LAUNCH: Azure SQL News and Data Exposed Update: January 2021 | Data Exposed Live

[Anna Hoffman]

Starting today, Data Exposed will be going live every Wednesday at 9AM PT on LearnTV. Every 4 weeks (mostly the first week of each month), we’ll do a News Update. We’ll include product updates, videos, blogs, etc. as well as upcoming events and things to look out for. We’ve included an iCal file, so you can add a reminder to tune in live to your calendar.

Data Exposed will continue to release new, shorter episodes on Thursdays at 9AM PT, plus #MVPTuesday episodes once a month. We’re expanding so we can further our connection with you, our SQL community and #sqlfamily.

Along with the News Update on Data Exposed Live, you can read this blog to get the guide and links to all the things discussed in the show. We’re looking forward to 2021, here’s your first update:

Product updates

To get a comprehensive update on what’s new in Azure SQL Managed Instance, I highly recommend you check out the Live session we did in December: https://aka.ms/sqlmi-live-dec20. This session featured so many updates and even insights on what’s coming in 2021.

Machine Learning in Azure SQL Managed Instance officially became generally available with support for R and Python. For more information, see here: https://aka.ms/managed-instance-machine-learning. And, in case you missed it (ICYMI), in late 2020, Machine Learning Services actually introduced open sourcing for R and Python custom runtime. This is a great addition that will help you bring newer version of R and Python that you may be using in your organization.

In December, the general availability of Azure Data Share snapshot-based sharing for Azure SQL Database and Azure Synapse Analytics happened. This integration enables you to share database tables and views from Azure SQL Database and Dedicated SQL pool (formerly Azure SQL DW), and share tables from Synapse workspace dedicated SQL pool. You can now share structured data stored in relational databases and data warehouse easily and securely between internal departments, with external partners, vendors, or customers for collaboration. More info on how to do that here.

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) has been available across all deployment options of Azure SQL for a while, but in December the team announced public preview for TDE with customer-managed keys for Azure SQL Database Hyperscale.

Finally, Mara Steiu, Program Manager, came on the show to talk to us about Private Link for Azure SQL Data Sync, which recently went into a public preview for Azure SQL Database.

Additionally, the latest Azure Data Studio update was released in November. Make sure you’re up to date and get the full details in the release blog here.

Videos

Data Platform Summit(DPS) took place in December online over the course of 72 hours, plus two days of pre-cons and post-cons. Microsoft had a great showing.

We released a TON of new Data Exposed episodes to round out the year. Here is the list, or you can just see the playlist we created with all the episodes!

• Top Reasons Your On-premises SQL Server Instance Can Benefit from Azure, Amit Banerjee
• Getting Started with DevOps for Azure SQL, Arvind Shyamsundar
• MVP EDITION - How to Automate Disaster Recovery in SQL Server On-Prem, Chrissy LeMaire
• Use Azure Pipelines for Azure SQL Deployments, Arvind Shyamsundar
• Understanding High-Performant, Hybrid Data Integration Using Azure Data Factory, Abishek Narain
• MVP EDITION - The A to S of Azure Data Studio, Warwick Rudd
• Elastic Jobs in Azure SQL Database - Part 3, Kate Smith
• Elastic Jobs in Azure SQL Database - Part 4, Kate Smith
• Elastic Jobs in Azure SQL Database - Part 5, Kate Smith

Blogs

As always, our team is busy writing blogs to share with you all. Blogs contain announcements, tips and tricks, deep dives, and more. Here’s the list I have of SQL-related topics you might want to check out.

