Getting Started with Azure SQL Database Management
Managing your Azure SQL Database is crucial for ensuring optimal performance, security, and availability. This section covers the fundamental tasks and best practices for day-to-day operations.
Azure SQL Database offers a powerful set of tools and features to simplify database management. You can leverage the Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, and REST APIs to interact with and manage your databases.
Provisioning and Configuration
Creating and configuring new Azure SQL Databases is a common management task. You can choose between single databases, elastic pools, or managed instances based on your application's needs.
Creating a Single Database
Learn how to provision a single Azure SQL Database, select the appropriate service tier (DTU or vCore), and configure storage and networking.
Using Elastic Pools
Elastic pools allow you to share resources among multiple databases, which is cost-effective for workloads with varying usage patterns. Discover how to configure and manage them.
Managed Instance Configuration
Azure SQL Managed Instance provides near 100% compatibility with SQL Server on-premises. Explore its specific configuration and management aspects.
Performance Tuning
Optimizing database performance is essential for a responsive application. Azure SQL Database provides various tools for performance monitoring and tuning.
Query Performance Insight
Identify the longest-running queries, queries that consume the most CPU, and queries that are blocking other processes.
Automatic Tuning
Leverage Azure's automatic tuning capabilities to automatically identify and apply performance improvements for your database.
Indexing Strategies
Understand best practices for creating and maintaining indexes to improve query execution times.
Backup and Restore Operations
Regular backups are critical for data protection and disaster recovery. Azure SQL Database handles backups automatically, but you can also perform manual backups and manage restore operations.
Automated Backups
Understand the automated backup schedule, retention policies, and how to use Point-in-Time Restore (PITR).
Long-Term Retention (LTR)
Configure long-term retention policies for compliance and archival purposes.
Restoring Databases
Learn how to restore a database to a specific point in time or to a different server.
Monitoring and Alerting
Keep a close eye on your database's health, performance, and resource utilization with Azure Monitor.
Azure Monitor Metrics
Track key performance indicators like CPU usage, I/O, storage, and active connections.
Diagnostic Logs
Collect detailed logs for auditing, troubleshooting, and performance analysis.
Setting Up Alerts
Configure alerts based on metric thresholds or log events to be proactively notified of issues.
Security Management
Securing your Azure SQL Database is paramount. This section covers essential security management tasks.
Firewall Rules
Configure firewall rules to control network access to your database server.
Authentication and Authorization
Manage user accounts, roles, and permissions for secure access.
Data Encryption
Learn about Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) and Always Encrypted for data protection.
Connection Strings
Connection strings are essential for applications to connect to your Azure SQL Database. Find out where to get them and how to manage them securely.
You can find the fully qualified server name and connection strings in the Azure portal under your SQL database's "Overview" or "Connection strings" blade.
Always ensure your connection strings are handled securely, often using environment variables or secret management services.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Encountering issues? This section provides guidance on diagnosing and resolving common problems.
Performance Bottlenecks
Strategies for identifying and resolving performance degradation.