Introduction

Many organizations have an aging or under-engineered data-platform strategy. To modernize their IT resources, companies are moving systems to the cloud to build new applications quickly and offload some on-premises costs.

You need a plan for how to move some workloads to the cloud, and you need to understand how to set up your organization for success. You also need to understand how the role of a database administrator (DBA) or data professional stays the same, and what changes you have to make.

This module starts with a brief history of why and how Microsoft built Azure SQL. You'll then learn about the three products in the Azure SQL family:

• Azure SQL Database
• Azure SQL Managed Instance
• SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)

Finally, you'll learn what to use for your organization and when. Understanding the difference between what platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-structure (IaaS) encompasses, and how it compares to a traditional SQL server environment can help you understand what you do and don't get when you move to the cloud.

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you'll be able to:

• Describe the evolution of Azure SQL.
• Differentiate characteristics of the three Azure SQL products, such as service tiers and deployment options.
• Determine which product is best for workloads in your organization.

Prerequisites

• Experience maintaining, working with, and developing with SQL Server
• Experience with Azure, such as deploying and managing resources
• Experience with the general structure of Azure

If you're new to these skills, you might want to check out:

• SQL Server 2022 Workshop: This GitHub workshop helps you learn about the latest innovations available in SQL Server 2022. You'll be able to directly apply much of that knowledge in this module and learning path.