I am trying to migrate a database from a sql server into Azure. This database have 2 rather simple TSQL script that inserts data. Since the SQL Agent does not exist on Azure, I am trying to find an alternative.
I see the Automation thing, but it seems really complex for something as simple as running SQL scripts. Is there any better or at least easier way to do this ?
I was under the impression that there was a scheduller for that for I can't find it.
Thanks
There are several ways to run a scheduled Task/job on the azure sql database for your use case -
If you are comfortable using the existing on-premise sql sever agent you can connect to your azure sql db(using linked servers) and execute jobs the same way we used to on on-premise sql server.
Use Automation Account/Runbooks to create sql jobs. If you see marketplace you can find several examples on azure sql db(backup,restore,indexing jobs..). I guess you already tried it and does not seem a feasible solution to you.
Another not very famous way could be to use the webjobs(under app service web app) to schedule tasks(can use powershell scripts here). The disadvantage of this is you cannot change anything once you create a webjob
As #jayendran suggested Azure functions is definitely an option to achieve this use case.
If some how out of these if you do not have options to work with the sql directly , there is also "Scheduler Job Collection" available in azure to schedule invocation of HTTP endpoints, and the sql operation could be abstracted/implemented in that endpoint. This would be only useful for less heavy sql operations else if the operation takes longer chances are it might time out.
You can use Azure Functions to Run the T-SQL Queries for Schedule use Timely Trigger.
You can use Microsoft Flow (https://flow.microsoft.com) in order to create a programmed flow with an SQL Server connector. Then in the connector you set the SQL Azure server, database name, username and password.
SQL Server connector
There are many options but the ones that you can use to run a T-SQL query daily are these:
SQL Connector options
Execute a SQL Query
Execute stored procedure
You can also edit your connection info in Data --> Connections menu.
Related
We have to collect some information. How do we check how often someone is running queries in Azure SQL?
Use extended events to trace all the queries running on your Azure SQL database. Also, you can save the output in a file and can query from clients tools like SSMS.
You can also use auditing provided by Azure SQL. Please check below link for details:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/auditing-overview#:~:text=Go%20to%20the%20Azure%20portal,modify%20the%20server%20auditing%20settings.
I have an Azure SQL Database and I can't find where to configure Query Timeout for all queries running on that database. Right now I have queries that run for days and even though I think all applications should have connection timeouts set, I also believe that there should be a way for the database itself to timeout the connection.
Is it possible to do this configuration for Azure SQL Database?
In SSMS, Tool--> Options-->Query Execution, we can set the Execution time-out:
I connect to me Azrue sql database with SSMS. I'm not sure if this works for Azure SQL database. We can't find the query time-out time of Azure SQL database, I once ran a query that took me more than 10 minutes. We can not find anything talked about it in Azure SQL document.
Hope this helps.
I am new to Azure SQL.
We have a client db which is in Azure SQL. We need to set up a process automation which extract query results to .CSV files and load it in our server (on premise SQL server 2008 R2).
What is the best method to generate csv files from Azure sql and make it accessible for the on premise server?
Honestly the best in terms of professional approach is to use Azure Data Factory and installation of Integration Runtime on the on premises.
You of course can use BCP but it will be cumbersome in the long run. A lot of scripts, tables, maintenance. No logging, no metrics, no alerts... Don't do it honestly.
SSIS is another option butin my opinion it takes more effort than ADF solution.
Azure Data Factory will allow you to do this in professional way using user interface with no coding. It also can be parametrized so you just change name of table name parameter and suddenly you are exporting 20, 50 or 100 tables at ease.
Here is video example and intro into data factory if you want to see quick overview. In this overview there is also demo which imports CSV to Azure SQL, you can just change it a little bit to make Azure SQL -> CSV and CSV > SQL server or just directly Azure SQL > SQL server.
https://youtu.be/EpDkxTHAhOs
It really is straightforward.
Consider using simple bcp from the on prem environment save the results to csv and then load the csv into the on prem server.
You can also use SSIS to implement an automated task.
Though I would like to know why you need the intermediate csv file? you can simply just copy data between databases (cloud -> On prem) with a scheduled SSIS package.
If you have on-prem SQL access then a simple SSIS package is probably the quickest and easiest way to go. If your source is Azure SQL and the ultimate destination is On-Prem SQL, you could use SSIS and skip the CSV all together.
If you want to stick to an Azure PAAS solution you could consider using Azure Data Factory. You can setup a gateway to access the on-prem SQL server directly or if you really want to stick to a CSC then look into using a Logic App.
Azure Data Factory is surely option.
Simple solution would be pyodbc driver with little bit of python. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/python/python-driver-for-sql-server?view=sql-server-2017
You can also try sqlcmd and bit of powershell or bash on top.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/tools/sqlcmd-utility?view=sql-server-2017
I have one SQL Agent maintenance job which checks the index fragmentation within a database and rebuilds indexes if required.
