practices of loading data to Azure SQL Database, how to efficiently utilize log generation rate and various techniques to efficiently load data into Azure SQL Database in this episode of Data Exposed with Denzil Ribeiro.

    [00:43] Data loading overview
    [03:05] Demo
    [16:32] Mistakes to be aware of

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  • Join us for an introduction to the latest release of SQL Server and learn about all its new capabilities from cloud-connected to built-in query intelligence.

    [00:50] What's new
    [01:42] The next step for SQL Server
    [02:13] SQL Server 2022
    [05:09] Query Store and Intelligent Query Processing
    [07:09] Industry-leading database engine
    [08:37] Data lake virtualization and object storage
    [10:13] Extending T-SQL
    [11:47] Getting started

    Resources:
    Learn more about SQL Server 2022​
    Register to apply for the SQL Server 2022 Early Adoption Program and stay informed 
    Watch technical deep-dives on SQL Server 2022
    SQL Server 2022 YouTube Playlist

  • Flexible Server is a new, next-generation option in the Azure Database for PostgreSQL managed service. Hosted on Linux OS, Flexible Server delivers superior out-of-box performance, zone resilient HA, customer-managed maintenance windows, plus a developer-friendly experience. Join this episode with Sunil Agarwal to learn more about why people are excited about the PostgreSQL managed service on Azure and the newly GA'd Flexible Server option.   
    [00:32] Introductions
    [01:00] Flexible Server for Azure Database for PostgreSQL Overview
    [04:43] Getting started with Flexible Server Resources:What is Flexible Server in Azure Database for PostgreSQL? - Microsoft Tech Community 
    Bringing the best of Azure and PostgreSQL innovation to developers - Microsoft Tech Community 
    Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server  | Microsoft Docs 

  • Data engineering is one of the most involved, dull, and repetitive tasks in the data industry today. Bringing up the subject is a sure way to instantly clear the room at a party or make your friends groan in despair. The work includes a lot of complicated tools, many, many lines of code, and a not-insignificant amount of gnashing of teeth. But what if I told you there is a way to quickly, easily, and cheaply do both data engineering and data exploration on most data without even having to import it into a database? What if I told you that Azure Synapse has a just about magical tool that can instantly connect to flat files and make them available as nice, well-behaved tables? I'm talking about Azure Synapse serverless pools, a great tool for both initial exploration and surprisingly complex data engineering. I'll walk you through what it is, how to set it up, and give you a few examples of basic data exploration, as well as a tad more complex data engineering. Oh, and did I mention you can actually store the end result in several different formats as well...?

    [00:56] Azure Synapse Serverless Pools Overview
    [01:54] Demo
    [11:05] Getting started

    Resources:
    Andy Cutler's blog on serverless pools
    Andy Mallon's blog on bucketing with T-SQL

    About Alexander Arvidsson:
    Alexander is a principal solutions architect at Attollo in Sweden. Nobody really knows what it means to be a principal solutions architect, but he spends his days speaking, teaching courses or helping clients of all shapes and sizes to take better care of their data.

    He has spent the last 25 years toying with data, databases and related infrastructure services such as storage, networking and virtualization, occasionally emerging from the technical darkness to attend a Star Wars convention somewhere in the world.

    He is a frequent international speaker, Data Platform MVP, podcaster, Pluralsight author, blogger and a Microsoft Certified Trainer, focusing on the Microsoft data platform stack.

    About MVPs:
    Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs, are technology experts who passionately share their knowledge with the community. They are always on the "bleeding edge" and have an unstoppable urge to get their hands on new, exciting technologies. They have a very deep knowledge of Microsoft products and services, while also being able to bring together diverse platforms, products, and solutions, to solve real-world problems. MVPs make up a global community of over 4,000 technical experts and community leaders across 90 countries/regions and are driven by their passion, community spirit, and the quest for knowledge. Above all and in addition to their amazing technical abilities, MVPs are always willing to help others - that's what sets them apart. Learn more: https://aka.ms/mvpprogram

  • Did you know that Jupyter Notebooks can be automated? Join this episode with Julie Koesmarno to see an example of how you can use automate diagnostic notebooks automatically executed as an issue is assigned to you. We will be using Azure serverless architecture to illustrate this example. You will learn how you can leverage Azure Logic Apps and API that is available for executing Jupiter Notebook from command lines. 
    [01:30] Automating Diagnostic Notebooks Overview
    [03:10] Demo
    [08:02] Architecture
    Resources:Troubleshooting SQL Server made easy via Notebook

  • In this episode of Data Exposed with Julie Koesmarno, we will give you a sneak peek of what's new in Azure Data Studio. In this demo, Notebook view simplifies the workflow for your notebook consumers. At Microsoft, we continuously strive to come up with practical ideas that help our customers. With that, we have also been experimenting with converting a couple of highly used SQL Server docs to Notebooks.

