Parsing SQL Azure How to extend a data platform into the cloud

Database services in the cloud, such as Microsoft's SQL Azure, provide a new way to address these challenges. SQL Azure's design follows three key features: scalability, manageability, and development flexibility.

Parsing SQL Azure Data platform

SQL Azure is a relational database deployed in the cloud that supports most of the development-related features of SQL Azure. As a database engine deployed in the cloud, the vast majority of management work is done by Microsoft, so there is no need to worry about any management problems such as backup, cluster, Microsoft's service level agreement, SLA) ensures that the database server will have an average of 99.99% of the time online per month. It is precisely because of this that the user is temporarily not exposed to excessive management functions.

In addition to providing relational database services, SQL Azure provides more data-related features such as data synchronization, reporting, and business intelligence. Based on the function of data synchronization, SQL Azure data Service can synchronize data with local SQL Server database, and realize the integration and coexistence of traditional application in cloud application at the data level.

SQL Azure Service Architecture (image from Network)

Developers can use existing knowledge, such as the Ado.net Entity Framework (EDM), LINQ to SQL, and even traditional datasets, ODBC, to access data located on SQL Azure. The vast majority of existing data access programs only need to modify a connection string to successfully access SQL Azure.

SQL Server 2008 Management Studio R2 also provides strong support for SQL Azure. The current version already supports accessing the current SQL Azure database, generating t-SQL scripts that run on SQL Azure, making it easy for you to migrate your database to SQL Azure. More powerful support for SQL Azure will be available in future releases.

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)