Azure Synapse Analytics

Getting Started with Azure Synapse Analytics

Welcome to Azure Synapse Analytics! This guide will walk you through the initial steps to set up and start using this powerful, unified analytics platform.

1. Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

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

2. Creating an Azure Synapse Workspace

The Synapse workspace is your central hub for managing all your analytics assets. Follow these steps to create one:

1. Navigate to the Azure portal.
2. In the search bar, type "Azure Synapse Analytics" and select it from the results.
3. Click "Create" or "+ Add" to start the creation process.
4. Fill in the required details:
   • Subscription: Select your Azure subscription.
   • Resource group: Create a new one or select an existing one.
   • Workspace name: Choose a unique name for your workspace (e.g., myanalyticsworkspace).
   • Region: Select the Azure region where you want to deploy your workspace.
   • Data Lake Storage Gen2 account: You'll need to associate a hierarchical namespace-enabled Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 account. You can create a new one or select an existing one.
   • File system name: Specify a name for the container within your storage account.
5. Review the settings and click "Review + create", then "Create".

3. Accessing Your Synapse Workspace

Once your workspace is deployed, you can access it via the Azure portal or directly using the Synapse Studio.

Using Azure Portal:

• Go to your Azure Synapse workspace resource in the Azure portal.
• Click on the "Open Synapse Studio" button.

Directly via Synapse Studio:

• Open your web browser and navigate to https://web.azuresynapse.net/.
• Sign in with your Azure credentials.

4. Exploring Synapse Studio

Synapse Studio provides a single pane of glass for all your analytics needs. Key areas include:

• Home: Get started with quick links and recent items.
• Data: Explore, discover, and manage your data assets.
• Develop: Write Spark notebooks, SQL scripts, and pipelines.
• Integrate: Orchestrate data movement and transformation workflows.
• Monitor: Track the performance and health of your pipelines and activities.
• Manage: Configure workspace settings, security, and connections.

5. Next Steps

Now that your Synapse workspace is ready, you can start exploring its capabilities:

• Create a SQL Pool: Provision a dedicated SQL pool for relational data warehousing.
• Create a Spark Pool: Set up a Spark pool for big data processing and machine learning.
• Ingest Data: Use pipelines to move data from various sources.
• Analyze Data: Write SQL queries or Spark code to gain insights.

Refer to the Quickstart Guides for hands-on examples and step-by-step instructions.