    [00:58] Notebook Views overview
    [03:05] Demo
    [05:27] SQL Docs to Notebooks
    [07:33] Getting started

    Resources:
    Troubleshooting SQL Server made easy via Notebooks – seeking your feedback

  • Looking for a cross-platform Oracle schema conversion solution? Join Alexandra Ciortea, Alexander Ivanov, and Anna Hoffman to learn about the new experience we are building in Azure Data Studio. This feature is currently available in Insiders build of Azure Data Studio and will soon be available in the mainstream as well.

    [00:25] Introduction
    [01:15] What is DSCT
    [02:41] Demo
    [10:09] What to know when getting started
    [11:39] Scenarios
    [12:38] Roadmap Resources:Azure Data Studio – InsidersMigrating to SQL series playlist

  • Are you looking to modernize your on-premises databases to Azure SQL? Join Alexandra Ciortea, Raymond Truong, Wenjing Wang, and Anna Hoffman to understand how you can size your Azure SQL target accordingly, based on the current performance and business requirements. We will walk you through several approaches and models that can suit your needs.

    [00:40] Introductions
    [00:58] What is DMA
    [01:38] What is an SKU
    [02:23] SKU recommendation console application
    [03:43] Demo
    [12:34] How data is collected
    [14:10] Demo
    [20:11] How to migrate

    Resources:
    Download Microsoft Data Migration Assistant v5.5
    Identify the right Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance or SQL Server on Azure VM SKU for your on-premises database
    Run Data Migration Assistant from the command line

  • In this episode of Data Exposed: MVP Edition, Javier Villegas will describe the concept of SQL Server Failover Cluster Instances (FCI) covering how we can use them for High Availability purposes using Azure Virtual Machines and the different Azure Storage options. Recently introduced in Azure VMs, SQL FCIs allows to easily migrate HA workload from on-premises environments to the cloud with the added benefit of application compatibility.

    [00:30] About Javier Villegas
    [01:20] Failover cluster overview
    [05:36] SQL Server Failover Cluster Instances in Azure
    [09:09] Demo: Created shared disc in Azure portal
    [11:42] Getting started

    About Javier Villegas:
    Javier Villegas is IT Director (DBA & BI Services) at Mediterranean Shipping Company with more than 20 years of experience working with SQL Server, Including Azure SQL.
    His specialization is Administration, Performance Tuning, High Availability and Disaster Recovery.
    Javier is a Microsoft MVP Data Platform since 2016 and MCT.
    He is a frequent speaker in technical conferences and events such as SQL Saturdays, PASS Virtual Groups, PASS Marathons, 24 Hours SQL PASS , vOpen , GroupBy ,DataPlatformGeeks , Data Saturdays and Azure Global Bootcamps.
    He is one of the group leaders of SQL Argentina Community and Microsoft Azure Data Advisory Board Member.

    About MVPs:
    Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs, are technology experts who passionately share their knowledge with the community. They are always on the "bleeding edge" and have an unstoppable urge to get their hands on new, exciting technologies. They have a very deep knowledge of Microsoft products and services, while also being able to bring together diverse platforms, products, and solutions, to solve real-world problems. MVPs make up a global community of over 4,000 technical experts and community leaders across 90 countries/regions and are driven by their passion, community spirit, and the quest for knowledge. Above all and in addition to their amazing technical abilities, MVPs are always willing to help others - that's what sets them apart. Learn more: https://aka.ms/mvpprogram

  • Looking for the next Microsoft Learn modules to complete? Bob Ward, Buck Woody, and Anna Hoffman give you a run-down of Microsoft Learn, the learning paths they've launched, and the two new Microsoft Learn modules - Azure SQL IoT and Azure Arc-enabled data services - they've been working on that are now live. Start learning today!

