05Nov 2013 by Grant Fritchey 4 Comments

More Azure Goodies

Azure
Microsoft keeps sneaking little things under the door for Windows Azure SQL Database. This time it's a couple of new views, a system view and a Dynamic Management View (DMV); sys.resource_stats and sys.dm_operation_stats. But, I also learned another fun fact, not all this stuff rolls out at the same speed. For example, if I run sys.resource_stats on a database on a server located in the North Central US data center, the output looks like this: But, if I run the same query against the same view with a database in a data center in East Asia (I experiment with where I put things), it looks like this (click on it to expand it, probably want to do that into a second tab or window so you can refer to it…
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15Oct 2013 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

Monitoring Structure Changes

Azure
Most everyone I know works with environments that are carefully controlled and structured. All changes go through rigorous testing and full documentation. Absolutely nothing happens in a production environment that hasn't been thought through, discussed, planned for and written down. But, there are a few, a very few, who work in a slightly different kind of environment that they refer to as "the real world." In this "real world" changes to a production environment can happen without approval, planning or testing. Scary, right? There's good news for these poor benighted souls. Red Gate is testing out a new piece of software called SQL Lighthouse. It's meant to monitor your systems for changes so that you know what has happened and when in case you don't have a good source control…
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08Oct 2013 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

Azure Account and Spending Limits

Azure
If you've been working with Azure for a while you probably signed up before they had the ability to create an account with spending limits. Even worse, you couldn't switch an unlimited account to a limited account. I have great news. Sometime between June (last time I was messing with my accounts) and now, Microsoft made it possible to put a spending limit on those accounts. It's incredibly easy. Just get to the account management screen like this one: Click on the link and you'll get a pop-up window that lets you modify your choices. Once you've implemented a spending limit you will get shut down when you reach the limit. So, if you want, you can turn it off. It depends on the account type what you'll see. This…
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27Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Azure Offerings Continue to Expand

Azure
We just received word of a bunch of new functionality over at Scott Guthrie's blog. Not a lot of stuff for data pro's... unless you work with Oracle. Yeah, you can now create Oracle VMs. See the image below:   I swear, I can't tell you why this gives me the giggles, but it does. See, Oracle really does have a cloud offering, and it's Microsoft. Ha! Well, anyway, check out the link on Scott's blog to see the other changes to billing, security, etc. Absolutely worth the read. <snicker>Oracle on Azure. Oh, and if you need to get going on Oracle and you have an MSDN account, you can link your MSDN account to an Azure account for zero cost. Check it out here and enter to win an…
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25Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

AdventureWorks2012 Bug on Azure

Azure
While I have production databases in Azure, I can't exactly experiment with them at will. Further, while they mostly have pretty innocuous data, it's not all public. So, I need a mechanism for creating a database that I can play with in Azure. I use AdventureWorks. I get it. It's not that big (actually a good thing for Azure) and it's not a great database design which doesn't reflect reality (I would argue makes this reflects reality as I've seen it). However, it's a handy resource because you can go to Codeplex and download it. That makes it a great way to teach others because everyone has access to it. But... The other day I download the database and install it on my Azure system. I wanted cleaned up copies…
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24Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Premium Database on Azure

Azure
One of the things that can make Windows Azure SQL Databases (WASD) attractive is the fact that they run inside of a managed environment. But, that does mean that you're sharing resources with other databases. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if people are extremely worried about performance, yet, still want to take advantage of all the cool stuff in WASD, there is a way to do this; Premium Databases. I requested access to the early access program and was able to get it. You can request it by clicking on this link and scrolling down to Premium Database. Once you get access you should see this in your list of servers: To create a Premium Database you just create a  database any way you would normally (T-SQL through…
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20Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey 4 Comments

Web Design & Azure

Azure
I've listened to tons of programmers and DBAs complain about the look of Windows Azure. But, I'm friends with several design people, work with some pretty darned good designers at Red Gate, and I live in sin with a graphic artist (AKA: Mrs. Scary). While the developers and DBAs complain, lots of the designers seem pretty happy with it. Microsoft has a pretty serious team working on it. You can see an interview with them that tells you a little bit about how they did it. I thought it was interesting. And don't forget, that little contest to win a car ends in just over a week. This is almost your last chance to connect your MSDN account to a zero-cost Azure account and enter for a chance. Or not.…
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19Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

SQL Lighthouse

Azure, Redgate Software
Red Gate is constantly experimenting with technology. Because of a long history working within the Microsoft space, a lot of the new experimentation is in and around Azure. One new venture that could be online soon is SQL Lighthouse. It's a mechanism for dealing with changing structures in an unrestricted Windows Azure SQL Database where you have multiple developers making changes. Potentially, this is pretty interesting. Please follow the link, check it out, and sign up to be alerted when the program becomes available. Many people are just getting started with Azure, especially wrapping their heads around the concepts of using a Platform as a Service rather than having infrastructure, local, virtual, or on the cloud. If this is you, and you have an MSDN license, you can get that…
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12Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Microsoft Expands Data Centers… Again

Azure
Didn't they just do this in the spring? Word is out that they're expanding even more data centers. The cynical take would be that it's really all about the expanded need for data because of XBox One. But I doubt that explains it all. What's happening is that Azure is finally taking off. Note, I didn't say that Azure SQL Databases are taking off. I'm not sure they are. I think it's a combination of the web sites and the virtual machines. I've a feeling that Microsoft's investment is actually going to pay off. Question for you. Have you invested in Azure too? If not, time to get started. I've posted about it multiple times, so I won't insult you with a bunch of links. Just one, connect your existing…
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10Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

New Windows Azure Virtual Labs

Azure
Getting started with new technologies can be a pain. That makes all the new labs that Microsoft just posted extremely useful. There are several that are going to be immediately applicable to your average data pro; Introduction to SQL Database, Connecting a PaaS Application to an IaaS Application with a Virtual Network, Web Sites and Virtual Machines using ASP.NET and SQL Server. The beauty of these things is that you don't need to do anything to get started. These are virtual machines hosted out on the cloud that you get access to. Further, you'll get a lesson plan to follow so you're not left floundering. You will have to either connect your MSDN account to set up an Azure account or, if you don't have MSDN, sign up for an Azure…
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