Microsoft's SQL Server 2022 is all about Azure

If you are a developer or database administrator, you may be interested in the latest version of SQL Server 2022 from Microsoft. 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 easier 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 introduces several tools and improvements. 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 Data Migration Assistant (DMA) to evaluate your databases for compatibility issues and performance improvements before migrating. Additionally, you can use the Database Experimentation Assistant (DEA) to compare the workload performance and compatibility of your source and target databases, and identify potential issues or optimizations.

Once you've migrated your data to Azure, you can take advantage of new features and capabilities in SQL Server 2022 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 rowstore, 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 version-based 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 build, train, and deploy machine learning models using SQL Server as a data source or scoring target.

You can also use Azure Cognitive Services (ACS) to enrich your data with natural language processing, computer vision, speech recognition, and other cognitive capabilities. Additionally, you can use Azure Synapse Analytics (ASA) to integrate your SQL Server data with big data and analytics 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 create new applications that take advantage of 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. This 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 his vision for SQL Server with me. «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 have taken it to the next level by making it completely connected to Azure,” he said.