It's that time of year again already, we are now on the run-in to SQLBits 2018 which will be taking place at the London Olympia between the 21st and 24th of February. Registration is open and you can sign-up here. Currently the earlybird pricing is available so the whole SQLBits conference can be had for £699. This ends on the 30th of November and the price rises so sign up quickly if you can.
I have been lucky enough to be asked by the team at SQLBits to present a full day pre-con on Getting Started with SQL and Azure which is going to be held on Wednesday the 21st of February.
The Why
Cloud, Platform as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service -- whatever you want to call it -- is rapidly becoming something that Data Plaform professionals need to get a handle on. The skills associated with managing a diverse array of Data Platform technologies and the services they support are in demand. Helping get Data Platform professionals ready to be at the front of the queue when it comes to companies needing these skills is why I am delivering this session. When working with Microsoft Azure, Amazon, Google, or other cloud service providers, the days of siloed responsibility are over. There is no need for a storage admin, VM admin etc. These are all services that you, as the Data Plaform specialist, will be provisioning to underpin the Data Platform solutions you build. It is more than just SQL Server now.
Additionally, once the fundamentals of the platform are understood it is important to select the appropriate service to use. For SQL Server there are a number of different options available, each with their own nuances that will have an impact on performance, cost and capability. Simply looking at the Relational engine we have the following options;
- Azure SQL Database
- Azure SQL Database Managed Instance
- SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines
- SQL Server in Containers
Selecting the right one can be a bit of a minefield and can end up costing more in time and money if you don't get it right. If we were to look at Data Platform options for more than just Relational then we have an exponential set of options open to us.
The What
Given that there is a massive potential for building Data Platform solutions I will be looking to cover only the Microsoft Azure Platform. Within that I will be looking specifically at the Relational Database options for SQL Server, simply because we only have one day!
However, before we start looking at the Data Platform tech we will spend some time understanding the pre-requisites needed for working with the Azure platform, specifically; looking at Networking, Storage, Identity, and the tools that we have available to us for managing Azure. Once we have that locked down, it is time to start playing with the Data Platform options.
Together we will work through understanding the options, the features available in each technology. The objective being that you can perform rapid gap analysis to identify where you should be putting your databases given the constraints you will face and the needs you have. Moving on to look at each service in more detail, understanding the migration paths and examining use-cases.
Throughout the day there will be hands on labs for attendees to complete around provisioning, migrating to, and using the different Data Platform technologies.
In Summary
This training day is all about getting the foundation in place and giving attendees the skills they need to make use of SQL Server in Microsoft Azure. Will you walk out an expert in SQL Server on Azure? Let's be realistic, we only have a day, so no. Will you walk out of this training day able to decide which is going to be the best option for your company if they want to use Azure and SQL Server? Yes! You will be able to advise them on the benefits, drawbacks and help plan the best way to get the most out of the platform.
Here's hoping to see you next February at SQLBits 2018.
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