Database Reference
In-Depth Information
C H A P T E R 3
Setting Up and Configuring
The first two chapters of this topic have provided an introductory look at cloud-based computing and
how similar a cloud database is to a regular database. Although there are many similarities, you've also
seen some of the differences between a cloud database and a local database. Chapter 6 discusses many
more of these differences in greater detail.
Chapter 2 also took an in-depth look at the design patterns and factors that companies must
take into account when considering moving to a cloud computing architecture. Deciding to move
to a cloud computing solution isn't cut and dried; you must consider many options when
designing cloud solutions. The rest of the topic, including this chapter, builds on the information
from Chapter 2.
Before you get started with the Azure platform, you must first register for an Azure account. After the
account is created, you have access to all of Azure's features and functionality. This chapter shows you
the account options, walks you through creating an Azure account, and then introduces you to options
and T-SQL syntax statements you can use to create, modify, and delete important types of objects in SQL
Azure, such as databases, users, and stored procedures. You also spend a few pages looking at how to
connect to a SQL Azure database from different environments.
Creating Your Azure Account
Creating an Azure account is simple, but it takes quite a few steps because of the amount of information
required. To begin setting up your Azure account, open your browser and go to
www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/offers
. This URL takes you to the Windows Azure Platform Offers
page, shown in Figure 3-1. This page lists several packages based on your usage (transactions,
connections, and so on) and storage. You can see detailed information about each package by clicking
the View Details button in the comparison table on the page.
It's highly recommend that you select the Introductory Special package to begin working with
Azure. With this package, you get the following at no charge:
•
25 hours of small compute instance, 500MB of storage, and 10,000 storage
transactions on Windows Azure
•
1 Web Edition database on SQL Azure
•
100,000 access control transactions and 2 service bus connections on AppFabric
•
500MB in and 500MB out for data transfer (per region)
