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SQL DB now supports 4TB max database size
Azure SQL Database (SQL DB) has increased its max database size from 1TB to 4TB at no additional cost. Customers using P11 and P15 premium performance levels can use up to 4 TB of included storage at...
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PolyBase use cases clarified
I previously talked about PolyBase and its enhancements (see PASS Summit Announcements: PolyBase enhancements). There is some confusion on PolyBase use cases as they are different depending on whether...
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U-SQL Defined
Azure Data Lake Analytics (ADLA) is a distributed analytics service built on Apache YARN that allows developers to be productive immediately on big data. This is accomplished by submitting a job to...
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Microsoft database migration tools
There are various Microsoft tools that you can use to help you migrate your database: Data Migration Assistant (DMA) – enables you to upgrade to a modern data platform by detecting compatibility issues...
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Artificial Intelligence defined
The new buzzword in the industry is “Artificial Intelligence” (AI). But exactly what is AI and how does it compare to “machine learning” and “deep learning”? The best definitions I have seen come...
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Using Azure for free
There are a number of options for using Azure for free. This is very useful for those of you who are not familiar with Azure and want to “play” with it: Create a free Azure account and get $200 in...
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Microsoft Data Amp event announcements
Yesterday was the Microsoft Data Amp event where a bunch of very exciting announcements were made: SQL Server vNext CTP 2.0 is now available and the product will be officially called SQL Server 2017:...
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Power BI Premium, Report Server, Apps and API
Announced today are some really cool new Power BI features: Power BI Premium Previously available were two tiers, Power BI Free and Power BI Pro ($10/user/month). The problem with Power BI Pro is that...
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Microsoft Build event announcements
Another Microsoft event and another bunch of exciting announcements. At the Microsoft Build event this week, the major announcements in the data platform space were: Azure Cosmos DB Azure Cosmos DB is...
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SQL Data Warehouse reference architectures
With so many product options to choose from for building a big data solution in the cloud, such as SQL Data Warehouse (SQL DW), Azure Analysis Services (AAS), SQL Database (SQL DB), and Azure Data Lake...
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SSAS high availability
If you are looking at providing high availability (HA) for SSAS, here are 3 options: Install SSAS on a Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) Here’s a good article. The main issue with this option is...
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Data Warehouse Fast Track Reference Guide for SQL Server 2016
I had previously blogged about the Data Warehouse Fast Track for SQL Server 2016, a joint effort between Microsoft and its hardware partners to deliver validated, pre-configured solutions that reduce...
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Data Science Virtual Machine
The Data Science Virtual Machine (DSVM) is a customized VM image on Microsoft’s Azure cloud built specifically for doing data science. It has many popular data science and other tools pre-installed...
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Azure DevTest Labs
I have been working at Microsoft now for 3 years and 4 months (side note: it’s by far the best company I have ever worked for). You would think by now I know about every Azure product, but we release...
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Data lake details
I have blogged before about data lakes (see What is a data lake? and Why use a data lake?), and wanted to provide more details on this popular technology, some of which I cover in my presentation “Big...
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4TB disk sizes for Azure IaaS VMs available
Microsoft has introduced two new disk sizes for Azure IaaS VMs in P40 (2TB) and P50 (4TB) for both managed and unmanaged Premium Disks and S40 (2TB) and S50 (4TB) for both managed and unmanaged...
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Azure SQL Data Sync 2.0
Azure SQL Data Sync has been ignored for quite some time, but has finally gotten an update (it’s in public preview). This release includes several major improvements to the service including new Azure...
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Azure Analysis Services web designer
Microsoft has released a preview of the Azure Analysis Services web designer. This is a browser-based experience that will allow developers to start creating and managing Azure Analysis Services (AAS)...
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Microsoft Big Data Certification Exams
I previously blogged about Microsoft certification changes, and since then there have been some new Microsoft Big Data certifications exams released: Already live: 70-773: Analyzing Big Data with...
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Data Virtualization vs Data Warehouse
Data virtualization goes by a lot of different names: logical data warehouse, data federation, virtual database, and decentralized data warehouse. Data virtualization allows you to integrate data from...
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