Azure SQL Database has some great built-in features that are included in the price like automatic backups, high availability, auditing and threat detection, transparent data encryption. No matter how excited people are when I talk to them about Azure SQL DB there is one topic that causes confusion. Every. Single. Time. That topic is sizing. “What the heck is that DTU thing and how many of...
It should come as no surprise that we rely heavily on SharePoint for sharing documents at Microsoft. For the most part it is a great solution with few issues. We can subscribe to documents and libraries and get updates when items are modified or added then go view those documents in a web browser while on the go without needing to constantly be pulling down the latest version and wondering if it...
I recently wrote a post about using Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with Azure Key Vault as an alternative to managing certificates. Today’s post will explore using SQL Server’s Always Encrypted functionality with Azure Key Vault. Always Encrypted, as with TDE, can use Windows certificates or what an external storage location such as a Hardware Security Module (HSM) or Azure Key...
Microsoft introduced Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) to SQL Server with the 2008 release providing a simple, easy way to add an extra layer of protection to our data. TDE is not unique to SQL Server and hasn’t changed much since being introduced into the product. With Azure becoming more and more popular I get requests from customers fairly frequently asking to talk about storing the...
I recently presented a free webinar for Pragmatic Works where I discussed new security features in SQL Server 2016. You can click here to watch the recording of the webinar if you missed it. In this follow up I wanted to post the scripts I used and link to a few resources. Here is a link to the scripts/deck from my presentation: End to End Security with SQL Server 2016 Here is a link to the...
We previously looked at Archiving Azure SQL Database to a BACPAC and in today’s post we are going to address how to look at that data by restoring or importing it to a local SQL Server. As discussed in the previous post this discussion arose in a conversation with a customer who needed to keep monthly archives of their data for a 10 year time period to comply with industry regulations and...
UPDATE: The other half of this scenario has been posted. Check out Importing a BACPAC to SQL Server. Azure SQL Database is a managed database platform as a service (Paas) offering available from Microsoft in the Azure cloud. One of the advantages to Azure SQL Database is all the file management, server maintenance and backups are taken care of automatically. Point in time recovery is built...
Here we are, 7 years working with SQL Server and Microsoft BI tools. Sure in the grand scheme of things that’s not a long time but when you consider that all of those years have been in consulting it’s more experience than many people will get in an entire career. I’ve been on easy engagements where I built SSRS reports for two weeks and I’ve been on difficult engagements...
“How do I know my data is secure?” “A lot of companies have been hacked lately, why would I want to move to the cloud?” “We have sensitive data that can’t be moved to the cloud.” If you are a decision maker in a company you have probably raised questions and objections similar to those above. If you are someone who is architecting solutions that...
Having a cloud you can trust is important. Microsoft takes security and compliance extremely seriously in both the commercial and government clouds. An August 2016 article on the Azure blog, Not All Clouds Are Created Equal, addressed this topic in detail discussing the impact of a CJIS compliant cloud on Justice and Public Safety organizations. State and local agencies in 22 states (at the time...
Bradley Schacht is a Principal Program Manager on the Microsoft Fabric product team based in Jacksonville, FL. Bradley is a former consultant, trainer, and has authored 5 SQL Server and Power BI books, most recently the Microsoft Power BI Quick Start Guide. As a member of the Microsoft Fabric product team, Bradley works directly with customers to solve some of their most complex data problems and helps shape the future of Microsoft Fabric. He frequently presents at community events around the country, is a contributor to sites such as SQLServerCentral.com, and is a member of the Jacksonville SQL Server User Group (JSSUG).