• Azure Blog
  • 5 ways to save costs by running .NET apps on Azure, David Ellis
  • Microsoft named a Leader in Gartner’s 2020 Magic Quadrant for Cloud DBMS Platforms, John ‘JG’ Chirapurath
  • Shape your future with data and analytics, Julia White*
• SQL Server Techcommunity
  • Released: SQL Server Replication Management Pack (7.0.28.0)
  • Released: Microsoft.Data.Sql.Client 2.1.1
  • Introducing adutil - A tool to ease configuration of AD authentication for SQL on Linux/Containers
  • SQL Server Big Data Clusters CU8 release surfaces Encryption at Rest capabilities and more
  • Early technical preview of JDBC Driver 9.1.1 for SQL Server released
  • Microsoft Drivers 5.9.0 Preview/Beta 2 for PHP for SQL Server Released
  • Released: Update to Microsoft OLE DB Driver 18 for SQL Server
  • Released: Public Preview for SQL Server Analysis Services Management Pack
  • Released: Public Preview for SQL Server Replication Management Pack (7.0.27.0)
• Azure SQL Tech Community
  • How to Improve Your Azure SQL Performance by up to 800%
  • Introducing Private Link for SQL Data Sync (Public Preview)
  • Transparent Data Encryption with customer-managed keys for Azure SQL Hyperscale now available
  • Logging Schema-changes in a Database using DDL Trigger
• Azure SQL Devs’ Corner
  • Seasons of Serverless Challenges with Azure SQL Database serverless
    • Azure Functions and Azure SQL Database Serverless
    • Azure TypeScript Functions and Azure SQL Database Serverless
  • Autoscaling with Azure SQL Hyperscale
  • Using an Azure Container Instance to convert a BAK to BACPAC for Import into Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL can read Azure Data Lake storage files using Synapse SQL external tables
  • Programmatically parsing Transact SQL (T-SQL) with the ScriptDom parser
• Azure Database Support (SQL-related posts)
  • Lesson Learned #150: Calculating the space used by table and per column
  • Lesson Learned #151: External Tables and Private Link connectivity
  • Principal ***** does not exist in the directory ****
  • Lesson Learned #152: When the transaction context matters in a blocking issue!
  • Enhance performance techniques: use index on computed column
  • Import database when policy "Azure SQL DB should avoid using GRS backup" is enforced
  • Lesson Learned #153: PHP Console Script for Testing connection in Azure SQL
  • Lesson Learned #154: JAVA Console Script for Testing connection in Azure SQL
  • Lesson Learned #155: Timeout period elapsed prior to obtaining a connection from the pool.
  • Automate and Send Alerts for Elastic Jobs Failures
  • Replication configuration between Managed Instance and On-premises common issues

*This includes the General Availability announcement for Azure Synapse Analytics, as well as the Preview announcement for Azure Purview.

Upcoming events

As always, there are several events coming up this month. Here are a few to put on your calendar and register for:

1/10: Multicloud Meetup
Azure SQL Database Networking using Private Link and connecting with PAAS, Anna Hoffman

1/20: Azure Webinar Series: Four Ways to Take Your Data Security to the Next Level

1/29: C# Corner SQL Virtual Conference
Learn Azure SQL Database through Demos, Anna Hoffman

Develop Best Practices for Azure SQL: Avoiding common pitfalls when using the Cloud Database, Davide Mauri
Executable Troubleshooting Guides with Notebook for SQL People, Julie Koesmarno & Aaron Nelson

SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters Architecture, Buck Woody

SQL Projects for Database Development, Drew Skwiers-Koballa

Data Replication Options in Azure SQL / SQL Server, Mara Steiu

In addition to these upcoming events, here’s the schedule for Data Exposed Live this month:

1/13: Deep Dive: Enterprise Data Integration Simplified with Azure Data Factory

1/20: Something Old, Something New: Two Data Scientists Walk Into a Bar? What Are the Odds? with Buck Woody

1/27: Azure SQL February 2021 Updates
Tune in every Wednesday at 9AM PT to interact with us live: aka.ms/LearnTV

Find any episodes you missed on-demand: aka.ms/dataexposedlive

Coming up on February 3, join our first-ever Data Exposed Special, Around the Clock with Azure SQL and Azure Data Factory: an engineering event focused on Azure SQL and Azure Data Factory - with the idea that Azure Data Factory can do a lot of things, but it does Azure SQL really well! Register today!

Featured Microsoft Learn Module

Learn with us! This month I highlighted the Introduction to Azure SQL module. Check it out!

Anna’s pick of the month: books!

Near the end of November, two Azure SQL-related books were published.

Azure SQL Revealed was written by Bob Ward to help SQL Server professionals translate their knowledge to Azure SQL. Practical Azure SQL Database for Modern Developers, written by Davide Mauri, Silvano Coriani, Sanjay Mishra, Jovan Popovic, and I, was written to help developers (including those new to SQL Server) get the most out of Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance. These are great complementary resources, and I can’t recommend them enough!

Until next month…

That’s it for now! Be sure to check back next month for the latest updates, and tune into Data Exposed Live every Wednesday at 9AM PST on LearnTV. We also release new episodes on Thursdays at 9AM PST and new #MVPTuesday episodes on the second Tuesday of every month at 9AM PST at aka.ms/DataExposedyt.

Having trouble keeping up? Be sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest updates on everything, @AzureSQL. You can also download the iCal link with a recurring invite!

We hope to see you next time, on Data Exposed.

--Anna and Marisa

[James van den Berg]

Thank you @Anna Hoffman Sharing with the Community 
Lot of Success with DataExposedLive in 2021

[Anna Hoffman]

@James van den Berg  Thank you! I hope so :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes: Keep tuning in!!