Bob Ward - Azure SQL Revealed: A Guide to the Cloud for SQL Server Professionals

Any source code or other supplementary material referenced by the author in this book is available to readers on GitHub via the books product page, located at www.apress.com/9781484259306 . For more detailed information, please visit http://www.apress.com/source-code .

Cloud computing has become a pivotal part of business and our world. Azure, the worlds computer, is at the forefront of delivering cloud computing at the scale the world needs. Azure SQL has been part of Microsofts cloud lineup since the beginning. From SQL Services to SQL Azure to the powerful lineup of Azure SQL cloud services, databases have always been a core part of Azure.

In this book, Bob Ward, an architect on my team who for 27 years has been an integral part of the SQL Server story for Microsoft, leads you on a journey to learn Azure SQL starting with the compelling history of Azure and Azure SQL. Then he describes in detail the Azure SQL lineup, including SQL Server for Azure Virtual Machine, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and Azure SQL Database. A complete chapter is available for you to understand the details of using SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machine.

The heart of the book gives you what you need to deploy and configure Azure SQL to meet your requirements. You will then learn how to secure your data, maintain performance, and achieve high availability with your Azure SQL investments. I love how Bob compares and contrasts our SQL Server product you know so well to Azure SQL deployment options. But you will also learn the innovation of Azure SQL that can truly provide your business new value, including built-in High Availability, Automatic Tuning, Advanced Threat Protection, Serverless computing, and Hyperscale databases.

In November of 2019, I had just released my second book on SQL Server called SQL Server 2019 Revealed (my first book was Pro SQL Server on Linux which was released in 2018). It was only one week after we had also just launched the SQL Server 2019 release. I had also delivered some eight sessions at the recent PASS Summit conference in Seattle. Therefore, near the end of calendar 2019, I wanted to reflect back on what was successful but also look toward the future.

I found myself sitting in a room with my manager Asad Khan reviewing the work I had done over the last year and what might be the next focus for me (that is how we will roll at Microsoft; yes, we were celebrating the release of SQL Server 2019, but we are always looking at what is our next big thing). We agreed that for at least the foreseeable future I needed to focus on delivering the message of SQL Server 2019, Containers, Linux, and Kubernetes to customers and our internal teams.

I then asked a very dangerous question: What about Azure? Asad owns the program management for SQL Server and Azure SQL. He paused for a few seconds and then asked me, Bob, what do you mean? Do you mean you want to get involved in Azure? I had been thinking about this for some time. Back in the fall of 2019, I did a roadshow with Buck Woody and Anna Hoffman called Ground to Cloud (see the workshop for yourself at https://github.com/microsoft/sqlworkshops/tree/master/SQLGroundToCloud ). During the roadshow, I was also thinking ahead despite the fact that I was still finishing the SQL Server 2019 Revealed book and part of our overall launch work for SQL Server 2019. So I told Asad, I think one thing I can help with the cloud is to do an assessment of Azure SQL from the perspective of a SQL Server expert. Why not take my 27+ years of experience on SQL Server and see how it lines up with the cloud? Asad in his usual calm demeanor said that he thought this would be an excellent idea, but I think he was privately excited to see my involvement.

Roll forward to early January of 2020. I had spent time over the holiday break in December of 2019 talking to my wife Ginger and my sons Troy and Ryan. Should I go for a third book? Ginger replied with her usual wry smile Why not? Dont you have a hang for this book writing thing now? I thought it over for a bit and then decided to dive in. After all, 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of Azure and Azure SQL. I thought this introduction would include all the places I travelled while writing this book, as I had with my previous two books. However, there was a historic worldwide event you may have heard of called COVID-19 which disrupted not only my travel but has also affected so many people. I grieve and pay respects to all of those reading this book for themselves and any of their loved ones affected. The time not travelling did allow for me to have more focus to write this book, so I hope you like the final result. All of this book was written in my home office in North Richland Hills, Texas, but I was connected to the world throughout the writing.