Get Started with Azure Synapse Analytics

Welcome to Azure Synapse Analytics, a unified analytics service that accelerates time to insight across data warehouses and big data systems. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to begin your journey with Synapse Analytics.

Key Concepts

Before diving in, familiarize yourself with some core concepts:

• Workspaces: The central hub for managing your Synapse Analytics resources.
• SQL Pools: Dedicated SQL pools offer enterprise-grade SQL capabilities, while serverless SQL pools provide a query service over data in your data lake.
• Spark Pools: For big data analytics using Apache Spark.
• Pipelines: Orchestrate data integration and movement.
• Data Explorer Pools: For interactive analytics on semi-structured and unstructured data.

Prerequisites

To follow this guide, you'll need:

• An Azure subscription. If you don't have one, create a free account.
• Appropriate permissions to create resources in your Azure subscription.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create an Azure Synapse Workspace

   The first step is to create a Synapse workspace, which acts as the central management plane for all your Synapse resources.

   Using the Azure Portal:

   1. Navigate to the Azure portal.
   2. Search for "Azure Synapse Analytics" and select it.
   3. Click "Create".
   4. Fill in the required details: Subscription, Resource Group, Workspace name, Region, and Data Lake Storage Gen2 account.
   5. Review and create.

   For programmatic creation, see our ARM template documentation.

2. Explore the Synapse Studio

   Once your workspace is deployed, access Synapse Studio for a unified experience for data ingestion, preparation, management, and serving.

   From your Synapse workspace overview in the Azure portal, click "Open Synapse Studio".

   Inside Synapse Studio, you'll find:

   • Home: Overview and quick start options.
   • Data: Connect to and explore your data.
   • Develop: Create and manage SQL scripts, notebooks, and pipelines.
   • Integrate: Build data pipelines and activities.
   • Monitor: Track pipeline runs and Spark applications.
   • Manage: Configure Spark pools, SQL pools, and other settings.

3. Create a SQL Pool

   You can create either a serverless SQL pool (for querying data in your data lake) or a dedicated SQL pool (for traditional data warehousing).

   To create a dedicated SQL pool:

   1. In Synapse Studio, navigate to the "Manage" hub.
   2. Under "Analytics pools", select "SQL pools".
   3. Click "+ New".
   4. Configure your SQL pool with a name, performance level (DWU), and other settings.
   5. Click "Review + create" and then "Create".

   Example SQL Query:

   -- Connect to your dedicated SQL pool
   SELECT TOP 100 *
   FROM sys.tables;

4. Connect to Data Sources

   Synapse Analytics can connect to a wide variety of data sources, including Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Blob Storage, Azure SQL Database, and more.

   In Synapse Studio's "Data" hub, you can browse and link your data stores. To connect to a new data source, click "+ Link" and choose your data source type.

5. Ingest and Transform Data

   Use Synapse Pipelines to orchestrate data movement and transformations. You can use activities like Copy Data, Data Flow (for visual ETL/ELT), and Notebooks.

   Example: Using Copy Data Activity

   Create a new pipeline, add a "Copy Data" activity, configure your source and sink datasets, and set up any necessary transformations.

For more in-depth information, refer to the official documentation and tutorials:

• Azure Synapse Analytics Documentation
• Tutorial: Create and query a serverless SQL pool
• Tutorial: Create and use a Spark pool