1. Migrating to Azure SQL Database Tips, Tricks and Lessons Learned
Randolph West, Born SQL
Calgary PASS Chapter, 17 August 2016

2. Microsoft is Cloud First
What’s the Difference?
Azure SQL Database
cloud, cloud, cloud, shiny, shiny, shiny
SQL Server
on-prem, earthed, traditional, legacy
Microsoft is Cloud First

3. Azure SQL Database vs SQL Server VM
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)
Mostly compatible with SQL Server 2014 and 2016
Pay-as-you-go
Scale-up or scale-out instantly*
Automatically configured, patched, and upgraded
Automated backups, Point-In-Time Restore, Geo-Restore, and Active Geo-Replication
Pay per hour, per service tier and performance level
Pay for data transfer
Total cost of application = Highly minimized administration costs + software development costs + SQL Database service costs

4. Azure SQL Database vs SQL Server VM
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
SQL Server 2014 or 2016, installed on a virtual machine
Per-minute licencing cost (Web, Standard, Enterprise)
Or bring your own existing licence and only pay for Windows VM
Fully customisable
You are responsible for managing it (patching, maintenance, backups)
Pay for premium storage (SSD drives: P10, P20, P30)
Total cost of application = Minimized software development/modification costs + administration costs + SQL Server and Windows Server licensing costs + Azure Storage costs

5. Which One Do I Choose? Do you have to choose? Why? Are you sure?
Is your company going to benefit from this?

6. Azure SQL Database Limitations
database-general-limitations/
Highlights:
No Windows Authentication (Azure AD is supported)
TCP/IP on port 1433 only
No SQL Server Agent jobs (on-premises only)
Fixed Collation (default SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS)
Restricted usernames (admin, administrator, guest, root, sa, ‘\’)

7. Transact-SQL Differences in Azure SQL Database
database-transact-sql-information/
“Azure SQL Database is designed to isolate features from any dependency on the master database. As a consequence many server-level activities are inappropriate for SQL Database and are unsupported.” – Microsoft

8. Features Not Supported
Connection related: Endpoint statements, ORIGINAL_DB_NAME. Windows authentication is not available for logins or contained database users.
Features that rely upon the SQL Server Agent or the MSDB database: jobs, alerts, operators, Policy-Based Management, database mail, central management servers.
Serverless express: localdb, user instances
Service broker
SET REMOTE_PROC_TRANSACTIONS
Cross database queries using three or four part names. (Read-only cross-database queries are supported by using elastic database query.)
FILESTREAM
SHUTDOWN
Functions: fn_get_sql, fn_virtualfilestats, fn_virtualservernodes
sp_addmessagesp_configure options and RECONFIGURE
Cross database ownership chaining, TRUSTWORTHY setting
Global temporary tables
sp_helpuser
Data Collector
Hardware related server settings: memory, worker threads, CPU affinity, trace flags, etc. Use service levels instead.
sp_migrate_user_to_contained
Database Diagrams
SQL Server audit (use SQL Database auditing instead)
Database Mail
HAS_DBACCESS
DATABASEPROPERTY (use DATABASEPROPERTYEX instead)
KILL STATS JOB
SQL Server Profiler
Linked servers, OPENQUERY, OPENROWSET, OPENDATASOURCE, BULK INSERT, 3 and 4 part names
SQL Server trace
EXECUTE AS logins
Trace flags
Encryption: extensible key management
Master/target servers
Transact-SQL debugging
Eventing: events, event notifications, query notifications
.NET Framework CLR integration with SQL Server
Triggers: Server-scoped or logon triggers
Features related to database file placement, size, and database files which are automatically managed by Microsoft Azure.
Resource governor
USE statement: To change the database context to a different database you must make a new connection to the new database.
Semantic search
Features that relate to high availability which is managed through your Microsoft Azure account: backup, restore, AlwaysOn, database mirroring, log shipping, recovery modes.
Server credentials
Sever-level items: Server roles, IS_SRVROLEMEMBER, sys.login_token. Server level permissions are not available though some are replaced by database-level permissions. Some server-level DMV's are not available though some are replaced by database-level DMVs.
Features that rely upon the log reader running on SQL Database: Push Replication, Change Data Capture.

9. Migrating a SQL Server Database to Azure SQL Database
database-cloud-migrate/
SQL Server Data Tools for Visual Studio (SSDT):
“SSDT uses the most recent compatibility rules to detect SQL Database V12 incompatibilities. If incompatibilities are detected, you can fix detected issues directly in this tool. This is currently the recommended method to test and fix SQL Database V12 compatibility issues.” – Microsoft
Other tools can also help, but are not recommended:
SqlPackage, Export Data Tier application wizard (SSMS), SQL Server Upgrade Advisor, SQL Azure Migration Wizard (SAMW)

10. Migrating a SQL Server Database to Azure SQL Database
SSMS Migration Wizard
BACPAC / BCP
BACPAC: JSON format containing database schema and data
BCP: parallel insert

11. Resource Limits
Source: Microsoft

12. Understanding DTUs Database Transaction Unit (DTU):
Combination of I/O, RAM, CPU and log writes in some magical* formula
Azure SQL Database benchmark overview:
database-benchmark-overview/
DTU Calculator (3rd party product):
% Processor Time, Disk Reads/sec, Disk Writes/sec, Log Bytes Flushed/sec

13. Monthly Cost (CAD) Azure SQL Database (by DTUs)
Basic – 5 DTU – 2GB max storage – $7
Standard S3 – 100 DTU – 250GB max storage – $219
Premium P6 – 1000 DTU – 500GB max storage – $5,428
Premium P15 – 4000 DTU – 1TB max storage – $23,350
SQL Server on Azure Windows VM (by licence / resources)
DS13 instance (Web) – 8 cores – 56GB RAM – 400GB drive – $1,119
DS13 instance (Standard) – 8 cores – 56GB RAM – 400GB drive – $1,785
DS13 instance (Enterprise) – 8 cores – 56GB RAM – 400GB drive – $3,775
Additional storage – P30 SSD – 5,000 IOPS – 1TB – $164 per disk

14. Show Your Work
Compatibility tool (SSDT) → Can I even migrate to Azure SQL Database?
DTU Calculator → What service tier should I get? Do I need an elastic pool?
BACPAC EXPORT → Export database schema and data
BACPAC IMPORT → Insert database schema and data
Azure Portal → Look at the new precious

15. DTU Calculator (Cry Big Ugly Tears)
Important to capture over a busy period, for a long enough period. BE REALISTIC!
First run of this tool, with 10 minutes of data, showed S3 ($219/mo).
Second run of this tool, with an hour of data, showed P2 ($1,357/mo).
Difference of $1,138 per month ($13,656 per year)

16. Acceptance
Your boss has approved the expense, so let’s migrate!

17. Tips and Tricks
Always use the latest version of SQL Server Management Studio
BACPAC files must be saved to standard Azure Blob Storage, not premium
Make sure your database is compatible with SQL Server 2016 features
Watch out for hidden costs when scaling out SQL Databases, or running VMs
Elastic pools can get expensive
De-allocate VMs, and delete databases, if not using them

18. Summary
DTUs do not map directly to resources, and require a workload to evaluate against (time-based evaluation).
Some important on-premises features are not available in Azure SQL Database.
For smaller databases, web-based applications, and specifically new development, Azure SQL Database may be appropriate.
SQL Server 2016 on Azure VM is more appropriate for existing applications, and more cost-effective for larger databases, even with an Enterprise licence.
YMMV (your mileage may vary).

19. Credits Azure website: Books Online: https://azure.microsoft.com/
us/library/ms130214(v=sql.130).aspx