    [00:33] Introductions
    [00:52] SQL Workshops
    [02:05] About Microsoft Learn
    [02:38] Microsoft Learning Path - Build serverless, full stack applications in Azure
    [03:28] Microsoft Learning Path - Azure SQL Fundamentals
    [05:11] Microsoft Learn Module - Introduction to Azure Arc-enabled data services
    [07:26] Microsoft Learning Path - Azure Arc
    [08:33] Microsoft Learning Module - Deploy IoT Solutions with Azure SQL Database
    [09:43] Getting started

    Resources:
    Microsoft Learn
    SQL Server and Azure SQL Labs and Workshops
    Microsoft Learning Path - Build serverless, full stack applications in Azure
    Microsoft Learning Path - Azure SQL Fundamentals
    Microsoft Learn Module - Introduction to Azure Arc-enabled data services
    Microsoft Learning Path - Manage hybrid infrastructure with Azure Arc
    Microsoft Learning Module - Deploy IoT Solutions with Azure SQL Database
    Azure Arc Jumpstart

  • If you're looking to scale your Postgres database, the Citus open-source extension to Postgres makes sharding simple. And Citus is available on Azure as a managed service, too. Join Claire Giordano on the Citus team to learn about how Citus uses the Postgres extension APIs to shard Postgres—and the best way to get started with Citus. [01:24] What is Citus
    [03:40] What applications sharding Postgre with Citus
    [05:34] How large can a Citus cluster get?
    [07:45] When to use Citus
    [08:45] Getting stated

    Resources: 
    Citus open source repo on GitHub
    Getting Started with Citus resources
    Citus on Azure documentation
    Citus monthly newsletter
    Video: How Citus Distributes PostgreSQL

  • Query store hints enables changing query plan shapes without modifying application code. In this episode of Data Exposed with Denzil Ribeiro, we will look at an example of improving the performance of bulk loading data using query store hints. [00:30] Introduction Denzil Ribeiro
    [01:40] Memory Grants Overview
    [02:49] Demo
    [13:05] Getting Started Resources:Performance impact of memory grants on data loads into Columnstore tables

  • It is important to ensure that your Azure Virtual Machine is meeting the performance and stability standards you have established in your organization. PerfInsights can help identify and report on your Azure SQL VM health and provide references to how administrators can mitigate the risks. PerfInsights is a self-help diagnostics tool that can be run through the portal or as a standalone tool that collects diagnostic data, produces analytic reporting, summarizes system information, and produces a system log output that can help troubleshoot virtual machine performance problems in Azure for various scenarios including SQL Server, Windows OS, Linux, Azure storage, and more. PerfInsights allows administrators to run quick analysis, produce a benchmark result, analyze slow virtual machines, analyze Azure files, and perform advanced scenarios including xperf, network tracing, storport tracing, perf counter traces, and diskspeed benchmarks. In part five of this seven-part series, we will analyze PerfInsights captures to review SQL Server findings, review storage analysis against Azure storage thresholds, resource reporting, and will review the system summary information that can make it a lot easier to document your Azure SQL Virtual Machine environment. [00:58] PerfInsights Overview
    [02:20] Demo
    [15:48] Getting started Resources:Advanced performance analysis: https://aka.ms/perfinsights/advancedAzure Files analysis: https://aka.ms/perfinsights/azurefilesQuick performance analysis: https://aka.ms/perfinsights/quickPerformance analysis: https://aka.ms/perfinsights/vmslowBPCheck - SQL Best Practices and Performance checks: http://aka.ms/BPCheckPremium storage disk sizes: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/premium-storage-performance#premium-storage-disk-sizesAzure SQL Virtual Machine Reimagined Series: https://aka.ms/azuresqlvmyt 
     

     

  • As database professionals, we all know how to manage SQL Server Agent jobs using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), TSQL, and PowerShell. With Azure Data Studio and SQL Server Agent extension, we have new tools to create, maintain and manage SQL Agent jobs using Notebook. These are called Notebook Jobs. Once you successfully execute a Notebook job manually or via schedule, each run's results are saved into a separate Notebook, which you can easily share with others. In this episode of Data Exposed: MVP Edition, Taiob Ali will walk you through every step of Notebook Jobs.

    [00:31] About Taiob Ali
    [01:34] Benefits of SQL Server Agent Jobs
    [04:50] Demo
    [T012:30] Getting Started

    Resources:Github About Taiob Ali:
    Taiob Ali, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, is an accomplished technical leader with a proven record of success. During his last 15 years, he has worked with the Microsoft Data Platform and MongoDB, both on-premises and cloud. His experience includes all three major business sectors: finance, e-commerce, and healthcare. Taiob has hands-on experience managing large database projects, including massive data migration, intricate process design, testing and deployment, performance tuning, and long-term capacity planning.

