Remembering from the storage type article, the
3 types of storage were:
- Local Storage
- Windows Azure Storage
- SQL Azure Storage
The features are mentioned below:
- SQL Server equivalent in Cloud
- Built on SQL Server Technologies
- No installation needed
- Transact SQL Support
- ADO.NET and ODBC drivers supported
- Available anywhere
- Existing .Net Database skills are reusable here
- Easier Scalability
- Highly Fault Tolerant
- Pricing involved
![SQL Azure Storage]()
Note: The Sql Azure can be accessible
from Azure applications as well as other applications like ASP.NET, Console
Applications. Also the complete SQL Features are not available in SQL Azure. You
can find more info here.
Features Explained
We can relate everything in our windows/asp.net world to azure world. The Sql
Azure is the Sql Server equivalent in the cloud. There will be a server,
database and connectivity using ADO.NET which we are familiar with. (Creation of
server and database are discussed in the upcoming article.)
Connecting using ADO.NET
We can use the existing ADO.NET SQL Server classes to connect and manipulate the
SQL Azure database.
![SQL Azure]()
Advantages
The SQL Azure database will be replicated on multiple servers and is more fault
tolerant than the SQL Server database.
The automatic switching of server in case of server fault makes the SQL Azure
have increased availability.
SQL Azure helps the database management easier by freeing up from:
- Server Operating System Setup Overheads
- SQL Server Setup Overheads
- Scalability Setup Overheads
In the pre SQL Azure world, we need to setup
the database server with the appropriate operating system, install the sql
server, configure the server etc. But in SQL Azure we are free from all these
overheads. This makes concentrating in the core aspects of the application.
In the SQL Azure, scalability is an easier task otherwise in Sql Server we have
to deal with replication server configuration, principal and mirror server
configuration etc. We can scale up and down based on the requirements of the
application.
More information can be found here
Types of Database
In the SQL Azure there are two types of databases:
- Web Edition
- Business Edition
The Web Edition is the basic edition and right
choice for a typical web application. This Database provides up to 5 GB of T-SQL
based relational database. This edition is best suited for Web application, and
Departmental custom apps.
The Business Edition SQL Azure DB provides up to 50 GB of T-SQL based relational
database. This edition is best suited for Software as a Service applications,
custom applications etc.
![SQL Azure Storage]()
The billing also varies based on the edition. In our examples we will be using
the Web Edition only.