If you are a database developer or administrator, you may be interested in Microsoft’s latest version of SQL Server 2022. This version of the popular relational database management system (RDBMS) is all about Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the new features and benefits of SQL Server 2022 that are designed to help you migrate, manage and optimize your data in the cloud.
One of the main goals of SQL Server 2022 is to make it easy for you to migrate your existing databases to Azure, whether you want to use Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance or Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server. Azure SQL Database is a fully managed service that offers high availability, scalability and security for your data.
Azure SQL Managed Instance is a hybrid service that combines the best of both worlds: the compatibility and functionality of SQL Server with the flexibility and automation of Azure. Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server is a new option that allows you to run SQL Server on any infrastructure, whether on-premises, in the cloud or at the edge, and manage it from a single control plane in Azure.
To help you migrate your data to Azure, SQL Server 2022 features several tools and enhancements. For example, you can use Azure Data Migration Service (DMS) to perform online or offline migrations from any source to any destination in Azure, with minimal downtime and risk.
You can also use the Data Migration Assistant (DMA) to evaluate your databases for compatibility issues and performance improvements before migrating. In addition, you can use the Database Experimentation Assistant (DEA) to compare the workload performance and compatibility of your source and target databases and identify potential problems or optimizations.
Once you have migrated your data to Azure, you can take advantage of new SQL Server 2022 features and capabilities that are optimized for the cloud. For example, you can use the Intelligent Query Processing (IQP) feature to improve the performance and scalability of your queries without changing any code. IQP includes several enhancements, such as adaptive joins, memory grant feedback, interleaved execution, batch mode in the row store, approximate query processing, and more.
You can also use the Accelerated Database Recovery (ADR) feature to speed up database recovery and reduce the impact of long-running transactions. ADR uses a new versioning engine that eliminates the need to redo and undo operations during recovery.
Another benefit of SQL Server 2022 on Azure is that you can harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to gain valuable insights from your data and make better decisions. You can use Azure Machine Learning Services (MLS) to create, train, and deploy machine learning models using SQL Server as a data source or scoring destination.
You can also use Azure Cognitive Services (ACS) to enrich your data with natural language processing, computer vision, speech recognition and other cognitive capabilities. In addition, you can use Azure Synapse Analytics (ASA) to integrate your SQL Server data with analytics and big data services in Azure, and create end-to-end data pipelines that deliver fast, reliable insights.
As you can see, SQL Server 2022 is all about Azure and how it can help you transform your data into value. Whether you want to migrate your existing databases to the cloud or build new applications that leverage the latest technologies, SQL Server 2022 has something for everyone. If you want to learn more about SQL Server 2022 and its features, you can visit the official website or download the preview version and try it yourself.
SQL Server 2022, the latest edition of Microsoft’s database software, is now available to the public. The software, which has been on the market for more than three decades, is the most integrated version of SQL Server in Azure to date.
It offers seamless connections to Azure services, such as Azure Synapse Link, which enables real-time database analytics, Azure Purview, which provides data governance capabilities, and Azure SQL Managed Instance, which supports disaster recovery scenarios.
Rohan Kumar, corporate vice president of Azure Data at Microsoft, shared with me his vision for SQL Server. “The original goal of SQL Server was to simplify the complexity of databases. I think that’s one of the main reasons it’s been so successful and adaptable over the years. With SQL Server 2022, we’ve taken it to the next level by making it was completely connected to Azure,” he said.