    Taiob is currently working at "GMO LLC" as Database Solutions Manager, focusing on cloud migration, automation, improving, and streamlining operational workflow. He is a regular speaker at local and virtual chapters, Data Saturdays, and Azure conferences. He is a board member of New England SQL Server User Group, founder of 'Database Professionals Virtual Meetup Group', and organizer of Boston Data Saturday.

    About MVPs:Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs, are technology experts who passionately share their knowledge with the community. They are always on the "bleeding edge" and have an unstoppable urge to get their hands on new, exciting technologies. They have a very deep knowledge of Microsoft products and services, while also being able to bring together diverse platforms, products, and solutions, to solve real-world problems. MVPs make up a global community of over 4,000 technical experts and community leaders across 90 countries/regions and are driven by their passion, community spirit, and the quest for knowledge. Above all and in addition to their amazing technical abilities, MVPs are always willing to help others - that's what sets them apart. Learn more. 
  • Reports have never looked so great! The new features in SQL Server Migration Assistant help you easily identify automatically converted objects and estimate the effort associated with manually converted objects. Incorporate your findings into your migration process and accelerate your journey to Azure SQL.

    [00:30] Introductions
    [01:46] Importance of SSMA reports
    [02:42] Demo: Challenges that led to enhancements
    [06:58] Demo: New, enhanced reports

    Resources:
    SQL Server Migration Assistant - SQL Server | Microsoft Docs
    Azure Database Migration Guides | Microsoft Docs
    Migrating to SQL series playlist

  • When migrating your SQL Server workloads to Azure VM, there are literally hundreds of different VM sizes to choose from. Hopefully, you've seen our videos on sizing so you have an idea of the methodology we recommend to choose the right size, but what if you have a new SQL Server workload that you don't have metrics for? Where should you start? In part 4 of this eight-part series, we will highlight the Edsv4-series VMs and show you why we think they are the best VMs for your SQL Server workloads.

    [00:44] What are considerations for VM sizes
    [02:30] Favorite VM series
    [03:04] Edv4 and Edsv4-series documentation
    [07:37] Getting started

    Resources:Edv4 and Edsv4-seriesVM size: Performance best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMsHow to get the biggest bang for your buck with SQL Server on Azure VMAzure SQL Virtual Machine Reimagined Series
  •  Azure Monitor is a technology used to collect telemetry data from your Azure and on-premises environments. You can use Azure Monitor to improve performance and support the stability of your applications by identifying issues quickly. Azure Monitor includes Azure Metrics and Azure Logs to store telemetry data and track data in real-time and for historical analysis.

    Azure Metrics track values collected at regular intervals and can be used to describe the health of your resources at a particular point in time. Azure Metrics are lightweight and useful for creating dashboard KPIs, alerting, and fast detection of issues.

    In part three of this seven-part Azure SQL VM series, we will use Azure metrics to identify the uncached and cached health of your virtual machine and disk resources. We will show how to find metrics at the VM scope, pin metrics to create a custom dashboard, how to manage alerts, and finally comparing cached and uncached metrics at the VM and disk levels. [00:48] Tracking VM cached health[02:55] Demo[09:23] Getting started Resources:Disk performance metricsAzure Monitor

  • In part two of this seven-part VM series, learn how to easily manage your Azure SQL virtual machines using the SQL IaaS Agent Extension with Pam Lahoud. Whether you are using an Azure Marketplace image or a custom image with a self-installed SQL Server, the SQL IaaS Agent Extension offers a number of features to discover and manage your SQL Server VMs quickly and easily through the Azure Portal. [00:44] What is SQL Server IaaS Agent Extension
    [01:30] Demo
    [05:23] Set-up
    [09:28] Getting started Resources:
    Automate Management with the SQL Server IaaS Agent ExtensionAutomatic Registration with SQL Server IaaS Agent Extension

  • Optimizing Virtual Machine storage is one of the most critical areas to focus on when architecting for performance with SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines (VM). Virtual machines have input/output operations per second (IOPS) and throughput performance limits based on the virtual machine type and size as well as storage. In part one of this seven-part VM series, we'll cover how capping occurs at the virtual machine and storage levels and how caching can help remove the impact of these performance limits. [00:40] Optimizing Storage Performance
    [02:46] Azure Virtual Machine and Storage
    [03:49] Disk IO Capping
    [06:46] Azure VM IO Capping Resources:Checklist: Best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMs
    VM size: Performance best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMs
    Storage: Performance best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMs
    How to get the biggest bang for your buck with SQL Server on Azure VMs
    Deep Dive: Azure SQL Virtual Machine Sizing | Data Exposed LiveAzure SQL Virtual Machine Reimagined Series