This is running well in my test server (Microsoft Sql Server 2012). But my production server is in Azure. Now I want to schedule that job to Azure.
SQL Agent does not exist in Azure SQL Database so how can I schedule a SQL job in Azure DB?
Since this question was first asked, there is now another alternative to handle this problem:
Azure Functions
Here are a couple of examples that could easily be modified to call a stored procedure that rebuilds your indexes
Create a function in Azure that is triggered by a timer
Use Azure Functions to connect to an Azure SQL Database
Also see
How to maintain Azure SQL Indexes and Statistics - this page has an example stored procedure for rebuilding your indexes that you can download.
Reorganize and Rebuild Indexes
A few things to keep in mind with Azure functions
They are built on top of Azure Web Jobs SDK and offer additional functionality
There are two different pricing models:
App Service plan (attach it to an existing plan)
Predictable cost model
It puts extra load on the same VM used by your web site
Consumption plan
You get some free processing every month
The default maximum run time is 5 minutes to prevent billing problems, but it can be changed via the host.json file.
Edit September 5, 2021 to add additional information
It should be noted that if you need SQL Agent, you have another option now. I would suggest reading up on Azure SQL Managed Instances. You can see a comparison of Azure SQL to Azure SQL Managed instance here in the Microsoft Documentation. With Azure SQL Managed Instances, your transition to the cloud could be a lot simpler since a lot of the on-premise features you are used to are already there (including SQL Server Agent, DB Mail, etc.).
This feature has been rejected by Microsoft (link no longer available).
To quote their response:
Today in Azure there are several alternatives,
SQL Database Elastic Jobs
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/elastic-jobs-overview
The Azure job scheduler
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/services/scheduler/
The new
preview of Azure Automation
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/automation/.
SQL Server
in a VM
Option 1 requires an additional dedicated cloud service, which increases cost. Option 2 is free (I think) as long as you don't run more than once per hour.
Azure SQL does not support sql jobs. From documentation:
Microsoft Azure SQL Database does not support SQL Server Agent or
jobs. You can, however, run SQL Server Agent on your on-premise SQL
Server and connect to Microsoft Azure SQL Database.
WebJobs: If you have a website you can create webjob and run it on schedule. See more here
Other alternatives - Scheduling job on SQL Azure
Another option is rovergo, a service that allows you to schedule sql jobs with a cron expression. This is nice because you don't have to create a web job or azure function. You can simply schedule a sql script.
(I'm a developer on rovergo)
You can use Azure automation to schedule jobs on an Azure-DB like the on premise SQL Agent.
See https://azure.microsoft.com/nl-nl/blog/azure-automation-your-sql-agent-in-the-cloud/ for more information.
Available for a couple of years now, Elastic Jobs for azure db...
docs:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/job-automation-overview?view=azuresql
tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIMgqkXZFOQ
Currently seems to use the 2017 version of the sqlagent sp (or a close approximation), but elastic links are now already pointing to SQL2022 preview which contains a newer version of the agent sps
I'm developing an app that uses SQL Azure. I don't have an account to access Windows Azure and I want to start writing SQL script.
Can I use my SQL Server 2008 to test my SQL Azure script?
I would also recommend a SQL Azure account. However, if you dont have access to one, you can create the DB in SQL 2008, then export a SQL Azure compatable script. Then use that script for testing purposes.
Here is a link: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/cesardelatorre/archive/2010/06/04/importing-exporting-data-to-sql-azure-databases-using-bcp-and-sql-scripts.aspx
One thing you should accomodate for when coding for SQL Azure is a failover or retry policy per this article: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/appfabriccat/archive/2010/12/11/sql-azure-and-entity-framework-connection-fault-handling.aspx#comments
Not really, because certain SQL statements are not supported, or partially supported. So unless you are already very familiar with the differences between SQL Azure and SQL Server the general recommendation is to create your scripts against a SQL Azure database.
Opening an Account is really simple. Remember that when you create a SQL Azure database your charges are pro-rated daily. So if you create a development database of 1GB is size (the minimum) you will pay $9.99 per month (plus a really low transfer cost), or "roughly" 33 cents per day. If you create a 1GB database on a Monday and drop it the following Wednesday, you will pay roughly a buck. There are no charges for the master database.
I would agree with Herve. It would likely be best if you actually use SQL Azure as there are some differences between SQL Sever and SQL Azure. You can get a free 30 day account (with no credit card) using the following:
Use this link: http://www.windowsazurepass.com/?campid=9FE3DB53-E4F0-DF11-B2EA-001F29C6FB82
Use this passcode: promo code = DPEWE01
What you want to do is actually the right way, you can create a database in you local SQL Server 2008 instance, I would recommend using latest community edition for this purpose.
Create database, tables.. work on it, then generate a script to later export to SQL Azure.
Make sure to see documentation for pressing changes or things not to use while doing your job that might not be working on SQL Azure.